What it means to be “student-ready” in today’s higher education landscape

This blog summarizes the key takeaways from our fiscal resiliency podcast, episode 14.

Across the thousands of higher education institutions nationwide, colleges and universities take a variety of unique approaches when it comes to ensuring student readiness and success.

Traditionally, when considering how to meet student expectations, institutions are heavily focused on academic choices – and they also spend a lot of time aligning housing, extracurricular activities and campus safety measures – to meet students’ needs. Yet, while those are critical components of “being student-ready” in the modern higher education climate, those factors are merely the tip of the iceberg.

In our recent Higher Ed Advisor podcast, we explored the topic of student readiness and the innovative ways institutions are redesigning and aligning student support services and campus cultures to be student-ready. Katie Aranda, Associate Dean of Student Success Initiatives at Iowa Wesleyan University (IWU), and Paul Shepherd, Director for Student Development and Success at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (Minnesota State or System) joined us to discuss how their institutions are driving innovative strategies to address the realities both the industry and students face today and ultimately, to enhance student persistence and completion.

Facing today’s higher education realities

Baker Tilly has observed a change in the student readiness scene, which looks much different than it did 10 or 20 years ago. Research shows that currently, there are significantly more students at the poverty level. Further, many more students are not completing degrees that they start. More than ever, money is the main reason students leave college. There is no doubt that the pandemic has substantially impacted students and institutions. Such numbers are forcing institutional leaders to reflect on how or if they are fulfilling the promise made to students when they set expectations across the student lifecycle culminating with degree or certificate attainment.

Defining a “student-ready institution”

While the term “student-ready” can mean different things to institutions and their continuum of stakeholders, Aranda emphasized that at IWU, the term means maintaining a focus on developing relationships with students, facilitating connections and giving every student a sense of belonging. This mindset starts when a prospective student visits campus and continues all the way through graduation.