ASCEND Podcast
Are you ready to ASCEND to new possibilities? In this podcast, Dr. Jared Tippets and Dr. Eric Kirby outline why a focus on retention and completion is so important, why previous retention efforts have not always worked, and discuss how we can successfully "ASCEND" to these great expectations. In each episode, we will share innovative ideas, creative initiatives, and best practices and strategies that campuses have used to achieve amazing results. This podcast has intentionally been produced in a quick-tip, bite-sized format where the listener can quickly find ideas, initiatives, and solutions that can be tried on campus today.
Episodes
193 episodes
S3 - E27 - Dr. Gill Hunter - How to Know When Students are Delusional (*not in a clinical way) (Support)
In this episode, we explore how Eastern Kentucky University uses pulse surveys and early progress reports to identify students whose perceptions of their academic performance do not match reality. The conversation examines how timely data, stra...
S3 - E26 - Dr. Tim Young - The Future Faculty Fellows Program: Supporting the Success and Retention of Low-Income and Hispanic Graduate Students (Affordability)
In this episode, we explore how Concordia University Irvine is advancing equity in graduate education through its Future Faculty Fellows Program. Designed to support low-income and Hispanic students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees, the p...
S3 - E25 - Joshua Morrison - Predictive Analytics Powered Case Management Improves Student Outcomes (Data)
In this episode, we explore how the University of Indianapolis is using predictive analytics and case management to improve student retention and success. Through its Success Slate platform, the university combines machine learning, real-time s...
S3 - E24 - Dr. Ammon Harris - Using 6-Week Data for Strategic Nudges (Nudges)
In this episode, we explore how Southern Utah University is using early-term data and peer mentor insights to deliver strategic nudges that improve student retention. Focusing on the critical weeks between two and six, the conversation highligh...
S3 - E23 - Dr. Jamarco Clark & Dr. Christopher Hawkins - The Engagement Playbook: Experiences over Events (Engagement)
In this episode, we explore how institutions are rethinking student engagement by prioritizing experiences over traditional events. The conversation highlights how intentional design, inclusive programming, and thoughtful marketing can transfor...
S3 - E22 - Nii Kpakpo Abrahams - Encourage. Empower. Equip.: Cultivating Faculty Engagement for Student Success (Culture)
In this episode, we visited with Nii Kpakpo Abrahams to explore how Butler University is strengthening student success by investing in one of its most powerful assets, faculty. The conversation challenges common misconceptions and highlights ho...
S3 - E21 - Dr. Matt Daily and Tiffany Sorensen - Navigating the Challenges: The Impact of Academic Advising on Retaining Students Who Underperform in Their First Semester (Support)
In this episode, we explore how proactive academic advising can play a critical role in retaining students who struggle in their first semester. Drawing on the work at Idaho State University, the conversation highlights how early identification...
S3 - E20 - Rick Clark and Dr. Anna Holcomb - Expanding Access, Expanding Support: A Network Approach to High-Priority Student Success and Retention (Affordability)
In episode 20, we had a fun conversation with Dr. Anna Newsome Holcomb and Rick Clark from Georgia Institute of Technology where we explored how Georgia Tech is building a networked approach to student success by aligning access, retention, and...
S3 - E19 - Dr. Stephanie M. Foote, Dr. Brandon Smith, Dr. Rob Rodier - Toward Transfer Student Success Through a Process to Examine Curricular Pathways (Data)
In this episode, we examine how clearer curricular pathways can improve transfer student success and reduce one of higher education’s most persistent barriers, credit loss. Featuring insights from experts at the John N. Gardner Institute for Ex...
S3 - E18 - Dr. Joe Cuseo - Nudging Students to Use Support Services: Making Referrals Sensitively and Strategically (Nudges)
In this episode, we explore the art and science of helping students use the support services available to them. Drawing on the work of Joe Cuseo, the conversation focuses on how faculty and staff can make referrals more effective by listening c...
S3 - E17 - Dr. Amber Williams - New Vol Experience (Engagement)
In this episode, we explore the New Vol Experience at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, an innovative approach to supporting first-year student transition and success. This program guides new students through a multi-phase onboarding jour...
S3 - E16 - Dr. Karen McGregor - Best in Class Basic Needs Support Badging Program (Culture)
In this episode, we explore Purdue Global’s Best in Class Basic Needs Support Badging Program, an innovative approach to building a campus-wide culture of care for students facing non-academic challenges. Designed for a large populatio...
S3 - E15 - Susan Merrill - Thor’s Hammer of Knowledge: A Case Study in Proactive Connection to Campus Resources (Support)
What do you do when you know a First-Year Experience course improves student success, but you don’t have the funding or institutional support to build one? In this episode, we explore an innovative workaround born from a simple idea: Thor’s...
S3 - E14 - Dr. Alexei M. Marquez and Fred Huang - Practical? Possible? Sustainable?- Transforming Financial Literacy for Student Success at UArizona (Affordability)
What happens when financial literacy moves beyond theory and into honest, student-centered conversations? In this episode, we visit with Dr. Alexei M. Marquez and Fred Huang from the University of Arizona about how their “Practical? Possible? S...
S3 - E13 - Jon Ambrose - Using Data to Enhance Career Services Programming (Data)
How can career centers use data to design programming that students actually need and attend? In this episode, Jon Ambrose from the University of Oregon Career Center walks through a data-informed approach to evaluating past programs, tracking ...
S3 - E12 - Dr. Anna Newsome Holcomb and Brian E. Garsh - Midterm Alert of Academic Risk for Transfer Students (Nudges)
Transfer students often face unique academic challenges that can go unnoticed in traditional retention efforts. In this episode, Dr. Anna Newsome Holcomb and Dr. Brian Garsh from Georgia Tech share how a redesigned midterm early-alert initiativ...
S3 - E11 - Tom Hicks - Long Night Against Procrastination (Engagement)
In this episode, we discuss the “Long Night Against Procrastination" event, a practical and student-centered approach to tackling one of the most common academic challenges. Drawing on experience from a small liberal arts col...
S3 - E10 - President Mark Milliron and Dr. Angela Baldasare - The Unlikely Culture Builder: Using ‘Operating Reviews’ to Drive Student Success (Culture)
Building a culture of student success doesn’t happen by chance, it requires focus, discipline, and shared accountability. In this episode, we explore how National University uses Quarterly Operating Reviews (QORs) as a powerful, and often overl...
S3 - E9 - Dr. Joshua Wilkin - Holistic Support Strategies to Improve Retention (Support)
In this episode, we explore how Moore College of Art & Design is improving student retention through a deeply intentional, holistic support model. Dr. Joshua Wilkin, Dean of Students, shares how Moore’s multipronged approach (spanning acade...
S3 - E8 - Dr. Lara Lomicka Anderson and Dr. Shelley Dempsey - Bridging the Financial Gap (Affordability)
College affordability doesn’t end with tuition, and for many students, hidden financial barriers can be the difference between stopping out and graduating. In this episode, we explore how financial gaps, aid complexity, and basic needs insecuri...
S3 - E7 - Dr. Kris Bliss - Holistic View of Students (Data)
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Kris Bliss from Indiana Tech University to explore what it truly means to take a holistic view of students, and why breaking down data silos is essential to student success. Drawing on her experience, the c...
S3 - E6 - Dr. Solomon Tention - ‘Project Graduate’ Increases the Number of Completers Amongst Community College Students (Nudges)
In this episode we visit with Dr. Solomon Tention, Assistant Professor of Advanced Studies, Research, & Leadership at Morgan State University. We talk about how intentional outreach and proactive advising can bring stopped-out students back...
S3 - E5 - Dr. Brian Garsh - Helping Students Take FLIGHT (Engagement)
In this episode, Eric Kirby visits with Dr. Brian Garsh to explore how institutions can strengthen student belonging and retention through intentional, cross-functional design. Using Kennesaw State University’s FLIGHT: Class-Year Connections Pr...
S3 - E4 - Featuring Patrick Tanner and Luis Caloca - One Student at a Time (Culture)
In this episode, we explore the transformative journey of the College of Western Idaho’s Enrollment & Student Services division as it embraced a unifying mantra: One Student at a Time. When rapid growth left staff searching for cla...
S3 - E3 - Featuring Dr. Amber Williams - Vol Success Teams (Support)
This episode features Dr. Amber Williams, Vice Provost for Student Success at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who shares how the university’s Vol Success Teams have transformed support for first-year and transfer scholars. Launch...