Category: Student Success and Persistence

Applications are currently open for the 2026-27 Retention Faculty Fellows. Retention Faculty Fellows support SEM Goal 3 to “Increase persistence rates of degree seeking student populations.” The university identifies faculty who are interested in becoming more engaged in retaining students and promoting student success and persistence through excellent and creative pedagogy. These faculty will share best practices and create opportunities for other faculty members to be in dialogue about quality instructional design and student engagement.

Applications are due by the end of Friday, May 1. For questions or more information, contact Brett Petersen-Bruner, associate vice provost for Student Success and Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.

The Office of Student Success is proud to recognize the 2025-26 Outstanding Collaboration Partners for their unwavering commitment to supporting student achievement, persistence and holistic success at Wichita State. This year’s honorees have gone above and beyond to foster meaningful partnerships, break down barriers to access and create intentional opportunities for students to feel supported, connected and empowered throughout their journey:

• The Department of Mathematics and Statistics
• Campus Dining
• Office of Student Accommodations & Testing

Through collaboration, innovation and a shared commitment to student-centered work, these partners exemplify what it means to champion student success across the campus community.

As we progress through the rest of the semester, instructor feedback in SEAS (Student Early Alert System) continues to be a valuable tool for supporting students. Take a few minutes to update student progress. If a student you flagged earlier is now making progress, removing the alert helps Student Success better understand how this intervention is working.

Accessing SEAS is easy:

• Log in to myWSU
• Go to the Home or Teach/Advise tab
• Click the SEAS link

Thanks for partnering with us to support student success! For more information about SEAS, visit the SEAS website.

Are you looking for ways to help your students explore career options and make informed decisions about their future? Attend the upcoming PathwayU: Overview & Advisor Access training 11-11:45 a.m. Monday, April 6 virtually via Microsoft Teams. Register on myTraining via your myWSU.

PathwayU is the comprehensive career assessment tool, utilized by the Shocker Career Accelerator. It is designed to guide students to their purpose, supporting their success and persistence. In this training session, you will learn how to:

• Navigate the platform’s features, including assessments, career matches, WSU major alignment and military crosswalk
• Gain valuable insights into student interests and career aspirations
• Integrate PathwayU into your teaching or advising practices to empower students

Before the session, create an account at wichita.pathwayu.com and take the four career assessments.

Help your students tackle academic challenges more effectively by encouraging them to attend a hybrid workshop from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, presented by Ablah Library (in person and online). In this workshop, students can learn how to create impactful and visually effective posters to communicate research findings at conferences, competitions and other presentations.

As deadlines approach and stress levels rise, many students are feeling the academic pressure. Encourage them to attend Procrastination Prevention Night from 6 p.m. to midnight Wednesday, March 25 at Ablah Library for the support they need to stay on track and finish the semester strong.

The night features librarians, success coaches, tutoring sessions, arts and crafts, games and more to help students jumpstart their work, tackle assignments and reduce stress.

Plus, University Libraries has them covered with coffee and snacks to keep them fueled and focused throughout the night — all for free.

Sponsored by the Shocker Learning Center and University Libraries.

The HALA Scholarship for Community Service assists students in completing their program of study at WSU. The scholarship was established in 1991 and provides scholarships to outstanding Wichita State students.

The purpose of the scholarship is to provide financial assistance to students while promoting the value of community service to foster a sense of civic duty and commitment to the university and greater Wichita area. The key objectives of the scholarship are to aid in the retention and graduation of WSU students.

To achieve these objectives, the scholarship includes awards based on financial need, academic achievement and service activities. Awarded students must agree to engage in community services activities for WSU and/or community-based organizations. The deadline for students to apply is Friday, March 20.

Help your students tackle academic challenges more effectively by encouraging them to attend an online workshop from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, presented by University Libraries.

In this week’s workshop, students will start learning geographic information systems (GIS) with ArcGIS Online. Participants will learn about finding data and making attractive and informative maps with an easy-to-use interface.

While many factors help student retention, Samantha Corcoran’s favorite is fostering curiosity. She likes to ask her students: “Do you love learning? Do you love going new places?”

“We’ve chosen to focus on increasing student curiosity in everything that we do,” says Corcoran, associate engineering educator in the College of Engineering.

Wichita State University’s First-Year Seminar “Introduction to Technology and Innovation” and Shocker Design Experience are producing impressive retention increases. Freshman persistence has increased to 80% from fall 2024 to fall 2025. That’s a 14% increase since the program was updated in 2021.

Instructors: this is an ideal time to provide student feedback in the Student Early Alert System (SEAS). SEAS allows you to share observations on attendance, participation, assignments and quizzes/exams for all students.

Also review previously flagged students. If a student has shown improvement, removing or updating the flag helps ensure the accuracy of the data and better reflects the impact of early intervention.

Access SEAS via myWSU > Home or Teach/Advise tab > SEAS link

Thank you for your continued support of student success. For more information about SEAS, visit the SEAS website.