The HEDS Student Success Champions Program supports people at HEDS institutions who lead student success projects and helps develop their leadership and change management skills.
We created the HEDS Student Success Champions Program to advance student success efforts at HEDS institutions and to help participants develop leadership and change management skills.
Student Success Champions will work with, support, and learn from an interdisciplinary community of practice focused on student success. The community of practice includes other Student Success Champions, the HEDS Directors and staff, HEDS Board members, and leaders with experience in institutional improvement.
Champions will develop their skills as they design and/or implement a student success initiative at their institution. Champions will gain confidence in their leadership abilities and build resilience to work through challenges that threaten to derail institutional change efforts.
We invite anyone from a HEDS institution who is leading, or will lead, a student success initiative at their college or university to apply.
The program is open to any employee at a HEDS institution—including faculty, student affairs professionals, administrators, assessment professionals, and institutional researchers—who is, or will soon be, leading a student success project and has support from their institution.
We will select up to 10 individuals, one per institution, for the first cohort of the program.
Each Student Success Champion will participate in the program for a two-year term. We expect Champions to attend four meetings each year (two face-to-face and two virtual).
There is no fee for the Student Success Champions Program. The program is a benefit for our HEDS member institutions. We only ask that your institution cover the cost of your travel, food, and lodging for the two face-to-face meetings each year. The cost of each meeting, which covers two nights of lodging, food, and local transportation will be around $500.
- Two face-to-face meetings each year focused on developing practical leadership skills including: approaches to engaging the support of academic leaders, using evidence to advance student success projects, building coalitions, working with challenging faculty and staff, and keeping projects moving forward in dynamic institutional environments.
- Two half-day virtual group check-ins each year with HEDS leaders for updates on projects, troubleshooting obstacles, and honing plans for next steps.
- Ongoing consultations that will focus on real-time troubleshooting to help the Champions sharpen their projects and overcome obstacles.
Download the PDF with the full program description and application details from the red button at the top of this page. We ask you to answer eight questions and provide a letter of support from your institution. Please submit your responses to the application questions and your letter of support to Charlie Blaich and Kathy Wise by October 1, 2021.
We will review the written applications to select finalists for the program and then conduct Zoom interviews with the finalists. We will announce the first cohort of HEDS Student Success Champions on November 1.
If you have questions about the program please email Charlie Blaich and Kathy Wise.
Important Dates
August 16, 2021 – Call for applications opens
October 1, 2021 – Application deadline
November 15, 2021 – HEDS announces Student Success Champions
January 13-15, 2022 – 1st Champions meeting at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, IN
April 18, 2022 – 2nd Champions meeting – half-day, virtual event
July 20-22, 2022 – 3rd Champions meeting at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, IN
October 28, 2022 – 4th Champions meeting – half-day, virtual event