91¿´Æ¬

By Kristy Firebaugh, Assistant Vice Provost for Student SuccessÌý

On February 24, more than 50 faculty and staff from across the university gathered for the Winter Retention and Student Success Forum, focused on a pressing and complex issue: academic readiness. This quarterly forum, part of an , is designed not just to share information but to spark collaborative, action-oriented dialogue around student success.ÌýÌý

Why Academic Readiness?Ìý

The forum centered on the growing challenge of academic readiness—the foundational skills and mindsets students need to thrive in their courses. As faculty have observed, many students are arriving at 91¿´Æ¬ with gaps in multiple areas, including content knowledge, study habits, critical thinking, and the ability to navigate the academic and social norms of higher education.Ìý This is part of a national trend exacerbated by the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and shifts in K-12 education.ÌýÌýÌý

What We’re SeeingÌý

Both national data and 91¿´Æ¬ data and observations point to a range of readiness-related challenges. Students are less prepared for the academic rigors of college than they were even just a few years ago.1 2Ìý

Here at 91¿´Æ¬, faculty have observed changes in course engagement, study skills, understanding of math concepts, and expectations around course workloads. These observations are backed up by student experience data: for example, we know from the that 91¿´Æ¬ students are spending less time reading, writing, and preparing for class than they did 10 years ago.Ìý

During the forum, faculty and staff engaged in table discussions around subtopics such as math, writing, reading comprehension, study skills, and communication. Each group explored two guiding questions:Ìý

1. What do students need to build foundational skills in this area?Ìý
2. What do faculty need to support students with varying levels of readiness?Ìý

One major takeaway is that students must clearly understand the WHY behind pedagogical choices, and that faculty may need to make this more explicit to this generation of students than for students in the past.ÌýÌý

Resources for facultyÌý

The conversation also emphasized the need to provide resources and support to faculty as they work to address these evolving student needs. To that end, the following chart connects specific readiness challenges to faculty resources that already exist, many of them offered by the Office of Teaching and Learning. Work is ongoing to build out additional supports both for faculty and for students, so we can continue to ensure that students can thrive academically at 91¿´Æ¬.Ìý

Want to learn more?ÌýÌý

Want to be part of future forums about student success-related topics that affect faculty? Join the conversation on our !Ìý

Contact Kristy Firebaugh, Assistant Vice Provost for Student Success, Kristy.firebaugh@du.eduÌý