New Report: Success Coaching Initiative Boosts Student Retention at Central New York Community College

In collaboration with InsideTrack, Onondaga Community College integrates success coaching into advising programs to improve student retention, gateway course completion rates

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. (August 22, 2024) -- Onondaga Community College (OCC), a public community college and member of the State University of New York (SUNY) serving a diverse student population of more than 8,500 learners in central New York, today announced results from a five-year initiative focused on boosting student success and persistence through the integration of student coaching into its advising process. In collaboration with the student success nonprofit InsideTrack, the college incorporated one-on-one coaching into its advising programs and generated an impressive improvement in student retention, which increased from 48% in 2020 to 53% in 2022.

“To make good on the promise of higher education for the students we serve, it's critical that we identify and scale support services that help our students achieve their college and career aspirations—and overcome the many obstacles which can interrupt their pathway to finishing their degree,” said Dr. Warren Hilton, president of Onondaga Community College. “These results reflect our long-term commitment to removing barriers to college access, completion and upward mobility for students from underserved backgrounds by ensuring that students feel supported each step of the way.”

At a time when improving student retention and completion has been an ongoing challenge for institutions across the country, the OCC leadership team launched a long-term academic advising initiative focused on more effective approaches to helping its students stay in school and graduate. In 2018, Onondaga launched a five-year initiative primarily focused on Guided Pathways for Success (GPS), which included the creation of program pathway maps to help create clear paths to completion for its diverse student population.

To redesign its coaching and advising supports to help students stay on track to completion, Onondaga engaged student success nonprofit InsideTrack in 2019 through funding from a U.S. Department of Education Title III Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) Grant. The college identified student success coaching as a key strategy to create a personalized support system for all learners, with an emphasis on underrepresented student support.

InsideTrack coaches began working with students in January 2020 and produced striking results despite the tumult caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership started as a pilot program to provide coaching to improve retention among 400 students who were academically at-risk, members of historically underserved groups, and were randomly selected to receive coaching. 

By 2021, OCC staff received training and certification in coaching and took over the work full-time. With key staff now capable of certifying new coaches and ensuring quality control, OCC has established a sustainable coaching system that will continue to operate after the original grant funding ends.

Onondaga commissioned a longitudinal five-year study conducted by Social Policy Research Associates (SPRA) to evaluate the second half of the grant period. Students who received at least one coaching session successfully completed the English gateway course at a rate of 54% as compared to 46% of those students who did not receive coaching. The personalized success coaching work is a cornerstone strategy within a broader overhaul of student support services with the goal of meeting students where they are and increasing utilization of on-campus services.

The reform efforts have begun to pay off. From fall 2020 for fall 2022, among all first-time, full-time students, completion rates for the English gateway course increased from 59% to 64%. Average total credits earned grew from 14.7 to 15.8, with Black students (from 8.5 to 11.8 credits) and first-generation students (from 12.8 to 13.6 credits) showing noteworthy gains.

• The percentage of first-time, full-time students who earned at least 15 credits per semester increased from 50% to 55%.
• Fall-to-fall retention rates for these students who took the English gateway course increased from 48% to 53%.
• For students enrolled in first-year English composition courses, the fall-to-spring retention rate increased by 4 percentage points (from 72% to 76%) while the fall-to-fall retention rate grew by 6 percentage points (from 47% to 53%).

“As a former community college student, I saw firsthand the challenges that many of my fellow students faced as they balanced the complex demands of work, family, financial and academic commitments,” said Ruth Bauer White, president of InsideTrack. “During a period of uncertainty and change for community colleges across the country, forward-thinking institutional leaders can double down on student success by making strategic investments in student support that can meet the needs of the whole student and unlock their full education and career potential.” 

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About InsideTrack: InsideTrack is a mission-driven nonprofit that fuels positive change by empowering and advancing all learners to achieve their educational and career goals through the transformative power of coaching. We help people get the education they need to enhance well-being, create opportunity and secure meaningful employment — ultimately facilitating economic and social mobility. Since 2001, we have served over 3.5 million learners, partnering with more than 380 institutions and organizations to directly improve enrollment, retention, completion, and career advancement — tailoring our coaching outcomes to fit the needs of our partners and the learners they support. Our coaching methodology is evidence-based and research-confirmed, supporting all types of learners at every stage of their journey — especially those who face systemic barriers to postsecondary success. We are a catalyst for transformational impact, ultimately empowering learners and the organizations that serve them. To learn more, visit www.insidetrack.org and follow us on LinkedIn @InsideTrack and X @InsideTrack.

About Onondaga Community College: Onondaga Community College, Central New York’s partner in education for success, is a two-year college located on a 280-acre campus in Syracuse, NY. OCC is a SUNY (State University of New York) school and is locally sponsored by Onondaga County. We are the first public college in the nation to partner with Barnes & Noble College on the “Box of Books” program which provides students with flat-rate, predictable pricing for textbooks and technology. OCC is recognized nationally as “Military Friendly” and “Best For Vets” for our service to Student Veterans. We are proud partners in education with Micron Technology, and Amazon’s Career Choice Program which gives its employees a tuition-free path to the associate degree of their choosing. Our chapter of international honor society Phi Theta Kappa is repeatedly recognized as the best in New York State and among the highest performing internationally out of nearly 1,300 chapters. A report titled “The Economic Value of Onondaga Community College” shows students enjoy an attractive 21.7% rate of return on their educational investment. For every dollar of support from state and local governments, taxpayers see a return of $3.90 on their investments. The average annual rate of return for taxpayers is 9.3%. OCC’s 19 athletics teams have won 17 national championships. Learn more about the College at www.sunyocc.edu.