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Running head: STUDENT SUCCESS FOR INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE

Student Success for Inclusive Excellence

Monika Delfierro

Seattle University

SDAD 5750: Best Practices in Student Services

Dr. Yamamura
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Student Success for Inclusive Excellence

In defining student success for inclusive excellence, student success is characterized by

an institution’s ability to retain our students toward college completion while also providing the

opportunity for our students develop and demonstrate self-authorship and confidence. As an

emerging student affairs practitioner, my own definition of student success and inclusive

excellence encompass retention and the holistic development of all students, especially those

from marginalized identities (students of color, LGTBQ+, non-traditional students, etc). Digging

deeper, success to each student is different and their experience in higher education will differ

from one another. We can look at the best practices from other institutions, but we must also

consider our student demographics, mission, and culture of our institution and see how we can

adapt/change for the benefit of all our students. Per Schuh et. al (2011), it is the responsibility of

student affairs practitioners to, “help students attain their educational and personal development

goals” (pp. 258). However, when sharing the success of an institution and goals of student’s

success, assessment is important in a role on not only showing how successful an institution or

department is at achieving their goals but looking at assessment in ways of improving their

practices toward student development. Kuh et. al (2010), states that assessment of “student

learning to solve problems and improve performance will also raise the public’s confidence in its

academic institutions.” (pp.4). The assessment made an impact on student success at institutions

through academic decisions, policies, programs, and practices. Even in our own divided

departments at institutions, we rely on assessment for the success and growth of our programs

and the benefits for our students. Furthermore, understanding who is going to look over the data

and those can be to folks who hold institutional influence (Board of Regents/Trustees,

President/Chancellor, or U.S. Board of Education). To further explore the relationship between

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assessment and student success, I visited three different institutions and interviewed 10 student

affairs professionals.

The three institutions that I visited included the University of Massachusetts-Lowell

(UMass Lowell), Middlesex Community College (MCC), and Highline College (HC). Each of

the institutions had their own unique programs and initiatives which promoted student success on

their own campuses by exhibiting their own best practices methods of assessment in tracking

resources, visits, and growth for their programs and the institution.

University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell)

UMass Lowell is a four-year mid-size public institution located in a small area outside of

Boston in Lowell, Massachusetts making it an urban campus which attracts commuter and local

students. Founded in 1894, but did not become a part of the UMass system until 1991, it is 1 of

the 5 schools in the UMass system. The university began as the Lowell Normal School, a

teaching college and then Lowell Textile School, in 1895 to train technicians and managers for

the textile industry. Lowell, Massachusetts is also known as the “Mill City” and there are several

mill factories in the city today. “Over the next 75 years, both institutions extended their offerings

to meet the growing needs of the region (uml.edu, 2017). This is important to know as a lot of

the industrial history of Lowell, has influenced the architecture of the institution, but as well as,

serving the growing population of folks who were moving to Lowell for work in the mill

factories. Lowell State and Lowell Tech, as they were then known, merged in 1975 to form the

University of Lowell and then became a part of the UMass system in 1991.

With an estimated 17,000+ students enrolled, and 4000 students living on campus,

Lowell Riverhawks pride themselves on their ranking amongst the top 100 public national

universities in the US (uml.edu, 2017). UMass Lowell takes on programs and initiatives in the
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success and retention of their students from orientation to graduation, with an 86% graduation

rate of their undergraduate students (uml.edu, 2017). For example, at UMass Lowell, there is a

department that focuses just on the transition of students from orientation to graduation. The

Center for Learning and Academic Support Services (CLASS) provides tutoring, degree pathway

advising, transfer support, and strategies for success courses. The mission of CLASS is, “…is to

enhance the educational experience by easing the transition into UMass Lowell. We create a

climate of collegiality and a sense of community and collaboration among students, faculty, and

staff in an environment that fosters and encourages creativity, growing independence, and

academic success.” (uml.edu, 2017). I interviewed four student affairs professionals from various

departments at UMass Lowell, one of the programs that I saw as being the most influential was

the STARFISH – Early Alert Program which is under CLASS.

The STARFISH – Early Alert Program at UMass Lowell was implemented in Fall

2012 as a tool to help improve student success and retention (uml.edu, 2017). It allows faculty at

the Center for Learning at UML the ability to notify retentions specialist such as Douglas

Cooper, about the at-risk status of students. Professionals use the term at-risk status for students

who may be falling behind in classes, low attendance, or any demonstration of disruptive

behaviors in the classroom. An example, STARFISH– Early Alert program includes Advisors

taking the time to meet 1:1 with the student regularly to gain an understanding of the factors

inside and outside of the classroom which are affecting the student. The advisor that I met with

talked about the importance of understanding the different levels of support and communication

for each student. A few examples shared include students identifying as low-income, students

juggling multiple responsibilities, or students having attendance issues due to long commutes. By

identifying these students, they can seek help not only academically, but mentally and
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emotionally. Many of the students in his caseloads are students who identify as first-generation,

low-income, and/or commuter. For students who identify as first-gen, which are also most

students of color, lacked a developed system for studying and navigating through college (Kemp,

2016). Doug and his colleagues support the students by providing connection and resources (i.e.

counseling, tutoring, clubs) to get them back on track. In addition, this allows him to see any

gaps that the student may have missed or was not presented during orientation or in the

classroom. Furthermore, Doug and his colleagues manage the follow-up action piece with

students and coordinates as needed with another faculty and staff. Starfish instructors can also

send kudos, which are positive messages of recognition and/or encouragement (uml.edu, 2017).

This gives a sense of hope and words of affirmation for the students. The STARFISH– Early

Alert program is a program that aligns itself with the mission of CLASS in providing academic

success and building community.

From the STARFISH– Early Alert program, building relationships with faculty, and other

campus partners, it is important to keep records on how the program and students are doing.

When asked about assessment, specifically for STARFISH– Early Alert, Doug, talked about how

the assessment piece was left to a colleague and he primarily focuses on the advising. However,

through his own assessment, Doug, sees how many students he sees per quarter, the common

themes, and track their individual improvement. The STARFISH – Early Alert program is

another way of advocating for students and supporting them through their challenging transition

into UMass Lowell. In addition, not holding the label of “at risk” students change the view of

them to their faculty and title that holds on to a student. It shows that UMass Lowell values the

student success by providing the proper resources to students in need.

One of the challenges of this program is getting faculty participation with both the
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STAFISH– Early Alert program and assessment. Doug expressed that some faculty do not see

the same purpose/outcome of the program or do not want additional work. It is argued that

assessment for faculty from a student affairs perspective, historically has had challenges because

of the differences in goals (i.e. academic outcomes vs. holistic development). Faculty feel

overburden and pressed to fulfill, “increasing number of tasks and responsibilities” and seeing

assessment as additional work (Kuh et. al, 2010). In combating difficult faculty, Doug finds

incentives for faculty to get on board with using STARFISH. In addition, with STARFISH being

run by a third party, sometimes gathering the needed data can be difficult because it may not be a

feature or option developed yet by the company. Students are met with an overall advisor to help

them get back on track whether it’s on grades (i.e. providing tutoring services), attendance (i.e.

advising conversation or looking at where they live and where their classes are), and other

factors that influence a student is falling behind.

The STARFISH – Early alert system at UMass Lowell program serves a great purpose, however,

a way that it can be improved is to start using more inclusive language, especially in the

STARFISH database system. They do a great job with their programs and the purpose of

supporting students toward student success, however, using terms such as “First-year” versus

Freshmen makes a difference towards a more inclusive environment. Especially, for the

STARFISH-first alert program they could change the wording categories (i.e. First-year, not just

male or female options, preferred names) so as they are meeting with students they know how to

address them and accepting of who they are coming into the institution. Leslie Wong, the

Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, whom I also interviewed at UMass Lowell, state

that the university is slowly moving toward inclusive practices and social justice focus across

campus. There are times when both Leslie and Doug talked about their efforts with faculty or
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other staff members about the importance using the proper pronouns that the students salient

identify with. As most initiatives, it is a campus-wide effort to get the institution and its students

on board with a program, policy, and/or initiatives. Furthermore, this also helps move assessment

practices toward inclusivity, in allowing for more identities to be recognized in third-party

assessment tools (not created by the university) and gathering the proper data for those students.

I believe that the STARFISH – EARLY program serves a great purpose in supporting the whole

student and that they need to be successful both academically and personally.

Since much of the STARFISH program is used at four-year institutions, I can also see the

STARFISH program working well at community colleges. Since the student population at a

community college are gradually non-traditional, commuter, first-gen, students of color, and

students from marginalized backgrounds the STARFISH program can also help them in being

successful at their time at the community college. Most of these students may not know what

kind of help they need or not understand they are failing out of a course. I can see offices like

academic services (i.e. academic advisors), college pipeline programs (i.e. TRiO), and

counseling centers are willing to support students who are falling behind and notified by the

STARFISH program.

Middlesex Community College (MCC)

The second institution I visited was Middlesex Community college in Lowell, MA.

Middlesex Community College (MCC) is a public two-year community college, recognized as

an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).

AANAPISI’s came in throughout the 1990s and 2000s to support the educational needs of Asian

American and Pacific Islander students, similar to a History Black College (HBCUs) (Schuh et.

al, 2011). MCC was founded in 1970 and has grown to become one of the largest community
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colleges in Massachusetts. Middlesex serves over 12,000 students and offers opportunities for

students to get involved in clubs/organizations, athletics, and community engagement. The

mission of Middlesex Community College is to, “provides access to affordable education for a

diverse community from all ethnic backgrounds and identities, preparing individuals for success

and lifelong learning. We promote academic excellence, provide workforce development

opportunities, and empower all learners to become productive and socially responsible members

of our local and global communities.” (middlesex.edu, 2017). MCC takes pride in the diverse

student body it serves and the three student affairs professionals that I interviewed all work to

advocate and provide support for their students.

One successful initiative includes the development of the new that AANAPISI center. This was

once a faculty lounge but has since been converted to a new space which supports the needs of

students who identify with the Asian-American, Native American, and Pacific Islander

community. Lowell has one the highest Cambodian population in the United States (City of

Lowell, 2016). The AANAPISI center focuses on programming, advising, retention, and training

through cultural awareness, competencies, and training for staff and faculty at MCC. In addition,

creating strong ties with community partners within the Lowell area and surrounding cities for

sponsorship and references for students is a priority. In addition, Cherry Lim, the program

coordinator talked about the best way of getting to know their students is by learning about their

community and seeing where they come from. Building connecting with the community and

community is a huge part of API identities. Understanding and learning where our students are

coming from help us understand more about them, their influences, and purposes of attending

TCC. Understanding more about what we can do to support them through their educational
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career. As a federally funded institution and program, assessment is an important component

because of their grant funding in keeping the AANAPISI center open.

Assessment with the AANAPISI center is crucial as their grant funding from the U.S.

Department of Education is dependent on their assessment data. With just a staff of two, a

Director and Program Coordinator, it is imperative that data is tracked on the involvement that

happens with the center, this includes. This information both provides data to support grant

funding but also identifies areas of improvement and successes. In addition, is this information

for their grant, but it is also for them to see what is doing well and needed areas of improvement

for the center. Assessment work at Minority-Serving institution’s (i.e. MCC) focuses primarily

on series the internal interests and needs (Montenegro & Jankowski, 2015). MCC is supportive

of the AANAPISI center and understanding the importance of a space and representation for

those students on their campus. The grant is also what provides funding for the pay of both

students and professional staff. Aside from the quantitative data, the interviewee talked about the

importance of student narratives being added to their assessment reports. Numbers can only

show you so much, but having written letters or quotes from students about how much the center

means to them is also important data. One example of gathering student comments is by using

surveys with open-ended questions. Surveys are an efficient way to gather a wide range of

information about the student experience (Kuh et. al, 2010). Leaving open-ended questions,

allow students to reflect on their experience and share through their own words. This type of data

is important for Cherry because she sees how surveys allow an outlet for a student’s voice when

they do not want to share publically.

One way the AANAPISI center can improve and support their assessment efforts is to

focus on cross-collaboration across departments at MCC. After interviewing with Cherry Lim,
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she talked about how the AANAPISI center sometimes feels siloed from the rest of the

institution and would love to build partnerships with other campus partners. This way they can

grow in programing, but as well as, bringing awareness of the API and NA communities on

campus. Program visibility is important and one way of accomplishing that is by building

connections through collaboration with campus partners. This will allow for other departments to

learn about the AANAPISI center, co-market events, resources, and most importantly learn more

about that API population at MCC. In addition, when you have campus understanding of your

organization or program they can support in the advocating for funding and support from

administrators and leaders.

Adaptability of the AANAPISI program is only specific to institutions that serve a certain

percentage of students who hold identity as API and low income. The purpose of the AANAPISI

grant is to aid Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions to

improve and expand their capacity to serve those students. (U.S. Department of Education,

2017). However, the model and space of the center can be implemented at other institutions who

are also recognized as minority-serving institutions. Creating a visible space for students of color

provides the opportunity for them to feel represented and acknowledged on their campus.

Cherry, talked about how she loves the fact the AANAPISI center is an open and large space

visible within the student center which is the hub of the institution. She wants to make sure that

students can see the space. Implementing this style of center at large institutions such as UW

Seattle would be great because of the larger population of the student body. In addition, for many

first-gen students of color attending a larger campus can create anxiety and be overwhelming.

Even having specific spaces for different ethnicities can be comforting for students, especially,
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during their stages of racial identity development. Learning more about themselves and being

challenged by those who are different/different views than them.

Highline College

The third institution I visited was Highline College (HC), a two-year public college in

Des Moines, Washington which offers both associate degrees, training, certificates and bachelor

degrees. Highline College is also recognized as an AANAPISI institution and is the most diverse

higher education institution in the state, with over 70% students of color (highline.edu, 2017).

Founded in 1961 and as the first community college in King County, the institution continues to

promote and support a learning and work environment which ensures social justice, mutual

respect, understanding, civility, and non-violence. Highline College is committed to the

elimination of discrimination based on biological sex, gender identity and expression, sexual

orientation, race, ethnic background, national origin, class, economic status, age, military and

veteran status, disability, language, culture, and religious beliefs. Approved by the Highline

Board of Trustees, 2016” (highline.edu, 2017).

Having interviewed three student affairs professionals, one of the most successful

programs is the TRiO program. TRiO Advisor and Retention Specialists, Eileen Jimenez, talks

about the importance of the TRiO program and how it has helped so many of the students at

Highline toward competition and transferring to a 4-year institution. The TRiO program acts as

the pipeline to the job force & continuing education, specifically for students from marginalized

backgrounds (i.e. low income, students of color, and/or first gen). One of Eileen’s roles is

helping students see their worth and potential by utilizing theories such as Yosso’s Cultural

Wealth model. Model minority and imposter syndrome are seen a lot with her students, which

affects them personally, academically and professionally. In addition, understanding Maslow's

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Hierarchy of Need, and what recourses she can help provide or direct students to (i.e. on-campus

food pantry).

The TRiO program is also federally funded by the U.S. Board of Education similar to

MCC and assessment data is also important to capture the work that the TRiO program does to

stay funded. When asked about the importance of assessment to keep their funding and support,

Eileen, talked about how assessment became a part of the office culture. As an office, they make

sure they are gathering data from programs/events, times when students visit the center and

tracking where their students go after graduation. This is important not only for their office but

for stakeholders that influence programs like TRiO, as mentioned above.

One of the key dimensions of TRiO is making the mission and priority of student success a

campus-wide effort, especially with institutional leadership. Furthermore, it cannot be only up to

student affairs professionals to provide out of the classroom support for students, it is also up to

the faculty and administrators. For example, the TRiO program could collaborate with the Office

of Multicultural Affairs and the Student Activities offices to help get students not only prepared

for their time after at Highline, but develop community, skills, and involvement on campus.

Having Astin’s (1985) student involvement theory, the more the students are involved on their

campus at any capacity their chances of retention and completion are higher (Patton et. al, 2016).

There are many pipeline programs like TRiO at community colleges across the country.

Programs like TRiO would benefit students at four-year institutions to help during their

transition to college and creating opportunities for internships, jobs, networking, and building a

community. Since TRiO servers specifically first-gen students, I can see this program also

working at Seattle University, as other programs are pushing for recognition and visibility of

first-gen faculty and staff for students to connect with. Currently at Seattle University, under the
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Student Success and Outreach office, there is a First-Gen College students page that talks about

the “I’m the First-Gen Campaign” and an SU publication that shares the stories of first-

generation college students (seattleu.edu, 2017). Though a great start and campaign, I believe a

program or office like TRiO would contribute to the success and retention of our first-gen

students of color. These programs and initiatives serve the same students and this can enhance

cross-campus marketing campus to students to utilize these resources. Assessing the holistic

development of the student through multicultural competencies, in addition, understanding

students tie to the SDA learning outcomes.

SDA Learning Outcomes

Assessing the individual institutions and programs, I connected them to three SDA

learning outcomes; understanding students and student issues (#2), adapting student services to

specific environments and cultures (#5), and utilizing assessment, evaluation, technology, and

research to improve practice (#7). SDA learning outcome #2 can be tied to the STARFISH

program and how retention specialists. An example of SDA learning outcome #5, both the

AANAPISI center and the TRiO program. As mentioned above both the AANAPISI center at

MCC and the TRiO program at HC cater to specific student demographics (low-income, students

of color and first-generation) and creating spaces for their holistic development and success.

They use assessment to understand their students, where are the gaps, and understanding the

importance of multicultural competencies in their roles. The example that the STARFISH

program at UMass Lowell has is supporting students by working with faculty and campus

partners to support “at risk” students. Students who have hidden disabilities, for example, will be

worked with to make sure they are provided the additional tools and resources to be successful

academically and socially.

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Learning outcome #2, understanding students and student issues are met through the

assessment tools from the data gathered by surveys. The student affairs practitioners at all three

institutions utilized assessment tools to gather data on their programs and their students. To see

where are the gaps, which student population is missing, and how can they grow from there. The

AANAPISI center at MCC utilizes assessment tools to see what areas are API students

struggling or affecting them at MCC, in addition, utilizing student surveys to get student

responses on what the AANAPISI center means to them. This data is used in understanding the

importance of the space and finding out how did the students find out about this center and what

brings them to want to utilize the space. TRiO is also another example of how this learning

outcome is met through assessment work. As Eileen and her colleagues track students in their

TRiO program at Highline this allows for them to use the data to advocate for resources, funding,

and additional support. Setting an example of learning outcome #2 on understanding students

and student issues with evidence that can be presented to the Board of Education and

administrators at Highline to advocate for their students.

The third learning outcome, utilizing assessment, evaluation, technology, and research to

improve practice overlaps with #2 and #5. At all three institutions, each of the professionals

talked about the importance of assessment and research is to their practice. TRiO, for example,

tracks who uses the space, their e-mails, students they specifically work with, and programs

they’ve hosted. At MCC, Cherry utilizes evaluation forms after programing and semester review

to see what is working and what needs improvement. In addition, how to attract more students to

their programing and center, if their attendance was low. Doug uses research of best practices

from other institutions and from scholarly articles in dealing with at-risk students to support them
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during advising. These were examples of how these student affairs practitioners and their

programs connected to the SDA learning outcomes.

Conclusion

Student success and inclusive excellence is the common goal for all student affairs

professionals even if we all have different definitions and ways of saying it. However, for the

importance of assessment and the student success, depending on who the data is meant for, the

balance between what we define as student success can be different from others. Dr. Jonathan

Brown, the Assistant Dean of Students, at Highline College said the key to assessment is making

sure that the data we are gathering is mission-aligned data whether it's to our department and

institution. When we bring back to the mission and purpose of the work we do, we will know

based on data where our gaps are and what is working well. We must make our ways of looking

at and conducting assessment intentionally to what questions we need to answer to grow to

support our students. Furthermore, the more we put meaning and intentionality into our

assessment, we are less likely to experience assessment fatigue. Continuously doing assessment

data to just do it, will bring burden to faculty and staff, in addition, burden our students and will

lose interests after being asked to take more and more surveys (Kuh et. al, 2016). In addition,

looking at who are the students we are serving and who are we are missing from this data. Each

other the three programs above have shown and continue to do amazing things to support

students toward student’s success and inclusive excellence. There is always room for growth and

with that, we can find ways to tailor these similar programs at other institutions.

Reflection

Having spent my summer and best practices course on the east coast has been a rewarding

experience. It was interesting in visiting different institutions on the east coast and my third visit
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being an institution in the west coast and seeing the difference. For UMass Lowell and

Middlesex how they measured student success through assessment was looking at not only

quantitative data but qualitative data. The student comments, their stories, and the power of the

student’s narrative and the impact it has on a program and the staff. I also saw the importance of

the student narrative especially, when sometimes students do not want to fill out surveys, and it

is when you have 1:1s or create conversation do you hear how the student feels about a specific

space, program, or about the institution. Even though student narratives can be a challenge to

capture, it is still important to include in our assessment report as student affairs practitioners. As

for Highline between all three professionals, as mentioned above, they defined student success as

students can gain about the importance of self-authorship/self-actualize. Similar to Doris and JB,

many of the students that they serve to come in need the tools, resources, and support from their

programs to get them through school and build their confidence to provide for themselves and/or

families.

This was exemplified by my internship experience at UMass Lowell; I was able to see the

benefits of assessment and the impact it has on the future of a program while also providing

support for the need for training and achieving student outcomes in orientation. Having visited

three different institution types and thinking about my previous and current institution

experiences, I see professional interests in community colleges, small institutions, and at

minority-serving institutions. I believe in the great work that small institutions work with,

especially with the small number of students and the greater impact. Community colleges was a

surprise for me because, before this program, I did not see myself working at a community

college. The reason is that there is always a negative connotation when folks hear community

college. However, visiting both Highline and Middlesex, reminded me of the important work that
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community colleges and SA Pros at cc's do. Understanding that there is a different level of need

of resources and support because of the type of student demographic that community colleges

serve. In addition, new professional interests in working at a minority-serving institution,

specifically, an AANAPISI. As an Asian-American woman, specifically a Filipina-American, I

wish I had known more about the AANAPISI center at Highline when I was a student. I did not

dive more into my racial identity development till later in college and it has influenced a lot of

where I am today as an API higher education and student affairs professional. Kuh et. al (2010)

argues that there is no “single blueprint” for student success and one thing that might work at

school A might not with school B, C, or D. This was important especially, from my experience

as a woman of color, Asian-American, first-generation and low-income which are the identities I

hold when I walk into a space on a college campus. What resources, opportunities, or policies are

in place for me to succeed like my white privileged classmates? My success as a student was not

based on being able to graduate in four-years, but being able to develop personally and

professionally throughout my time in undergrad in and out of the classroom.

From this experience, it has influenced my future professional practice and what I will

carry on not only for my last year of this program but beyond. Assessment again is an essential

part of our field and as a future professional will need to grow in in that skill set. Hearing about

how different student affairs pros take on assessment for their department has shown me

different best practices styles that I can carry this with me. For example, from Doris Martinez,

looking at learning outcomes as a way of assessment in asking what did the students take away

from the program or resources. Getting creative and being open to changing methods of

collecting assessment data. In moving forward, I know this year at my graduate assistantship I

will be asking to take more initiative in assessment data focusing on alumni engagement. It is
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also important as practitioners we rely heavily on research and assessment to influence our work,

so we to think critically when looking at different models or data. For example, looking at who

were the subjects (students) that they assessed and/or how the assessment was dispersed. In

addition, when implementing best practices from their studies, making sure they are adapting it

specifically to their student population and institution.

I’ve grown so much from this experience and I am greatly appreciative of each of the

student affairs professionals for taking time of their day to meet with me. I’ve learned so much

from each professional and institution, as well as, what each institution does that uniquely works

in supporting their students. Most importantly, what I also took away from this experience is that

no matter what position you are in your career, you are always learning. I made to meet different

professionals at various positions at each institution. From program coordinator to Dean of

Students, all talk about how they are always learning from their staff, institution, and of course

the students. Student demographics are always changing and shifting for years and year,

assessment has been a tool for many of them to see what is working for specific cohorts or

generations of incoming students. Even when transition between institutions during your career,

Cherry Lim, at MCC, talks about having to unlearn what she knew from her previous institution

because she was now working with a whole different student population.

Though this course was challenging due to balancing my NODA internship and not

having a car on the East Coast, I’ve also learned the importance of open communication and

prioritizing my time as a graduate student. That is something I must keep on track as I finish off

my last year in the SDA program. Though my focus and book choice was Kuh’s, I do want to

read the Manning text and learn more about my development as a future practitioner. As I

continue through my last year of the program, I will continue to work on myself as a leader,
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student, advisor, classmate, and colleague. I am transitioning into a new role as I’ve mentioned

above and this year I will not only learning a new functional area, but as well as, learning about a

new office culture, work environment, and being an advisor to 5 undergraduate students at

Seattle University. After this program and I transition into student affairs professional through

the job hunt, try to learn more about an institution, their mission, and their initiatives toward

student success and inclusive excellence. Seeing how my own values, goals, and definition of

student success aligns with theirs to create a great fit for myself and the department. This course

gave me the opportunity to expand my network and knowledge within the field to be a better

student affairs practitioners in the future.

STUDENT SUCCESS FOR INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE 20

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