Mindset

In Summer 2025, we offered a summer calculus prep program for students identified by our undergraduate admission team as not yet meeting the criteria for placement in MATH 1551 (Calculus 1). We targeted students already engaged in summer bridge offerings: (1) Tech Promise Momentum Mentoring, a remote mentoring program offered in partnership with the Office of Scholar Programs, and (2) Challenge, a six-week immersive summer program offered through the Office of Student Achievement. 

Students enrolled in MATH 1113 (precalculus) have been identified as a high-priority population as the course is a gateway to successfully completing a STEM degree, especially if a student’s high school math program is under resourced. In addition, MATH 1113 enrollment is steadily rising (161.4% increase from Fall 2018 to Fall 2022).

The Mindset Student Workshops series, known internally as the “Boost” Mindset project, is entering its fourth year as an institution-wide initiative designed to enhance student motivation, metacognition, and academic self-efficacy. Originating from a Chancellor’s Learning Scholar Faculty Learning Community on Mindset in 2018 and supported by the USG STEM Grant Initiative, this work has evolved from a pilot project into a sustained element of SGSC’s student success strategy.

UGA students are very well prepared. Ninety-one percent of the admitted Class of 2029 posted an average core high school GPA of 4.0 or higher, with 98% having completed at least one advanced course (such as AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment). Often such high-achieving students have never experienced any kind of failure. But the demanding pace of a research institution like UGA often poses significant and unexpected challenges for our students.

The Peer Learning Assistants (PLAs) initiative is a cornerstone of UGA’s strategy to strengthen active learning across high-impact classrooms. Through this program, trained undergraduate students are embedded in large-enrollment, introductory and gateway courses, particularly those with historically high DFW rates, to support peer-to-peer instruction and engagement.
PLAs are recruited and trained by the Office for Student Success and Achievement (OSSA), where they develop core competencies in active 

VSU’s Quality Enhancement Plan (Experiential Learning); 4 year completion Spring 2025

The LIGHT Your Path initiative aims to integrate student support services at MGA to provide a guided structured pathway for incoming freshmen towards successful academic and career outcomes.  

This initiative is built around MGA’s existing student support resources to include advising, student success coaching, academic engagement, career and leadership opportunities, and freshman year experience. This initiative addresses Strategy I under MGA’s 2023-28 Strategic Plan to ‘Champion Student Success.”

The Continuing Student Communication Strategy priority is designed to establish a streamlined, cohesive approach to communicating with our continuing student population. We have already made progress with two key units—Registration and Financial Aid—by partnering with a third-party vendor to create personalized communication journeys for these processes.

In freshman orientation classes each 1st-year student will be required to complete an assignment designed to encourage the use of stepping blocks data.  Based on an academic major of interest, students will research common jobs associated with the major as well as the job market and the salaries associated with these positions.

All incoming first-year students were connected post-NSO with online information and communication from their top 5 engagement choices via the Panther Involvement Network - PIN. During their in-person NSO event, each student attended a 'Panther Connect' session to dive deeper in their top desired involvement opportunity, where they were able to connect and share contact information with students that possess similar interests as them.