SEP Institute: Engaging Faculty to Foster Belonging and Student Success
Evidence shows that supporting student belonging and self-efficacy in the classroom can dramatically increase student success, but institutions often lack effective, sustainable, and scalable methods to support faculty to create these environments. The Student Experience Project (SEP) found that engaging faculty in communities of practice to use evidence-based classroom practices increased student belonging and boosted students’ likelihood of earning A’s and B’s in their courses.
Since 2023, the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) have worked with nearly 30 public universities to scale the use of evidence-based practices through the SEP Institute. The Institute leverages tools and frameworks developed and tested with nearly 300 faculty in the SEP to support campus teams in designing and implementing a faculty community of practice focused on equitable student experience. During the Institute, teams will learn about the social-psychology research on belonging and student success from national scholars, receive coaching from campus leaders who have successfully launched faculty communities of practice, and get hands-on experience with SEP tools and resources that can support faculty in implementing these practices and gathering student feedback on classroom experience.
About the SEP Institute
- Virtual Kick-off: Early January (date TBD)
- In-Person Intensive: February 12 – 13, Austin, TX
- Monthly Virtual Meetings: March – December, 2025
Each SEP Institute cohort is limited to 12 -18 participating institutions. Each cohort is selected to maximize learning among campuses and based on potential reach and impact. Priority is given to USU member institutions who have not previously participated in the SEP. USU and APLU members are eligible to apply.
- Your team: Each campus team should have the resources and capacity to launch a pilot community of practice during the Fall 2025. Campus teams may include four to six individuals; team members might include student success administrators, faculty, teaching and learning experts, or others that are integral to the university’s faculty development and student success work. At least one member of the team must be a faculty member who is actively teaching courses, and who is willing to take a leading role in design and facilitation of the community of practice
- Application process: Interested institutions must complete a brief application.
- Coaching and support from leading scholars, practitioners and student success leaders who have previously implemented SEP communities of practice.
- Implementation resources such as sample community of practice curricula, faculty outreach templates, and evaluation protocols.
- Exclusive training materials for faculty to facilitate use of classroom practices
- Subsidized access and premium support for the Ascend platform to measure student belonging, self-efficacy, and other aspects of student experience
- Year-long hands-on support from USU/APLU staff and SEP partnering organizations to support implementation.
Participating institutions commit to launching a pilot faculty community of practice in Fall 2025. Campuses will send a team of 4-6 individuals to the in-person institute and participate in the cohort over the course of the year.
USU/APLU is able to offer the SEP Institute at a subsidized rate due to generous support from the Raikes Foundation.
Registration for the SEP Institute is $650 per person. The registration fee covers program administration, meals during the in-person meeting, and all materials. Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation during the in-person meeting.
USU will cover the registration fee for its members.
2024 Cohort
- Boise State University
- Cleveland State University
- Morgan State University
- Temple University
- University of California, Los Angeles
- The University of Texas at Arlington
- The University of Texas at Austin
- The University of Texas at Dallas
- The University of Texas at El Paso
- The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
- University of Washington Tacoma
- University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
- Wayne State University
- Wichita State University
2023 Cohort
- California State University, Northridge
- California State University, Fresno
- Florida International University
- Kent State University
- Rutgers University – Newark
- State University of New York at Albany
- University of California, Riverside
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- University of Memphis
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- University of New Orleans
- University of North Texas
- University of South Carolina
- University of Texas at San Antonio
