The SEP Pilot
Six research institutions formed the SEP pilot cohort from 2019 – 2022, supported by an array of researchers and national education organizations. The shared goal of this network was to test, implement, and scale innovative practices that transform the college student experience into one where every student can access the support and resources they need to succeed.
Institutional Partners
- Colorado State University
- Portland State University
- University of Colorado Denver
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- The University of New Mexico
- The University of Toledo
Learning Partners
- Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)
- Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU)
- College Transition Collaborative
- EducationCounsel
- Project for Education Research that Scales (PERTS)
- Raikes Foundation
- Shift
Classroom-Based Efforts
Research on learning mindsets tells us that instructors create and communicate the mindset culture of their courses, and therefore play an important role in fostering a sense of belonging for students in their classes. At each SEP institution, faculty, staff, and administrators worked together to establish communities of practice to support faculty in creating more welcoming learning environments. Within these communities of practice, instructors focused on:
- Developing syllabi and course policies to ensure that students’ earliest experiences in their course promote a sense of belonging and self-efficacy that will support equity, belonging, and growth throughout the term.
- Executing psychologically-attuned classroom practices to support student experience, including: setting growth mindset and social belonging foundations in the first week of class, providing feedback to foster academic engagement and growth, and cultivating a supportive classroom environment
- Gathering formative feedback from students to make improvements to the course experience through multiple cycles of inquiry, reflection, and action over the course of the semester.
Systemic Change Efforts
SEP institutions also made improvements to the learning environment beyond the classroom by modifying early alerts messages and processes, ensuring that physical campus spaces support the learning of all students, and pursuing new institutional policies and practices to promote student sense of belonging
SEP Pilot Results
Over three semesters in 2020 – 2021, the six cohort institutions in the SEP engaged nearly 300 faculty in communities of practice. Participants used evidence-based practices to improve student experience and regularly gathered feedback from students to inform improvement.
Student Experience Improved
Student experiences improved 10.5% across the cohort; some groups of students who often face greater barriers in their pursuit of higher education (e.g. first generation students, students experiencing financial stress) reported even greater improvements in experience.
Experience is associated with outcomes
As experiences improve, the likelihood of earning an A or B increases, likelihood of earning a D, F, or withdrawing decreases.
Student grades improved
In SEP courses, students’ grades improved when compared with the same course taught by the same instructor in previous terms.
Positive experiences for faculty
Faculty reported that participating in communities of practice improved their teaching and helped them feel more connected to their colleagues.
To learn more about the SEP pilot, click the button below to download our report.
