myCSUSM
Success Coaching Model
Success coaching is focused on guiding students as they move closer to achieving their academic dreams; while maintaining a healthy school and life balance. It connects recruitment, engagement, active learning, and student success.
Our team of Success Coaches are professionally trained through the InsideTrack coaching model. InsideTrack Coaching is a highly effective solution that provides holistic, tailored support to individuals on their way to achieving their educational and career goals. The program has developed eight core focus areas known as the focus wheel to holistically explore topics that impact a student’s retention. This equity-centered coaching model is designed to support all learners, empowering individuals to overcome barriers, harness the power of their own strengths and progress toward their full potential.
| Area of Focus | Focus Description |
|---|---|
| Academics | Academics are a key topic of discussion between learners and their coach. When connecting on academics, coaches work with students to create or strengthen study habits, self-advocate when talking with professors, access available campus resources, and develop plans for tackling large projects, to name a few. To make a more thorough academic assessment of their student, your Coach will conduct a needs assessment during your first meeting. |
| School Community | Starting at a new school is essentially starting a new community. Students need to feel a sense of belonging in order to fully integrate into their school community. This extends from administrators and professors to resident advisors in the dorm and staff leading clubs and organizations. |
| Commitment to Completion | No one begins their higher ed journey with a goal of dropping out. That’s why it’s so important to take the time to discover the reasons why you came to college in the first place. Knowing why you enrolled in college — to expand your opportunities, to start your career, to better your life, to make a difference, or any number of other reasons — gives your coach a snapshot of your goals and aspirations. This can be used to help you persist through challenges you may face in your first year. |
| Career | When a student can make a strong connection between the work they’re doing in college and their career goals for after they complete their degree, it can be easier for them to remain motivated. Yet sometimes, that vision of the future isn’t always clear. Sometimes a student will know the field they want to pursue, but they don’t know how to learn more about specific careers in that field. This is where your Success Coach can help you with career and major exploration |
| Managing Commitments | Balancing commitments helps to keep students from getting overwhelmed and stay on track with their academic progress Throughout the semester, the success coach and student will meet to review the action plan and time commitments. The coach and student will work together to achieve a balance in their schedule and make adjustments as needed to help the student remain on track to achieve success. |
| Finances | Finances can be a huge barrier to success in school. For many students, the topic of finances goes well beyond tuition. Your success coach can assist you if you need help gaining access to financial resources around campus. Our goal is to help students be fully aware of how scholarships, grants and financial aid work, along with the day-to-day facets of paying for housing, food, transportation and other expenses. |
| Health & Support | Health is a broad topic that covers both physical and mental issues — everything from getting adequate sleep and eating right to dealing with anxiety and stress management. It’s difficult to focus and give your best to your studies if you’re dealing with a persistent toothache, for example, or are struggling with your mental health. Your success coach is here to help you and can assist you with getting connected to health resources on campus. |
| Effectiveness | Simply put, the focus area of effectiveness covers the ability to complete tasks and meet deadlines — a must-have skill in order to successfully navigate college. There are financial aid forms to fill out, assignments to turn in, exams to study for and so on. That’s the rhythm and flow of higher education. Many students deal with the temptation to procrastinate, choosing to hang out with friends or watch TV when they need to study. Your success coach will help you to identify these habits and form a cohesive game plan on how you can tackle procrastination and time management. |
The success coaching model assists students with learning how to become independent and empowered. Further supporting the idea that, with guidance, they can learn to become directly responsible for their own success; thereby providing them with critical competencies and skills need to become successful.