Ellucian Announces Winners of the Student Success Challenge

BY MATT WILLIAMS | 3 min read

Back in October of 2014, Ellucian - the leading global provider of higher education software and services - came together with HeroX to launch the Student Success Challenge. With a total prize purse of $50,000, the goal of this incentive-based competition was to inspire new and creative ways to ensure student success, specifically with regards to retention, completion and graduation.

The competition wrapped up on October 31st, 2014, and the winners were scheduled to be announced by December 8th. Unfortunately (at least for the judging panel) the submissions were considered to be of such quality that more time was needed to assess them all. And now, after many months of scrutiny and appraisal, Ellucian has finally announced who the top three winners of the Challenge are.

First place, and the prize of $15,000, went to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT Polytechnic) for their use of Banner, an integrated software package of scorecards, dashboards, reports, and analytic capabilities that helps track student performance. For their submissions, they proposed ways of improving this data management system for students on academic probation, and a means for Academic Chairs to connect students with the right resources.

Launched in October of 2014, Ellucian recently announced the top three winners of the ESSC. Credit: ellucian.com

As Mark Wall - the Academic Chair of Student Retention at SAIT - explained, SAIT's current student retention rate is approximately 83%. But at any given time, the institution also has close to 1,000 students who are on academic probation. Their proposal outlined how long-term changes could be made in how the institution handles students in this situation and offers them solutions.

"Every student who comes to SAIT is important. We want them all to succeed, and they can," he said. "If a student met the admission requirements, they have the cognitive ability to make it through the program. After that, there must be something else that's hindering their process. If we can help them navigate those obstacles, we've done a great thing."

The prize money from Ellucian will go into the IG Lewis Student Emergency Fund, a program that assists students experiencing financial crises.

Second place, and the prize of $7,000, went to North Iowa Area Community College for their use of the Colleague Retention Alert software. This tool - which combines information on a student's high school GPA, sports affiliations, current grades, attendance, and financial aid - is used by faculty and staff to identify at-risk students and alert them the moment that a student appears to be experiencing academic difficulties or related issues.

Ellucian's Banner software is one of several tools used by institutions of higher education to monitor student success. Credit: ellucian.com

As Tern Ewers, the NIACC Vice President for Student Services, said of their win: “North Iowa Area Community College is pleased to be acknowledged in Ellucian’s Student Success Challenge. We’ve seen a positive impact from our instructors and staff using Colleague Retention Alert to identify students at risk, so that intervention methods can be implemented. We will be seeking opportunities to share our initiatives and outcomes with peer institutions.”

Third place, and the prize of $3,000, went to Prairie View A&M University, which employs both Ellucian's Banner and Degree Works Transfer Equivalency software. This latter program is an administrative tool that allows students to maps out courses and process their transcripts, and provides a self-service tool for transfer students, so that they can find out what they need to meet course and degree requirements and graduate.

As Dr. Felecia McInnis Nave, PVAMUs Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, said of their announced third-place win: “I am thrilled that Prairie View A&M University was named as an award recipient of the Ellucian Student Success Challenge. It's an honor to receive this award when I know that we competed among many worthy colleges and universities for this recognition."

"We have a student population that is second to none and we, as a university, want them to walk away with the education and skills that they need to compete in an increasingly global marketplace. This award will help us reach students who may need additional funding to help them further pursue their scholastic dreams."

Ten additional institutions received honorable mentions and $2,500 in credits towards Ellucian Professional Services engagements. All in all, the Challenge was quite the success, and demonstrated what is possible when people with the right kinds of resources and dedication are brought together in a friendly spirit of competition with a common goal.

As Michael Betz - Ellucian’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer - said during a general sessions of Ellucian Live 2014: “It was evident in the quality of submissions received that student success is top-of-mind for so many of the colleges and universities that we serve. We’re proud to highlight a handful of the innovative approaches and are honored that institutions see a direct correlation between Ellucian’s solutions and delivering on their mission of student success.”

And be sure to check out this video of highlights from Ellucian Live 2014:

Top Image Credit: ellucian.com/Software

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