MDRC × State University of New York – Plattsburgh × Alfred State College × Monroe Community College × Finger Lakes Community College

Deepening academic and learning outcomes for online students

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The role of coaching to support student persistence and retention is well researched. But significantly less attention has been paid to the impact of advising and coaching on student learning and success in online settings.

In 2023, MDRC, along with SUNY Online and four campuses in the State University of New York system—SUNY Plattsburgh, Alfred State College, Monroe Community College, and Finger Lakes Community College—partnered with Axim Collaborative to examine the experiences of SUNY Online students and staff.

1.3M

The SUNY system serves nearly 1.3 million students in degree, certificate, and continuing education programs throughout New York State.

The SUNY Online Degrees at Scale program focused on increasing access and persistence in postsecondary education, particularly for adult learners, by supporting individual campus efforts for online learners. Student success coordinators and coaches worked with students in 25 programs across seven campuses, including community colleges.

The SUNY Online Student Success Coaching model offers an opportunity to explore how coaching relates to students’ learning and academic success in online programs and across different student populations (e.g., race/ethnicity, adult learners, gender, socioeconomic status). The evaluation will provide information on student participation in the various iterations of coaching support provided by each SUNY institution, identify the differences in student experiences and outcomes, and offer suggestions for program improvement.

The research will ask:

How does the SUNY Online coaching model support students’ educational success while enrolled in online degree programs?
What differences in outcomes and coaching experiences exist between students in different degree programs and approaches to success coaching, including modalities of engagement?
What role do coaches serve in supporting online students’ academic success (e.g., grade point average, course grade, class attendance, retention, and graduation) and what tools do they use?
How are predictive analytics used to improve targeting support to students?

SUNY will share project findings with all institutions in the system, including those that have not yet developed supports specific to online students. The work will inform system recommendations to individual campuses and provide guidance on best practices for future online students. SUNY will also share project findings outside of SUNY to help inform the broader community of practice engaged in online learning at scale and online learning student supports.