Academic Advising and Success Coaches

What is Success Coaching?

Success coaching guides first and second year students toward reaching their potential and helps students take ownership of and responsibility for their educational process. Through regular one-on-one meetings, as well as events and programs, success coaches work with students to develop action plans that are goal-directed and action based. Success coaches are prepared to address a range of academic and personal issues impacting students using a holistic approach in line with our Jesuit mission of cura personalis, solidarity & kinship, discernment and magis.

Each Xavier student is assigned to a success coach through the Student Success Center (or appropriate affinity group). The Success Coach works as part of a team with the academic advisor, financial aid counselor and career coach.

How success coaches and academic advisors work together

Coaches have more frequent meetings with students, to focus on:

creating change over time and address a specific concern/challenge
building self-determination & confidence by developing and reaching small goals along the way;
identifying strategies and tools to help students learn about learning;
strategies related to struggling in a class, time management, financial concerns, social connections, extracurricular experiences and opportunities, motivation and reflection;
coordinating outreach related to progress reports and alerts;
transition from high school to college;
making referrals (to advisors, career development, tutoring, mental health, accommodations, financial aid)

Advisors focus on:

the curriculum and navigating a degree requirement;
class scheduling, recommendations, and schedule changes;
longer-term course planning and path to graduation;
questions related to majors, minors and concentrations;
vocational discernment (career, graduate school, experiential learning, match between gifts, skills, interests and the world's needs)
Making referrals (to success coaches, career development, tutoring, mental health, accommodations, financial aid)
may recommend experiential learning opportunities to complement coursework and help students plan for the future.

For more information on the relationship between Success Coaching and Academic Advising, please see here.