What truly defines student success, and when does that journey begin? Too often in higher education, support for students is reactive, only kicking in after they encounter obstacles. However, the seeds of achievement, persistence and belonging are sown long before the first class is attended or the first assignment is submitted. If colleges and universities are serious about building pathways to student success, they must shift away from thinking about it as something that starts when classes begin and instead invest in comprehensive, personalized initiatives that start well before enrollment and continue through those critical first steps on campus.
At Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education (DCE), we’ve found that by expanding our view of student success as a proactive, relationship-driven process, institutions can empower students to chart informed, confident and connected academic journeys from the very outset.
Fostering Holistic Decision Making
The foundation for student success is laid well before the first class. Before students even apply, institutions can help them make holistic decisions—ones that account not just for academic fit but for the full spectrum of influences that can make or break an educational experience. Are students truly aware of the financial realities they’ll face? Do they understand the demands of balancing classes, work and family obligations? Have they considered how they’ll manage stress or seek help if they struggle?
Forward-thinking institutions are already shifting gears, offering resources and reflective prompts that help students consider these critical factors. At DCE, we’ve created a team of enrollment advisors who are empowered to have pre-enrollment conversations which prompt students to map out their support systems, budget realistically and identify potential time management pitfalls. Their role is focused on helping students determine if DCE is the right fit for them, not on boosting enrollment numbers.
The payoff is tangible. Students who’ve visualized—and made plans to address—potential roadblocks tend to navigate the transition to higher education with greater confidence. During a recent conversation with their enrollment advisor about how many courses to take in their first term, one student said, “I suspected that I was making the right choice easing myself back into study at 55, but it’s reassuring to get confirmation from an expert.” Because this student thought through the various impacts going to school may have on their life, they were able to make the decision that is best for them. As a result, dropout rates decline and retention numbers rise, not because obstacles have disappeared but because students are better equipped to face them.
A Human Touch: Enrollment Advisors on the Front Lines
Much about higher education can seem opaque, even intimidating, to prospective students, especially those who are first generation or returning after time away from their studies. That’s where a dedicated team of empathetic advisors becomes invaluable.
Imagine a student who, rather than being left to interpret a deluge of impersonal messages on their own, is assigned to a specific advisor—a real person who reaches out directly, introduces themselves and offers to answer specific questions. We’ve done just that at DCE, with our team of enrollment advisors who connect with new and prospective students through a mix of emails and phone calls, breaking the ice and making the complex seem manageable. They demystify the various processes, clarify deadlines and respond promptly to queries—even the ones that feel too basic to ask.
For students, this approach transforms the enrollment experience from transactional to relational. The impact? Students make fewer costly procedural errors, feel seen and supported, and ultimately move through their academic journey with less anxiety.
Personalized Communication: Timely, Relevant, Human
Effective communication with students is at the very heart of what we do at DCE and moving beyond generic greetings or mass emails is essential to student success. Personalizing our outreach—beyond simply using a student’s first name—can make a significant difference. One powerful way to achieve this outcome is by utilizing dynamic content which enables institutions to deliver timely, relevant information tailored to each student’s unique stage in the process, all without requiring the staffing to craft individual messages.
In addition, we’ve worked at DCE to develop communication plans that send only information that is pertinent to where each student is on their journey. Organizing messages this way prevents students from feeling overwhelmed, allowing them to focus on what matters most without experiencing cognitive overload. This approach also ensures important details don’t fall through the cracks.
Personalized communication also involves being available for real-time interaction, such as via chat or text, allowing questions to be answered in the moment. Thoughtfully timed, tailored touchpoints like these reduce friction and alleviate anxiety, ensuring students receive exactly the information they need, when they need it.
Orientation: The First Step in Building a Community
Once students cross the threshold into enrollment, orientation offers an ideal touchpoint to cement a sense of belonging and connect new arrivals with both resources and each other. While almost every institution has some form of orientation, many miss the chance to use this gathering as a community-building opportunity.
Savvy schools design orientation to do more than run through policies and paperwork. Instead, they facilitate cohort-based activities, learning groups or affinity meetups, so students start forming relationships on day one. At DCE, we’ve created a combination of an asynchronous online orientation and a series of Welcome Week activities for our new Extension School students in the fall and spring. The peers they meet in the Welcome Week activities become a built-in support network—a group to turn to with questions, share victories and setbacks, and ease the pangs of homesickness or imposter syndrome.
Research consistently shows that students who feel they belong—who see familiar faces in the classroom and know whom to ask for help—are more engaged, less likely to withdraw and more inclined to persist through adversity. Early, intentional efforts to foster community can make all the difference.
Student success is not the result of a single program or magic bullet. It is built brick by brick, through proactive, personalized engagement, well before a student’s first day of class. Institutions that invest in holistic decision-making support, assign dedicated advisors, employ dynamic and strategic communication, and leverage orientation as a community-building tool do more than boost their metrics. They change lives.
The message is clear: If we want students to flourish, we owe them more than a welcome letter and a campus map. We must meet them where they are, with the right information, heartfelt support and real opportunities to connect. Only then can we claim to be architects of student success, rather than mere spectators of journeys that could have begun with so much more hope.
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