Webinar Recap | Reaching Every Student: How Arizona Is Building a More Connected Student Support Ecosystem

Colleges invest heavily in support services, yet many students never use them. That means students who are struggling rarely get the help they need, and by the time grades slip, many are already on their way out.

EdSights and the NAACP East Valley Branch co-hosted a conversation with higher education leaders and state policymakers on closing this gap, focusing on how asking students directly what they need can help direct them to support right when they need it. The conversation focused on the power of giving students a seat at the table – for Arizona schools and at a national level. 

Panelists:

• Jevin Hodge, President, NAACP East Valley Branch
• Isaac Abbs, Chief Information Officer, Pima Community College
• Dr. Kimberly Britt, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, Maricopa Community Colleges
• Justin Wilmeth, Arizona State Representative
• Stacey Travers, Arizona State Representative

Solutions work better when students help write them

Panelists across higher education, state government, and the nonprofit community in Arizona landed on the same starting point: asking students what they actually want out of their college experience and what they need to get there.

“I think the important thing is to listen to the students and really ask them what they want out of that college experience. And it might be, I just want to make money, I want have a job that helps me make money... I want something that’s going to have some real-world relevance… I think we're already started listening to a lot of businesses in what they need. I see a lot more collaboration between educational institutions and businesses... I think what we need to do is go one step further and actually listen to the students, to what that looks like for them, in the best curriculum or the best environment possible”
- Stacey Travers, Arizona State Representative

Dr. Britt described what that looks like in practice. At Phoenix College, where she served as president, data showed students who finished English and math before 30 credits were twice as likely to graduate. Students then helped design the shirts handed out at orientation to promote enrolling in those courses.

“Someone showing up and someone engaging are two very different things. For students to be engaged and to really co-design and co-govern a success initiative or strategy, they have to feel first that you value [them], you’re not just checking [the box to say] okay, we listened to the students. And so you have to move to that next level of co-design, where the students are now helping to craft the schedule.”
- Dr. Kimberly Britt, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, Maricopa Community Colleges

Getting students to use support services starts with asking.

Pima Community College invests heavily in wraparound services, yet CIO Isaac Abbs said they were once among the least-used offerings on campus. Information on a website and flyers weren’t reaching students.

“It is one thing to throw some information on a website, it’s one thing to hand out flyers, it’s another thing to directly reach out and engage the students, and ask that question. How are you doing on a scale of 1 to 5?… How do you feel? A two? What do you need? Why the two?
- Isaac Abbs, Chief Information Officer, Pima Community College

With EdSights helping staff reach students earlier, a low score can prompt a call from Student Support Services. Pima has seen gains in persistence, retention, and student satisfaction. Abbs was clear that the data only matters when people act on it.

“As we talk about AI and all these other things, the human in the loop still matters, and what it allows is our Student Support Services to pick up the phone and call the individual. And I think, you know, there are times where you have to get to that human touch.”
- Isaac Abbs, Chief Information Officer, Pima Community College

Plans go stale fast, so continual listening is critical

Representatives Wilmeth and Hodge both pointed to how quickly technology and student needs are changing. Wilmeth’s advice for the next five years was brief.

“Very simply, listen and adapt. I think that we are in this precipice of this …new super digital frontier. We talked about digital earlier, we’re above that, right? And, over the next 5 years, everything that’s going on right now will be so markedly different. We’ll look back in 5 years and go, wow, I can’t believe we didn’t have X, Y, or Z.”
- Justin Wilmeth, Arizona State Representative

Hodge applied the same logic to institutional planning.

“Every strategic plan that every institution has had on their shelves for the last five years is nothing more than a paperweight right now, right? And the beautiful part of this is where we’re going in the evolution of AI and technology, is that whatever strategic plan or charge we develop right now for how we’re going to engage is going to be nothing more than a paperweight in 18 or 24 months. And so everything that we do is going to constantly be an iterative process because of the constant evolution of where we’re at now in society and technology and engagement and how we interact with one another.”
- Jevin Hodge, President, NAACP East Valley Branch

Students already know what is getting in their way, and the institutions making progress are the ones that ask early and often. EdSights gives colleges a continuous, two-way line to students and shows staff who needs support and why, so teams can act on what students say while there is still time to help. If your students aren’t raising their hand for support or utilizing the services you’ve built, see how your team can act on what students say.