How 6 higher ed programs are improving student outcomes with evidence-based coaching

Building sustainable student outcomes across the entire educational journey

Every stage of a student's educational journey matters — from their first inquiry to the day they finish their degree or credential — and they all play a role in meeting completion goals. Institutions that are effectively improving student outcomes at each step along the way share a common approach: investing in holistic, human-centered and evidence-based support systems.

In our latest InsideTrack Impact Report, we spotlight institutions doing just that — and seeing their investments pay off. Here's a look at six higher ed programs that show the power of evidence-based coaching at every milestone.

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6 higher ed programs driving real student success

CA Reconnect and NC Reconnect brought thousands of stopped-out learners back to college — and generated $14M in revenue

Over 43 million adults across the country have some college credit but no credential, making stopped-out learners an important population in need of intentional pathways back to graduation. CA Reconnect and NC Reconnect — two major InsideTrack re-enrollment initiatives — show what happens when statewide networks provide proactive outreach and 1:1 coaching to stopped-out students. Together, these initiatives span 50 colleges and universities in California and North Carolina. 

Here are the combined results from 2021 to 2025:

• 77,944 learners served 
• 5,106 learners re-enrolled
• 2,624 graduates and counting
• $14M in total institutional revenue generated

Through CA Reconnect, a three-year pilot program that brought individualized coaching to stopped-out students at 21 colleges and universities across California, learners who connected with a coach were four times more likely to re-enroll. Re-enrollment rates reached 8.1%, compared to a 2.9% state average, and 38% of coached learners persisted after re-enrolling, compared with 22% of their non-coached peers.

NC Reconnect, led and funded by the John M. Belk Endowment, engages stopped-out adults across 29 North Carolina community colleges. An inspiring 48% of re-enrolled learners have earned a credential or degree since 2021, and re-enrolled students in continuing education and career and technical education programs saw a median annual earnings increase of $17,000 to $20,000.

"At a minimum, this effort will show adults that their college cares about them. At a maximum, they re-enroll, complete their program, gain access to new career opportunities that allow them to enter the middle class and totally change their lives generationally. The momentum does build, one student and one college at a time."

— Mike Krause, Vice President, John M. Belk Endowment

Dive into the full CA Reconnect report and NC Reconnect partner profile to see how Re-enrollment Coaching fuels true learner success.

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Penn State World Campus increased enrollment funnel conversion from initial inquiry to day one

Penn State World Campus has grown from 8,500 learners in 2010 to more than 19,000 today. To keep that growth personal, they partnered with InsideTrack 16 years ago to bring human-powered coaching into the enrollment process. 

Over the past five years specifically, InsideTrack coaches have supported the undergraduate admissions pipeline by guiding prospective students through the entire admissions process. That high-touch, personalized approach increased student engagement and gave the admissions team room to deliver an exceptional onboarding experience that was foundational for impressive outcomes. Prospective learners who worked with a coach were nearly 7x more likely to apply, 11x more likely to be admitted and 10x more likely to enroll.  

Here's what else Enrollment Coaching delivered from 2021 to 2026:

• 195K+ learners reached through outreach
• 70K learners connected with a coach — a 35.8% contact rate
• 61.6% yield

"For us, enrollment isn't just a numbers game — it's about helping our students find the right fit and setting clear expectations about the rigor of a degree. InsideTrack aligns completely with our culture; their coaches move past transactional interactions to provide the human-centered support that helps learners enroll with confidence." 

— William Fritz, Senior Director of Admissions and Military Enrollment Operations, Penn State World Campus

Read the full Penn State World Campus case study to see how Enrollment Coaching supports all learners along the educational journey.

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39 HBCUs strengthened re-enrollment and persistence rates

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are known for high academic standards and a strong sense of belonging, but limited resources can strain staff, making individualized support harder to deliver. That's why Ed Advancement, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and UNCF joined forces with InsideTrack to bring coaching to 39 HBCUs nationwide. 

From Fall 2021 to Spring 2026, coaches supported students from enrollment through completion. Dedicated staff training also built capacity on campus so staff could deliver the same high quality coaching to all students. Together, those efforts helped learners keep positive momentum toward degree achievement.

Here's what five years of Enrollment, Retention and Re-enrollment Coaching delivered:

• 43,819 total learners reached across partner HBCUs
• 90.4% fall-to-spring retention for students who met with a coach, compared with 82.4% for non-coached students
• 6.9% re-enrollment rate for stopped-out students, 2.5x the national average
• $26.9M in total institutional revenue gains
• 2,322 coached students who completed their degrees so far, and counting

“I’ve worked closely with first-year students and have seen how coaching can really help them stay on track. Many students started the program feeling unsure about college, but over time, took control of their progress and began using helpful campus resources that they never knew existed. I’m proud to be part of a program that helps students grow, stay focused, and succeed.”

— Dr. Denise Vaughn, Director of Academic Labs and First and Second Year Experience, Alabama State University

Read the full report — “Empowering Student Momentum at HBCUs” — to get all the details.

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University of Maryland Global Campus raised coaching-staff retention by 30 percentage points

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To adequately serve their nearly 45,000 stateside undergraduate and graduate online students, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) needed a sustainable way to deliver personalized care at scale. That’s why they partnered with InsideTrack to build in-house coaching capacity, strengthen staff development and reduce turnover. 

InsideTrack trained 189 UMGC coaching staff through our Coaching Development and Training (CD&T) program. Then, their team used a train-the-trainer approach, which allowed those staff to lead future development and training. Here's what we accomplished together:

• +30 percentage points in coaching-staff retention
• 94.2% of students with a current term plan
• 84% student course success rate — a 4 percentage point increase
• +2 percentage points in one-year student retention

The boost in staff retention specifically was a huge win for UMGC. As a result of this holistic training, staff felt better prepared and more supported when managing their caseloads, which in turn decreased turnover. 

"Our coaches feel like they're providing more impactful and personalized support to learners when they use InsideTrack's coaching model. They can see direct connections between their coaching work and the changes in persistence and retention improvements. And because they feel better about the work they do and the way that they do it, they're more likely to stay with us."

— Jennifer Weist, Director of Student Success Operations and Training, UMGC

See how InsideTrack helped UMGC expand and strengthen its coaching program.

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Western Governors University is scaling personalized support for 195,000 learners

Western Governors University (WGU) is the largest nonprofit university in the nation, known for quality online education with a deep commitment to student support. Nearly 2,000 in-house Program Mentors serve as guides and professional advocates for over 195,000 learners. To create a sustainable approach for providing the same level of care and support for all WGU students, they teamed up with InsideTrack on a multi-phase CD&T program. 

Work began in 2025 with a comprehensive certification program, as WGU’s Program Mentors and institutional leaders were trained in InsideTrack Coaching. The university then certified select staff to train and develop others, so the capability now lives inside WGU and can keep growing internally. Here's what that first-year partnership delivered:

• 8,253 hours of staff training and development
• 121 Program Mentors earned InsideTrack Coaching Certification
• 35 leaders earned InsideTrack Coaching-Powered Leadership Certification
• 21 staff members completed InsideTrack Trainer or Developer Certification, so they can lead future training for the nearly 2,000 remaining Program Mentors in house

"Scale and personalization are not competing priorities. The key is giving mentors a shared, evidence-based coaching approach that allows every student to experience meaningful support, no matter where they are in their journey. Our work with InsideTrack has helped us strengthen that foundation while continuing to invest in the people who make WGU's mentoring model so distinctive."

— Malika Clinkscales, Vice President of University Mentor Strategy & Operations, Western Governors University

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Lasting student outcomes, fueled by evidence-based coaching

Each of these partnerships points to the same lesson: Sustainable student outcomes come from a proactive, proven approach that supports both learners and campus staff at every educational milestone. 

Whether it's helping a prospective student enroll with confidence, bringing a stopped-out adult back to college or giving staff a shared coaching model, InsideTrack's evidence-based coaching programs meet people where they are and help institutions build lasting capacity.

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