A core mission of public universities is to provide students from all different backgrounds access to a high-quality, affordable education, help those students obtain a degree, and ultimately work to ensure graduates are prepared for a lifetime of learning. APLU supports public and land-grant universities in advancing student success through institution learning, shared practice, and member-driven tools.
Connecting Student Success
Student success work at APLU spans multiple initiatives, institutional partnerships, and areas of practice. Efforts related to academic affairs, student affairs, community engagement, and institutional research each contribute to how APLU supports institutions and students throughout their enrollment.
This site brings together work occurring across APLU offices and initiatives to support a more connected understanding of student success practice across the membership.
Organizing Our Work
At APLU we have adopted the Student Success Framework and use it to organize initiatives, resources, and institutional examples around shared areas of student success practice. Projects may align with multiple framework pillars or institutional levers, which reflect the interconnected nature of student success to work across public higher education.
The Student Success Framework
The APLU Student Success Framework serves as an organizing structure for understanding and communicating student success work across all members. The framework identifies five broad-outcomes oriented pillars commonly reflected across institutional strategies. The pillars are supported by institutional levers that help campuses sustain, scale, and coordinate their efforts over time.
Advancing Success
APLU supports student success through a range of active projects, member networks, convenings, partnerships and institutional initiatives occurring across the association. These efforts reflect the breadth of student success work occurring at public and land-grant universities and provide opportunities for institutions to share practices, explore emerging challenges, strengthen capacity and learn from one another.
Below are current initiatives and active areas of work across APLU’s student success many offices engaging in this area. Projects and initiatives are tagged with different keywords associated with the student success framework.
Student success begins with opportunity. Access is not simply admission to college, but the ability to engage fully in the educational experiences, resources, and support systems that help students learn, persist, and achieve their goals. APLU supports member institutions in advancing policies, practices, and partnerships that expand opportunity and reduce barriers throughout the student journey.
Engagement reflects the connections and experiences that help students thrive throughout their educational journey. APLU supports member institutions in creating learning environments that foster wellbeing, meaningful relationships, active participation, and a sense of connection to both their learning and their campus community.
Workforce development helps students connect their learning to future opportunities. APLU supports member institutions in providing the experiences, credentials, and career-connected learning opportunities that help students build transferable skills, navigate evolving career pathways, and achieve long-term success.
Students are more likely to achieve their goals when institutions provide clear pathways and coordinated support throughout their educational journey. APLU supports member institutions in advancing the policies, practices, and innovations that help students persist, make meaningful progress, and complete their educational objectives.
Students benefit when they can apply their learning beyond the classroom and see how their education contributes to the broader public good. APLU works with member institutions to expand opportunities for civic engagement, community-connected learning, and experiences that foster purpose, responsibility, and societal impact.
Additional Resources and Previous Initiatives
APLU’s student success work continues to evolve alongside member needs and national priorities. Resources, reports, toolkits, and materials from previous or completed initiatives remain available through our archive and legacy project pages. These materials continue to inform institutional practice and may provide useful context, examples, and lessons for institutions exploring student success strategies today.
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