APLU Names 2025 Excellence in Student Success Award Finalists

Washington, DC – As part of its ongoing efforts to support public research universities’ efforts to increase student success, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) today named University of California, Merced, University of Illinois Chicago, Northern Illinois University, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, The University of Texas at San Antonio as finalists for the inaugural 2025 Excellence in Student Success Award. The annual award recognizes institutions demonstrating a comprehensive, systemic commitment to advancing student success. Through sustainable and innovative initiatives, these institutions enhance degree completion, improve outcomes, and reduce barriers to educational attainment.

“Congratulations to this year’s Excellence in Student Success Award finalists,” said APLU President Waded Cruzado. “We’re delighted to highlight institutions that are on the leading edge of advancing student success and ensuring more students benefit from the transformational power of a college education.”

The Excellence in Student Success Award is open to all APLU members. The award winner will be announced at the APLU Annual Meeting, November 9-11 in Philadelphia, PA.

More details on the Excellence in Student Success Award finalists’ efforts are below.

University of California, Merced
The University of California, Merced—the newest UC campus and the first American research university of the 21st century—was founded to expand access and drive social mobility in California’s underserved Central Valley. Its mission is reflected in a student body where 61% receive Pell Grants and 62% are first-generation students. UC Merced advances this mission through innovative, data-driven initiatives that simplify access, strengthen belonging, and accelerate success. The Merced Automatic Admissions Program (MAAP), launched in 2022 with one district and now serving 31, guarantees admission via a five-minute web form, offers counselor support, and provides scholarships. MAAP students are 2.4 times more likely to enroll and are retained at rates 10 percentage points higher. The Merced Promise expands transfer pathways and invests $108 million in affordable housing with a new Transfer Student Resource Center, fueling a 20% year-over-year increase in transfer enrollment. The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) integrates faculty-mentored research into the undergraduate experience. With nine programs and a near-doubling of its budget, UROC supports 42% of seniors in graduating with research experience, strengthening retention and belonging. Together, these initiatives have raised four-year graduation rates by 6.8 points, fueled social mobility ranking and advanced scalable strategies for student success.

University of Illinois Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) takes a holistic, engaged approach to student success, guiding students along a pathway that begins with the transition to college and culminates in degree completion and job placement. The university has expanded first-year seminar participation to over 90%, implemented innovative student success programs, and invested in dedicated success units to support diverse student populations. These efforts support retention through transition coaching, belonging initiatives, academic skill-building, faculty mentoring, and engagement with research and career exploration. Additionally, UIC developed a predictive analytics metric to identify students at risk of not graduating within four years. Students who received individualized success plans were significantly more likely to return to on-track status. To help boost affordability, the UIC Aspire program covers 100% of tuition and fees for eligible first-year and transfer students from Illinois families earning $75,000 or less. Once fully scaled, approximately 58% of all undergraduates will have their costs fully covered. UIC’s four-year graduation rate has steadily increased, with a 45% improvement across ten class cohorts. 

Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) has taken a data-informed approach to outreach and cross-institutional collaboration across six core student success areas. NIU’s Action Team is a cross-functional group of leaders and practitioners that recognized the importance of continued registration to academic advancement and persistence and collaborated on an ongoing plan to improve student outcomes such as persistence. This approach drew upon the groups’ collective expertise, used existing university resources efficiently, and assessed impact based on measurable results. The university has invested resources in various areas of support such as: academic success through innovative programming and support services; care and support, providing streamlined and proactive outreach in areas such as next-semester registration; engagement and belonging, helping students navigate changes such as housing and encouraging them to access advising resources; financial literacy, educating students with individualized information about the costs of their education; and career development to help students progress and achieve their career goals. First-time full-time freshmen and overall undergraduate enrollment reached five- and 25-year respective highs this fall. 

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
To boost success across the student journey, The University of Tennessee (UT Knoxville) overhauled its first-year student programming and launched integrated strengths-based student success teams. The university’s redesigned first-year programming now includes online components introducing students to the university and its resources, an appointment with their academic advisor, an in-person on-campus experience, introductory academic and social events, a one-credit course designed to help students acclimate to life on campus, and a reorientation event in the spring semester. The university’s Vol Success Teams, launched in 2020, are designed to provide incoming students with a clear and dedicated group of support champions. Each team includes an academic advisor, an academic coach, a OneStop financial officer, and scholars’ faculty members. Students are introduced to their team throughout orientation and again in their pre-enrolled First-Year Seminar course. As students transition into their sophomore year, the academic coach transitions off the official team (though still available for meetings) and is replaced by a career coach, specializing in their targeted career industry. UT Knoxville has increased first-year retention to an all-time high of 92.4%. The university has also boosted its four- and six-year graduation rates. More than 90% of the Class of 2024 reported positive career outcomes after graduation.

The University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio) is advancing student success through a collaborative, data-driven, and thriving ecosystem that integrates learning innovation, financial access, and career readiness. Anchored by a hub and spoke model, UT San Antonio’s Ruby Team—a cross-divisional leadership group—aligns efforts across Student Success, Academic Innovation, Strategic Enrollment, Institutional Research, and more to deliver holistic, student-centered support. UT San Antonio’s real-time data dashboards and predictive analytics tools empower faculty and staff to identify barriers and implement targeted interventions. The Classroom to Career (C2C) Initiative has expanded experiential learning by 85%, with a 22% increase in degrees awarded to students who participated. The Bold Promise program has enabled over 5,000 students to attend UT San Antonio tuition-free, removing financial barriers for high-achieving, low-income students. UT San Antonio is also transforming high-impact courses and fostering effective teaching practices. Course redesigns have improved student belonging and reduced rates of students earning grades of D or F or withdrawing from courses — especially in STEM. Collectively, these efforts contributed to a 94% increase in UT San Antonio’s four-year graduation rate and a 71% increase in six-year graduation rates. Forty percent of UT San Antonio graduates now complete their undergraduate degree debt-free. Recognized for both research excellence and economic mobility, UT San Antonio is setting a national standard for public universities—where every student is empowered to thrive.