Reimagining Student Success: Equity-Oriented Responses to Traditional Notions of Success

This study examined how 20 faculty and staff members used a one-time funding initiative to (re)conceptualize and design student success interventions. We found that they selectively adopted traditional notions of student success but also elevated themes of social justice, civic engagement, and overall student well-being as valuable dimensions of student success. This more expansive conception of student success informed how project leads designed interventions, including peer-tutoring supports and programs to support a sense of belonging. We argue that participatory approaches to student success framing and programming might advance more relevant and responsive conceptions of student success and facilitate organizational processes for achieving these more expansive aims.