A new Association of Public and Land-grant Universities report identified six strategies that state and public campuses are using to improve graduation outcomes through coordinated, data-driven student success systems. The report, “A Decade of Success,” examined 154 innovations across 90 institutions in 41 states from 2015 to 2024. Among the strategies are expanding data-informed advising, clarifying academic pathways, removing financial barriers near graduation, and integrating academic and personal support services into a unified framework rather than siloed departments. The report also highlights targeted “completion grants” as a method for closing small end-of-degree financial gaps. For institutional leaders, the messaging is concrete: graduation is being treated as a core institutional responsibility with cross-functional coordination that ties advising, aid, and mental health support into shared systems.
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