As a first-generation immigrant born in Mexico City, academic coaching is one of the keys to success for Juan Arias, a 24-year-old junior at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, Calif. The community college transfer student was provided with his own personal coach during orientation who provided weekly visits or calls to guide Arias through his first semester.
“It’s really done a lot for me,” said Arias, who is majoring in sociology and plans to go to law school. “I don’t have anyone in my family who has obtained higher education in the U.S., let alone anywhere. My coach, Glen, really was able to guide me. He helped me navigate the educational system and coached me in how to do interviews, manage my time and use the school’s resources to my advantage, especially the writing center and other resources that I wouldn’t otherwise know about.”
While Arias boasts a 3.7 GPA, his biggest concern was finding financial resources to continue his education. “My coach, Glen, played a role in telling me not to give up and to have a plan A, B and C. He advocated for me and made sure that the school knew my situation. Just recently I was able to come up with the money to pay for school and register for classes.”
Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU), a Hispanic-serving institution, is one of 50 colleges and institutions retained by InsideTrack, whose mission is to improve student engagement, persistence and success. InsideTrack has coached nearly 400,000 students at campuses across the country including Penn State University, University of Dayton, Florida State University, and Columbia University School of Continuing Education.
NDNU recently signed with InsideTrack to boost its retention and graduation rates for minority students. The partnership is funded by a Title V Department of Education grant with the goal of enhanced support services to ensure graduation with a particular emphasis on Hispanics and low-income students.
“Although NDNU has had significant success in helping Hispanic and low-income students to succeed, we expect this new partnership with InsideTrack to help us expand the reach and quality of the services we offer to Hispanic and low-income students,” said Hernan Bucheli, NDNU vice president for enrollment management in a released statement.
NDNU currently enrolls nearly 2,000 students—approximately 1,147 undergraduates and 820 graduate and credential students.
