Caring Campus Initiative
Beginning in Fall 2022, Temple College was one of five Texas community colleges selected to begin work with the Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC) to incorporate ‘Caring Campus’ into its student success effort.
Supported by IEBC coaching and guidance, teams at Temple College began engaging in work to develop specific behavioral commitments, helping faculty and staff to better connect with, and support, students to help them reach their educational goals.
Funded through a $597,754 grant from the Greater Texas Foundation, a private foundation which envisions a state where all students have equal opportunity to access and succeed in postsecondary education, the objective of IEBCs Caring Campus program is to increase student retention and success in community colleges by creating and cultivating Caring Campus environments through the intentional inclusion of all staff in student success efforts.
Almost 90 colleges are currently implementing Caring Campus across the country. They have seen improvements in course retention and success, increased term to term persistence and improved completion and transfer. Achievement gaps are being closed rapidly among demographic groups. Job satisfaction and relationships between staff, faculty and leadership also improve.
Research has documented students leaving college because they do not feel connected to the institution. Caring Campus recognizes and leverages the value of connectedness for increasing the likelihood that students will continue towards, and succeed in attaining their educational goals.
Staff interaction with students can set the stage for successful enrollment, persistence, and completion. It is particularly important for students from historically under-served populations, students less familiar with college, non-majority students, students from low- income households, and first-generation students to feel welcome and that they belong in college.