Defining Student Success

For decades, higher education has leaned on metrics like retention and graduation rates as a definition for success. At JMU, these measures traditionally shaped our institutional priorities, particularly during the early stages of the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). While retention provided a measurable signal of progress for stakeholders, it only ever told part of the story.

As we move through Spring 2026, we find ourselves at a "new beginning." The transition of the QEP’s initial focus, a presidential leadership change, and evolving Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) expectations have intersected with a rapidly changing world, one defined by the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), post-pandemic educational realities, and a heightened urgency for well-being and access.

These invite us to move beyond mere compliance and ask: What does student success truly mean at JMU right now?

Beyond the Metric: How We’ve Defined Success

Historically, Student Success Analytics has aligned with the formal QEP definition of student success: “increasing the numbers of students from different backgrounds... [that] enable them to be economically self-sufficient and civically responsible post college” (Kinzie and Kuh, 2017) While this frames student success a bit more holistically, the key indicators have largely focused on retention. While these indicators matter, a retention-centric view often overlooks the multidimensional, deeply personal, and inherently relational nature of the student experience. We risk treating students as data points to be tracked rather than partners to be supported, something the QEP working group identified early on as important in our student success work at JMU.

Expanding the Lens: Agency and Transformation

Current initiatives at JMU range from our well-being frameworks and AI literacy programs to expanded success coaching that are reframing the narrative. This shift is best captured by the students themselves. When asked what student success means, Junior Maddie McBryde says, “Being able to get what you need to get done and prioritizing your mental health. Success is balancing completing your tasks while also being content with your life outside of academics.” This is echoed across our broader university research where students consistently identified a sense of belonging and well-being as the true markers of progress during focus groups. Our emerging vision of student success at JMU emphasizes two vital dimensions:

• Self-Defined Goals: Students successfully navigating their own academic, personal, and professional aspirations.
• Meaningful Transformation: A journey that fosters a sense of belonging, identity development, and the agency to shape one's own learning.

This shift is supported by Student Success Analytics' own internal research and student feedback. When asked what success means, our students don't just talk about GPAs; they speak of freedom, growth, and readiness for life beyond the classroom. It is a definition built not just for students, but with them.

Our Proposed Definition

President Jim’s recent inaugural addressed laid out the Madison Promise to our students and our community, both internal and external. That promise, he shared, is founded on social belonging and freedom, citing James Madison’s quote that “A well-instructed people alone can permanently be a free people.”

Student success at JMU means students accomplish self-defined goals and experience meaningful transformation, supported by an institutional culture and infrastructure that values agency, belonging, and access.

This definition sets out a vision for how we design our environments. By honoring the qualitative narrative alongside the quantitative data, we ensure that every student’s story is not only counted but truly acknowledged and honored.

References

Kinzie, J. & Kuh, G. (2017). Reframing student success in college: Advancing know-what and know-how. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 49 (3), 19-27.

James Madison University. (2023). Quality Enhancement Plan: Early student success system implementation at James Madison University. https://www.jmu.edu/pair/sacscoc/qep/jmu_qep_report_2023.pdf