UTSA's innovative iPASS program serves as a model for other institutions

 UTSA’s innovative iPASS program promotes student success through advising services

UTSA’s innovative iPASS program promotes student success through advising services


(August 18, 2016) -- The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Office of Information Technology (OIT) is leading the way with innovative approaches to promote student success through advising programs and services.

The iPASS program is funded through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The goal of the program is to transform advising and student support services to increase student success and degree completion.

“Student success initiatives are a top priority for UTSA and initiatives like iPASS support campus wide efforts to help students graduate on time and in an efficient financial manner,” said Vanessa Hammler Kenon Ed.D., assistant vice provost of OIT and iPASS Principal Investigator.

UTSA’s iPASS program has been recognized as an innovative higher education program that aligns with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s strategic plan. The latter plan aims to see at least 60 percent of Texans, ages 25-34, earn a degree by the year 2030 and make sure students complete programs with marketable skills, among other goals.

The iPASS project focuses on the integration of several systems to form a complete advising platform. UTSA is currently utilizing Ellucian DegreeWorks, which helps students plan their top-tier coursework and monitor their degree progress. The program helps students identify courses completed and gives them a glimpse of how changing majors will affect their future academic journey.

This fall, UTSA will launch the Education Advisory Board's Student Success Collaborative Campus (SSC-Campus). UTSA advisors will be using SSC-Campus to provide more personalized and powerful advising. SSC-Campus merges information from several systems into one platform and allows advisors to identify and target at-risk students.

“These two powerful products will change the advising culture at UTSA and provide advisors with tools to engage in more insightful, individualized sessions,” said Kenon.

UTSA was one of 24 higher education institutions nationwide selected for the iPASS grant funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The $225,000 grant is a collaboration of the Provost Office, Academic Advising, Institutional Research, and the Office of Information Technology at UTSA.

-Kara Mireles

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Learn more about UTSA iPASS Program.

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