The Texas Student Success Program Inventory: How Public Undergraduate Institutions Are Supporting Student Success across the State of Texas. Research Report

The Texas Student Success Program Inventory (SSPI), available at https://www.highered.texas.gov/sspi, is an online database of information related to student success programs at public colleges and universities, commissioned by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Consistent with nearly every other state, prior to the creation of the SSPI, there was no organized source of information about student success programming in Texas. By creating a user-friendly tool for publicly sharing information, the SSPI is intended to push forward collaboration and innovation in student success programming and help the state accomplish the goals laid out in its 2022-2030 strategic plan, Building a Talent Strong Texas. Public undergraduate-serving institutions were invited to nominate their most impactful and innovative student success programs for inclusion within the inventory. Following this nomination process, Ithaka S+R asked program staff to provide detailed information about each program, including eligibility criteria, funding sources, and program outcomes. The SSPI currently houses information from 244 programs across 74 institutions in Texas. The review of the student success program data resulted in the following observations: (1) More programs concentrate on retention and persistence, academic performance, and student belonging and well-being than on objectives such as credential attainment, affordability, and post-completion goals; (2) The majority of programs in the inventory target low-income students, first-generation students, and students of color; (3) Programming centered on mentorship and academic goal setting and planning is the most prevalent in the inventory; (4) Programs in the inventory often depend on one funder, typically a funder within the institution; and (5) Roughly two-thirds of respondents indicated that data on student outcomes had already been collected or were being collected pertaining to their program.