The Educational Success Platform (ESP) development team at Northern Michigan University won a Team Innovation Award. Their efforts were designed to pull together services from across campus into a platform that would allow multi-unit communication and support strategies for NMU students.
With many student success platforms and options available by third-party vendors, the thought of NMU developing its own carries inherent risk. Yet, in those systems, NMU is unable to leverage branding standards, customize workflows to match current systems or prioritize development based on its schedule.
The ESP development team designed and built a student success platform. It provides detailed information for advisors and faculty members, and it allows NMU to keep critical notes and send out important messaging to students. This tool is critical to retention and enrollment efforts moving forward.
While the system still needs refinements, the progress shows optimism that it will soon support holistic student success and provide NMU with the tools needed to help students achieve their academic goals.
Team members are: Jose Garcia, Academic & Career Advisement Center; Bill Richards, Finance & Planning; Neil Baumgartner, Dean of Students; Lu Zhang, Institutional Effectiveness; Chris Danik, Business Intelligence & Information Services; and Jim Gadzinski, Academic & Career Advisement Center.