Unlocking Potential: Redefining Community College Advising Through Insights From a Successful Pilot Success Coaching Program

Community college student support has historically been a “walk‐in” service. Students identify their needs, connect with a college service, potentially get the assistance they asked for, and leave, often with no follow‐up. This approach is transactional and not proactive, not addressing all the needs students may have or capturing students who might not self‐identify. Waubonsee Community College (WCC) leveraged Title V Grant funding to pilot a success coaching program to provide targeted, in‐time support for students. The gains in student success and retention made in this coaching pilot informed a redesign of advising services to a case management model. This paper explores success coaching and advising structures, the process of an advising redesign to a case management model, and how different positions were leveraged for holistic student support. Data presented include comparisons of student enrollment patterns, gains in continuing and readmitted student enrollment, and the impact on focused populations.