Expanding Student Success: Prioritizing Student Thriving and Academic Coaching Within Community Colleges

Abstract

Community college student success metrics have become increasingly synonymous with the completion rate and other key academic performance measures over the past quarter century. These measures, however, do not fully capture students’ subjective interpretations of success, including their individual goals and aspirations. This article aims to broaden the understanding of student success by incorporating students’ unique perspectives and exploring the potential of the “thriving” concept to allow for more flexibility with respect to self-determined aspirations and personal growth. The study engages directly with community college students to understand their personal definitions of success and examines the emerging practice of academic coaching as a means to foster thriving. The findings suggest that students hold the key to unlocking their unique version of success. Institutionally, they point to the value of integrating thriving as a third pillar of success, as well as developing institutional cultures, systems, and practices that prioritize student-centered learning and support students’ individual goals, growth, and well-being.