UW’s Commitment to Student Success

By Ed Seidel

I was a college dropout.

You may be surprised to read that from the president of the University of Wyoming, but it’s true. As detailed in this issue of UWyo Magazine, I struggled in my freshman and sophomore years and failed out before returning to campus and figuring out how to succeed as a college student. Provost and Executive Vice President Kevin Carman tells a similar story in this issue.

We are sharing these less-than-stellar accounts for a couple of reasons. First, we hope young people will learn what not to do by reading about our experiences. Second, our stories illustrate how reaching out for help from others — taking advantage of resources available to students — can make all the difference between failure and success.

This issue of the magazine is dedicated to helping students and families learn about UW’s resources for student success — and showing examples of students who have used those resources to flourish at our university.

For just about everyone, college is challenging, both academically and socially. Without discipline and a strong focus on success in the classroom, even the brightest students are at risk. Provost Carman and I had the intelligence to succeed as college students, but our initial efforts were offset primarily by succumbing to distractions.

Eventually, both of us returned to school with more discipline and focus, and we found success in our chosen fields of study. But in both of our cases, the recipe for success included a strong dose of encouragement and assistance from others. And that’s what we hope our students and prospective students will glean from our stories — an understanding that reaching out for help from others is not a sign of weakness, but rather a key ingredient for success.

Here at UW, the commitment of our faculty and staff to help students succeed is the strongest I have seen among all of the many universities where I have worked and studied. There are opportunities for individual attention from the very start — from our Saddle Up student onboarding program; to the financial aid office; to academic advisers, tutors and faculty members; to our Cowboy Coach peer mentors; to student success centers in the colleges and the campuswide Student Success and Graduation Hub; and, finally, to career advising and job placement. We encourage all students to take advantage of these and the many other resources about which you’ll read in this magazine.

Additionally, we encourage our students to get involved outside of the classroom. It may seem counterintuitive to suggest that participation in extracurricular activities will result in scholarly success, but that’s exactly what research shows. It’s because such participation builds connections with others, and those connections help students navigate the inevitable tough times.

In the university’s strategic plan, enhancing student success is at the top of the priority list. It’s at the center of just about everything we do. It’s also a key component of our fundraising efforts, as we work to enhance the educational experience through improved programs and resources.

Generations of graduates of UW and other universities — even those who didn’t have the particularly rough starts that Provost Carman and I had — can attest to the value that networking, reaching out and finding your community have in the college experience. At UW, we are committed more than ever to helping our students in that journey.

 

Ed Seidel is the 28th president of the University of Wyoming.