Your October EAB Briefing Monthly Round-Up: Smart tools for stronger student outcomes
Greetings!
Student success requires more than good intentions. It takes data, design, and tools that actually get used. This month, we’re diving into the tools and strategies that schools are using to better identify barriers, personalize support, and drive measurable results. Whether it’s prepping your institution for potential hurdles or trying to boost faculty engagement, discover the strategies helping students thrive and campuses evolve.
Four moves to protect aid eligibility under new earnings scrutiny
The stakes for institutions were raised nationwide when the One Big Beautiful Bill tied federal student aid eligibility directly to post-college earnings. Current rules are relatively forgiving, but future rules could be tougher. Without a plan, both aid eligibility and student access could be at risk. Our latest insight paper, Outpacing the New Federal Earnings Mandate, outlines four near-term strategies that improve post-college outcomes without changing your curricula." If aid depended on your graduates’ earnings next year, what would you change first? Download the paper to help you spot the risks and protect your institution.
Turn Learning Management System data into early alerts that matter
How can we better support students earlier to help them overcome the meaningful gaps in student readiness caused by the pandemic? With live, up-to-date Learning Management System (LMS) data, we can identify valuable student behavioral patterns to deploy interventions more quickly. In this webinar recap, experts Matthew Feger and David Morton share research on missed college preparation and explore how LMS data can anticipate students’ intervention needs. Get the recap now.
What 25,000 chatbot questions say about student needs
AI tools are already reshaping the student experience, and student-facing chatbots have seen rapid adoption across higher education. In the past 90 days, students and staff across more than 350 institutions had 25,000+ interactions with Navigate360’s AI Assistant. The themes in those queries offer a window into what students worry about most and when they seek help. In the following blog, explore the patterns that show what students need, where institutions can invest resources, how to communicate, and what services need to change.
“In one 90-day period, 75% of student-facing chatbot queries arrived outside business hours—43% between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. and 32% between midnight and 7 a.m.”
How faculty engagement boosted student persistence
The University of Louisville had a problem: Faculty engagement with progress reports was inconsistent, largely due to uncertainty about how their feedback was used. Without clear visibility into the impact of their efforts, many viewed the process as cumbersome and as a result, response rates fluctuated. In order to make the process more sustainable for faculty engagement, the university developed a plan to transform progress reporting from a check-the-box requirement into a key part of their student support strategy. Follow the steps The University of Louisville used to increase faculty engagement, which resulted in progress reports hitting a record high.
First year is the “make or break” year—here are four fixes that stick
Because students are most likely to drop out during their first year on campus, ensuring they receive thoughtful support early and often should be a top priority for all college leaders. Standard best practice processes can make a difference in helping students succeed, and it’s especially important for community colleges, where about 32% of first-time, full-time students leave school before their second year. Discover four key insights about what first-year students are experiencing, and how you can help learners stay enrolled, graduate, and reach their goals.
Until next time,
The EAB Briefing Team
🗓️ Don’t miss these upcoming events:
👨💼 EAB IgnitED | Nov. 4-5
Meet fellow presidents, provosts, chief business officers, and heads of strategy for presentations from EAB experts and working sessions with peers from other institutions.
Join the Navigate360 Product Management team for a fast-paced look at how the platform is driving real-world results today—and what’s coming next.
Register now to build the narrative to secure buy-in and budget, which drive improved student outcomes.
This month’s spotlight: CONNECTED25
That’s a wrap on #CONNECTED25! We had a fantastic time hosting insightful sessions, meeting attendees, and learning about what student success means today. Take a look back at our time in Orlando!
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