Student Success

Students in outdoor class

Students First Resilience Fund

Project Status: Complete 

At PSU, 43% of students who were unable to resolve all of their holds left, many of whom left with a financial hold. In partnership with the Office of Student Success, PSU's Division of Enrollment Management initiated a pilot program designed to predict students at risk of receiving a financial hold and proactively provide them with financial support. The Student’s First Resilience Fund provides $500 a term for three terms to a group of students identified as being likely to have a financial hold placed on their account. The program is expected to help increase retention rates on campus. 

Accomplished

  • We have awarded students each term this year at $500
  • 1,512 students in initial award list
  • Affirming asset based communication 
  • Students centered design in awarding: students were not asked to take any action

In Progress/Update

  • Funding was not renewed for 2023-2024 FY. 
  • Assessment of outcomes of the pilot was inconclusive. Without a control group comparisons had to be made to students enrolled pre-pandemic, leading to confounding variables in the analysis. It is unclear if the remissions made a difference in student persistence.

Project Team

Sponsor: Erica Wagner
Project Lead: Amanda Bierbrauer
Project Manager: Andrea Garrity
Team: Michael Smith, Cori Watkins, Shawna Chambers, Andrea Garrity