UNM membership in University Innovation Alliance aims to boost student success

The University of New Mexico recently joined a growing list of large public universities as members of the University Innovation Alliance (UIA), a multi-university consortium whose mission is to enhance student success.

President Garnett Stokes serves on the UIA Board, providing insight on UNM's experience in meeting goals as a minority-serving, Hispanic-serving, Carnegie Engaged and R1 university.

The UIA is focused on helping more students graduate with a high-quality and affordable education by broadening participation in higher education and implementing programs that significantly improve graduation rates for all students, regardless of socioeconomic background.

The UIA recently announced that it received $2.9 million in funding to support the next phase of its mission, including the addition of seven new member universities since 2021 that include UNM. Funding was provided by the ECMC Foundation, Frederick A. Deluca Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, Axim Collaborative, Lumina Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Joining the UIA is the natural outcome of UNM's focus on scaling initiatives to enable students to complete college.

"With a strong focus on enabling all students to fulfill their college dreams, UIA helps institutions use data wisely in determining how to support students along their road to graduation," said Pamela Cheek, vice provost for student success.

UNM has already experienced direct benefits to academic and support programs through its membership in UIA. These include support through an Axim Collaborative grant for redesign of a math and a computer science course.

In his redesign, Joseph Haugh, a lecturer in the Department of Computer Science, is applying a simplified grading scale allowing students to identify opportunities for improvement. He is also emphasizing access to course materials and hands-on activities that allow students to learn from each and form a community. He sees this kind of work as just the beginning to helping students find a successful path and hopes that this work will help students do well in the class and have an overall positive "impact on student interest in computer science."

UIA participation has also led to support Ubuntu, a program funded by the UIA Black Student Success/Student Centered Design Initiative to support Black students in preparing for research programs and graduate or professional school. The program provides professional development opportunities for students and opportunities to explore research topics related to the Black community. Brandi Stone, director of African American Student Services at UNM, is the principal investigator on the Ubuntu project.

A seven-member group from UNM attended the recent University Innovation Alliance National Summit on Student Success Innovation in Tempe, Ariz. Jessica Hitzman, UIA fellow at UNM, presented findings on the Ubuntu project thus far.

"The summit brought together over 75 institutions to discuss projects and ideas that can really move the needle on student success," she said. "It was great to thought partner with other institutions addressing the same challenges."

In addition to UNM, members are Arizona State University; Georgia State University; Iowa State University; Michigan State University; North Carolina A&T State University; Oregon State University; Purdue University; University at Buffalo; University of California, Riverside; University of Central Florida; University of Colorado, Denver; University of Illinois, Chicago; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Massachusetts, Amherst; University of Utah; and Virginia Commonwealth University.

With the new members, the University Innovation Alliance serves nearly 630,000 enrolled undergraduates, including about 185,000 Pell Grant recipients.