Student Success

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This generation of undergraduate and graduate students has encountered multiple societal challenges, from the rise in school shootings, to the effects of climate change, to the influence of social media, to a global pandemic that interrupted the normal course of their elementary and/or high school experience. Many students understandably arrive at the University with unfinished learning and mental health issues, layered upon the more conventional challenges of late adolescence and early adulthood. The effects of learning loss from remote learning in 2020 and 2021 will likely continue, particularly for undergraduate students, throughout most of the 10-year period of this strategic plan.

Hofstra University will enhance its support of every student’s success in seamlessly navigating their Hofstra experience and reaching a timely graduation. This plan articulates a holistic approach to student success that includes and goes beyond academic achievement to encompass a broad spectrum of factors vital to each student’s individual development. It also includes myriad social and cultural offerings that provide outlets for students to build their civic, artistic, athletic, leadership, and social skills.  

At the graduate and professional levels, holistic support includes flexible remote and hybrid learning opportunities to accommodate the needs of adult learners, faculty mentoring and advising, and practical experiences that prepare students for successful entry into chosen professions.

Hofstra offers these supports and opportunities, and we pride ourselves on the community that they have created on the campus. We seek to grow, strengthen, and integrate these supports and opportunities to further enhance the student experience in all aspects.

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Implementation Steps

3.A      We will identify the core skills and understanding that every Hofstra undergraduate should possess upon graduation and focus general education around introducing these skills and understanding by:

• Forming a committee to innovate the general education curriculum and make recommendations for an innovative and visionary redesign.
• Building a common first-year academic experience.
• Creating an ongoing assessment mechanism for the general education program.

3.B       We will strengthen the academic support infrastructure by:

• Increasing physical and online advising resources.
• Investing in AI and other technologies to provide just-in-time academic support for all students.
• Creating a one-stop, seamless experience for all student academic and support services.
• Investing in culturally responsive access to holistic mental health services.

3.C       We will enhance the focus on connecting high-achieving students to prestigious fellowship opportunities by:

• Supporting the identification, mentoring, application, and preparation of students to prestigious national and international fellowship and award opportunities.

3.D      We will enhance support for faculty innovation in teaching and learning by:

• Reviving and updating a Center for Teaching and Learning.

3.E       We will continue to invest in cultivating an environment where students feel they belong by:

• Focusing on student well-being supported by wraparound services.
• Fostering co-curricular and social engagement opportunities among students broadly and through affinity groups.

3.F.      We will continue to invest in physical spaces, on and off campus, to create inclusive environments for student learning and engagementginning with:

• Renovating and modernizing the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center and the Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library.
• Investigating opportunities for improved amenities and community spaces near the Hofstra campus.