1.3.1 Evidence-Informed Student Success
Enabling earlier identification of support needs and data-informed approaches to improving retention and progression.
Purpose
This initiative establishes a coordinated, university-wide approach to student success, retention and progression at UOW, supported by improved use of data, analytics and evidence-informed practice. It strengthens the University’s capability to identify and support students earlier in their learning journey, enhance coordination across academic and professional services, and improve monitoring of student engagement, progression and outcomes.
By establishing a shared institutional framework, the initiative enables more proactive and integrated approaches to student success across all faculties and campuses. It also strengthens UOW’s institutional foundations through clearer understanding of the student journey, more coordinated approaches to intervention and support, and enhanced evidence of the effectiveness and impact of student success initiatives.
The initiative further supports improved understanding of the experiences and outcomes of diverse student cohorts, including equity, regional and pathway students, ensuring a more inclusive and responsive approach to student success.
Strategic alignment
| Strategic goal | Establish a framework for student success that enables earlier identification of support needs and coordinated data-informed interventions to improve retention and progression. |
|---|---|
| Measure of success | An integrated, university-wide student success approach implemented, with coordinated use of student data enabling earlier identification and intervention and demonstrable improvement in student retention and progression. |
Context
Student success, retention and progression are increasingly central to institutional performance, student experience and sector accountability, and are core to UOW’s Strategic Plan 2030 and Vision 2035.
Across the higher education sector, there is growing emphasis on coordinated, data-informed approaches to student support, alongside expectations for earlier identification of students requiring assistance, stronger alignment between academic and support services, and improved equity outcomes.
UOW has a range of established initiatives supporting student success, with an opportunity to further strengthen coordination, enhance data-informed decision-making, and build a more integrated institutional approach across the student lifecycle.
This initiative responds to:
- The importance of early identification and support for student success
- Opportunities to strengthen coordination across academic and professional services
- Increasing expectations for data-informed approaches to student support
- The need to improve institutional visibility of student engagement and progression
- The importance of supporting equitable participation, belonging and success across diverse student cohorts
- The opportunity to enhance consistency and impact of student success initiatives
Approach
UOW will establish a coordinated, evidence-informed approach to student success, integrating data, systems, student experience and institutional practice.
The initiative will be delivered through four interconnected streams that together strengthen institutional capability, coordination and continuous improvement.
- Strengthen student success data, reporting and analytics capability
- Develop shared definitions and indicators for engagement and progression
- Improve visibility of student engagement and attrition risk patterns
- Enhance reporting frameworks and dashboards to support decision-making
- Strengthen coordination and visibility of intervention and referral pathways
- Enable clearer links between student identification, intervention and outcomes
- Develop a university-wide Student Journey Map
- Identify key transition points, engagement patterns and opportunities for earlier support across the student lifecycle
- Analyse student experience across cohorts, campuses and study modes
- Inform targeted interventions to support engagement and progression
- Benchmark UOW approaches against contemporary sector practice
- Identify effective models for student success and retention
- Review emerging policy and regulatory expectations
- Inform institutional principles and future directions
- Develop a university-wide Student Success Framework
- Establish shared principles, expectations and institutional approaches
- Define coordinated intervention and support models
- Strengthen coordination across academic, professional and system-based approaches to student success
Indicative timeline & milestones
Mid–Late 2026
Key activities
Data review, consultation and institutional analysis
Key outputs
Student Journey Map; institutional insights and baseline performance measures established
Early 2027
Key activities
Framework development and alignment
Key outputs
Draft Student Success Framework and analytics approach
Mid
2027
Key activities
Framework consultation and refinement
Key outputs
Framework and action plan finalised
Late 2027
Key activities
Endorsement and planning
Key outputs
Framework endorsed; implementation planning commenced
2028 onwards
Key activities
Implementation and embedding
Key outputs
Coordinated student success approaches operationalised, with improved visibility, reporting and intervention coordination
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