“When you change the metric from percentage to people, the prospect suddenly becomes more real.”
– Amber Williams, Vice Provost for Student Success
What’s the secret to success? Often you’ll hear it’s a combination of embracing risk, resiliency, or thinking outside the box. All true of course. But it can also be about simplicity—a streamlined process executed well that leads to a better outcome. And in the case of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s, impressive growth of retention and graduation rates over the past five years—simplicity, strategic partnerships, and a dedicated community of caring turned out to be a winning recipe for success.
“When I arrived on campus, I asked scholars to tell me their story,” said Amber Williams, Vice Provost for Student Success. “They told me there are so many resources, we don’t know where to go—so we don’t go anywhere at all.”
Williams shared the origins behind UT’s Division of Student Success during the kickoff session of the recent Student Success US conference. Around 150 student success professionals from universities across the nation listened closely while Williams outlined how the university laid a foundation for students to be successful. And it started by simply listening to the students themselves and letting their needs guide the direction.
“When we looked at the data, the percentages could feel intimidating to some,” she said. “But on one metric, there was one percentage point that equaled 52 students. And I said, ‘you can’t tell me we can’t find 52 students.’ When you change the metric from percentage to people, it changes the perspective of others, and the prospect suddenly becomes more real.”
The goal for the division was clear and simple from the start: champion the success of every student. To achieve that, the division grounded itself in three basic principes—build students’ confidence, set high expectations, and create the structures to support students. Since the division’s creation in 2020, retention has risen five points to a record-breaking 92 percent, and UT is now also considered a national leader for personalized approaches to student success.
“We’re proud of what we’ve built here,” said Williams. “And we’ll keep reshaping it as data changes. Our goal is to always make sure we’re meeting scholars where they are. Sometimes I liken it to throwing spaghetti against a wall. Programming and structures will always evolve based on the current need. The important part is to remember it is our responsibility to listen—and our responsibility to act.”
Intentional Collaboration
In their daily interactions with students, faculty members are often uniquely positioned to create an environment for students to thrive. During the kickoff session, Krystyne Savarese, Associate Vice Provost for Student Success, hosted a panel with UT faculty members that highlighted the significance faculty partnerships play for both promoting the well-being of students as well as elevating student success messaging to peers in their respective colleges.
“We walk alongside our faculty here, and their input and ideas play a critical role in the priorities of our division,” said Savarese. “Equipping students with the tools they need to succeed is a goal we all share.”
Attendees were given a handout that outlines targeted strategies that some university faculty use in the classroom to promote positive well-being. Based on a psychological framework called PERMA, the structure promotes five building blocks of well-being—Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA). Examples of PERMA tactics include making the class syllabus language sound more friendly and less technical, creating a welcoming environment as students enter class, and balancing corrective edits with positive reinforcement.
“We all want our students to succeed and are eager to be a part of the conversation for what goes on in the other side of the house,” said Virginia Stormer, Associate Director for Curriculum Development & Design – Teaching & Learning Innovation. “We want to build community with the staff that supports students.”
Community of Caring
Students choosing to stay on campus goes beyond succeeding in the classroom. They stay because it’s their home away from home; they belong here, they matter. Rising retention and graduation rates is a reflection of the entire Volunteer community working together in a collective effort to promote student success. Frank Cuevas, UT’s Vice Chancellor for Student Life, highlighted this sentiment in detail by explaining how UT’s Division of Student Life helps creates a community of caring for students by connecting them to the right space.
“Creating these places where people can gather, pockets of community for our 
students to feel they can be successful—that’s where their lives are changed for the better,” he said. “We transform physical spaces to focus on community, because that translates to belonging and leads to retention.”
Since the beginning of the fall semester, 22 percent of undergraduates report being engaged with the university outside of the classroom, whether it’s volunteering, getting involved on campus, participating in events, or gaining experience needed to succeed beyond graduation.
“Everything Student Life does is intended to create places, spaces, and opportunities for students to grow, learn, lead, and serve,” said Cuevas. “The alignment between our divisions ensures we’re meeting all the students’ needs from a holistic perspective. We’re a large campus with more than 38,000 students. But we’re invested in the success of every student—there is a space for every Volunteer.”