University of Houston
As the only research intensive four-year university-member of Achieving the Dream, the University of Houston’s (UH) main foci on student success takes into account the contextual differences of UH. The university has implemented and pursued new policies to ensure transfer student success. Notably, the Advising and Registration for Transfers program (ART) saw a ten-fold increase in student attendance. ART ensures that transfer students will be ready to begin their academic career at UH.
The Transfer Advising Program (TAP) has also begun to demonstrate positive results, with the first cohort “advised” by TAP advisors currently enrolling at UH.
The university’s most notable accomplishment, in terms of systemic change, is in including transfer students along with first-time in college students when examining undergraduate data, whereas previously only first-time in college student data was included in such research inquiries.
The University of Houston is located in Houston, Texas, the nation’s fourth-largest city and the energy capital of the world. The university’s students regularly test their skills through internships with national and international companies based here, and faculty members routinely partner with business and government agencies in research.
The University of Houston became a Carnegie-designated Tier One research university in 2011 and is the second most ethnically diverse major university in the United States. Students come to UH from more than 137 nations and from across the US. UH is the largest and most comprehensive component of the University of Houston System and is the city’s largest public research and teaching university.
The unviersity has more than 40 research centers and institutes, many of which are vital to Houston’s economy. UH students annually serve one million volunteer hours in and throughout the Houston Community; and more than 80% of UH’s graduates have remained in the Houston area.
The Achieving the Dream Model
Achieving the Dream community colleges commit to our Student-Centered Model of Institutional Improvement. Based on four principles, the model frames the overall work of helping more students, particularly low- income students and students of color, stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree.
Each college approaches the work differently, but Achieving the Dream’s five-step process provides practical guidelines for keeping the focus where it belongs and building momentum over time. Throughout the process, Achieving the Dream coaches offer customized support and help each college’s core team implement data-informed programs and policies that build long-term, institution-wide commitment to student success.
