Student success has long been a priority for higher education institutions, including meeting accreditation standards, boosting enrollment, and creating a well-founded academic reputation. Many groups exist on campus, and each may have a different definition and approach to student success. One group to focus on is young women, as they face unique challenges in an academic context.
Higher ed success coaching for female students focuses on the nuances that often mean the difference between success and failure. It involves providing targeted support beyond academics, including time management, goal setting, and career counseling. It creates an environment where female students can build confidence, engage with academic material, and focus on their goals.
In this article, we’ll discuss challenges that young female students face and tips on providing targeted success coaching that keeps them on track to completion.
Young women encounter several challenges during their childhood and early adolescence. The number of girls who say they’re intelligent dropped by 50 percent from ages 13-18, and those who feel confident also dropped by 20 percent. That means they may already be at a disadvantage when entering higher education institutions. When they arrive, they face considerable new challenges, including:
Many higher education institutions use success coaching initiatives to keep students from diverse backgrounds on track to completion. As of 2023, 58 percent of higher education institutions offer success coaching to students, hiring specialized staff to support first-generation, minority, at-risk, and young women students. As young female students face a unique set of challenges, providing them with equally unique student support makes sense.
Some tips for effective success coaching for female students include:
The earlier you can identify at-risk students, the more effectively you can intervene. Start with admissions data and use it to pinpoint female students with certain higher education “comorbidities,” like being first-generation students or coming from traditionally underrepresented groups. This data can serve as a potential indicator of needing additional support through success coaching.
From there, you can also monitor student success data to provide female students with targeted support before they know they need it. Look for changes in attendance, lack of participation, and sudden dips in academic performance. These factors usually indicate disengagement, which allows you to step in and reengage female students, providing them with the support they need to get back on track.
In addition to providing support and guidance, success coaches give students the skills to master their academics. They can work with your female students one-on-one or in groups to help them develop study strategies, test-taking abilities, organization, time management, and work-life balance. Having these skills in place alleviates the burden on female students through their day-to-day activities and gives them the confidence to pursue their academic goals.
Every student has unique strengths and challenges. Academic success coaches who have crucial conversations with their female students can better understand their growth areas and recommend strategies to develop their skills. When they learn about each student’s learning style and preferences, they can help create unique, effective pathways to graduation.
Success coaches must look at information holistically regarding each student to make informed recommendations. They must develop action plans with the student, complete with quantifiable goals and clear performance metrics. Regular check-ins and follow-ups keep students accountable, engaged, and focused on their goals.
One of the most important strategies for engaging students is meeting them where they are — technology can help you achieve this. It offers innovative ways to enhance the student experience, from facilitating remote coaching sessions to assisting them in tracking their goals. Video conferencing and time management tools allow you to provide flexibility in success coaching, integrating it seamlessly into each female student’s busy lifestyle.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning continue to reshape many elements of academia, including success coaching. Chatbots respond immediately to common queries, freeing coaches up for more complex and personal student challenges. With machine learning capabilities, you can analyze masses of student data, identifying patterns and predicting challenges female students might face. With access to real-time data, coaches can step in when they’re needed most.
Female students often surpass their male counterparts in academic contexts, but they undervalue their capabilities and prefer not to take prominent, intentional roles in their educational success. Your institution can cultivate ambition and empower female students by creating an atmosphere that nurtures their confidence. Ensure that young female students understand that ambition is not a negative trait but a way to realize their goals.
Make young female students aware of their support resources. Encourage them to feel comfortable expressing their opinions and pursuing their goals inside the classroom and during other activities. Promote the active involvement of female students in traditionally male-dominated courses and expose them to a diverse mix of leadership development programs designed exclusively for young women.
As young female students evolve, so must coaching strategies. Success coaches can employ several methods to assess progress, including academic performance tracking, goal achievement monitoring, and gathering feedback from students and faculty. Taking a data-driven approach allows them to identify strengths and areas for improvement in their coaching methods.
When your success coaches support young female students, they can continually adjust their strategies to meet this group’s needs better. Each student’s path may look different. By adapting and refining their approaches, coaches help ensure that students receive tailored academic support throughout their educational journeys.
Success coaching for young female students is essential for retention and engagement. When you integrate technology, your success coaches can drive meaningful results for students and the entire institution. Watermark Student Success & Engagement is a single, unified platform for student data, allowing you to offer proactive support to young female students at any stage in their academic journeys.
Student Success & Engagement is just one part of our Educational Impact Suite (EIS). It’s a centralized hub for institutional data that allows you to collaborate with students, support faculty, and simplify your road to accreditation. Request a demo today to learn more about how Watermark can support your institution.
