Toil and Trouble: Contextualizing Student Success Work at Research Universities

Critical considerations for enacting student success

“…In the absence of progress, a focus on how student success practices are implemented has emerged, following the perspective that gaps in translating research into practice are to blame for persistent student success disparities (Kinzie & Kuh, 2016). This pivot is key given the complexities of higher education institutions and the overlooked labor of those navigating these complexities as they work to enact student success commitments (Taylor, 2021). Improving the implementation of student success efforts requires thoughtful consideration of the contexts within which these efforts are applied (Perna & Thomas, 2006; Taylor, 2021); the roles and knowledges of those responsible for implementation at various levels, especially those of practitioners (Bensimon, 2007; Stanton‐Salazar, 2011; Taylor, 2021); and the kinds of knowledges involved in constituting, shaping, and enacting student success efforts (Braxton & Reams, 2017; Taylor, 2021).…”

“…This pivot is key given the complexities of higher education institutions and the overlooked labor of those navigating these complexities as they work to enact student success commitments (Taylor, 2021). Improving the implementation of student success efforts requires thoughtful consideration of the contexts within which these efforts are applied (Perna & Thomas, 2006; Taylor, 2021); the roles and knowledges of those responsible for implementation at various levels, especially those of practitioners (Bensimon, 2007; Stanton‐Salazar, 2011; Taylor, 2021); and the kinds of knowledges involved in constituting, shaping, and enacting student success efforts (Braxton & Reams, 2017; Taylor, 2021). While these topics have been and continue to be taken up in various ways, they are often discussed separately.…”

“…A related challenge is the taken‐for‐grantedness of institutional actors and the process and decisions involved in their day‐to‐day work. I consider actors to be autonomous and agentic, making space for their perspectives, interests, and decision‐making, and I take account of how their autonomy and agency is shaped by how/where they are positioned within their institutions, within society, and in relation to their work (Hasse, 2019; Taylor, 2021). By institutional actors, I mean administrators, staff and faculty members, and various others involved in institutional student success efforts.…”

Editors’ notes

“…Specifically, we direct attention to the various considerations, approaches, and conditions necessary for enacting student success commitments, especially for racially/ethnically minoritized and institutionally marginalized groups. Scholars have noted and sought to address the critical inattention to implementation in student success literature which has been attributed to the stagnation mentioned above (Kinzie & Kuh, 2017; Perna & Thomas, 2006; Taylor, 2021). As a part of their introduction of the student success driver model, Kinzie and Kuh (2017) identify five key drivers of student success, including: “enactment of cultural system of student success” and “enactment of student success mindsets” (p. 23).…”

“…Second, we sought to interrogate and reframe some of the ideological underpinnings of student success discourses and practices. The emergence and rapid adoption of student success discourses and practices has much to do with national workforce and economic interests, which has trained the focus of student success narrowly on completion and employment (Rhoades, 2012; Taylor, 2021). These completion‐centered strivings are the current preoccupation of policy‐makers, intermediaries, and institutional decision makers, and understandably so.…”