Student success starts with removing the barriers in the way.

Basic Needs Are Student Success Needs

Rising costs for food, housing, transportation and other necessities continue to make it harder for Latino students to stay enrolled and complete college, according to a new UnidosUS report. About 3.9 million Latino students are enrolled in postsecondary education, yet degree completion trails that of White students by 18.5 percentage points. Promising approaches including basic-needs centers, emergency aid, transportation assistance and resource navigators, with some institutions reporting measurable improvements in persistence and completion. The findings reinforce the importance of recognizing that what happens outside the classroom can have a profound effect on what happens inside it.

Key Takeaway: Retention strategies are strongest when institutions address the academic, financial and personal barriers that can prevent students from staying enrolled.

Direct Admissions Continues to Grow

Common App's direct admissions initiative is expanding to 234 colleges across 42 states and Washington, D.C., giving more first-generation and low- and middle-income students proactive admission offers. Last year, more than half of Common App's 1.5 million applicants received at least one direct admission offer, and 25 percent received an offer from an institution they had not previously considered. The expansion comes as Common App reports continued growth among several groups of domestic applicants, including low-income, first-generation, Black and non-metropolitan students. As admissions becomes easier and more proactive, institutions will need to pay equal attention to what happens after the acceptance arrives.

Quick Insight: Removing barriers to admission is important, but colleges also need intentional onboarding and support to turn an admission offer into enrollment and ultimately persistence.

College Has a Reading Problem. Can AI Be Part of the Solution?

Institutions are reporting that students are arriving at college less prepared for college-level reading, while AI-generated summaries can make it tempting to bypass lengthy assignments altogether. Rather than treating AI solely as a threat to reading comprehension, institutions might consider using AI as a tool create more opportunities for active practice and engagement. Research has found that students who practice as they read can achieve substantially greater learning gains than those who simply read, and a recent Cal Poly Pomona study found positive results from embedding AI-generated practice questions into course materials. The challenge for faculty is to use technology in ways that strengthen thinking rather than replace it.

Key Insight: The goal should not simply be getting students to complete assigned reading, but designing learning experiences that help them actively engage with, understand and retain what they read.

Is Higher Ed's Own Language Getting in Students' Way?

Terms like "matriculation," "census date," "SAP," "co-requisite" and "articulation agreement" may be routine for higher education professionals, but they can create unnecessary confusion for students navigating college for the first time. Institutional jargon can be particularly challenging for first-generation students who may not have someone to help translate unfamiliar terminology. How can institutions audit student-facing communications, testing them with actual students and replacing technical language with plain language whenever possible. Accessibility is not only about whether students can access information. It is also about whether they can understand it.

Takeaway: Simplifying student-facing language may be one of the easiest and most immediate ways colleges can reduce friction in the student experience.

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Published: August 27, 2026