Student Experience Project

UNC Charlotte is proud to be one of several urban-serving institutions, and one of the original universities participating in the Student Experience Project (SEP) funded by the Raikes Foundation. SEP is a partnership between the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU), the Equity Accelerator, the Project for Education Research that Scales (PERTS), EducationCounsel, and partner universities.

About The Student Experience Project

The Student Experience Project (SEP) is a collaboration of university leaders, faculty, researchers, and national education organizations committed to innovative, research-based practices to increase degree attainment and student success on campus.

The Challenge

Colleges and universities are enrolling more student populations than ever before. Yet, one-third of new college students will not graduate within six years. There remains a need for additional support and action to provide every student with an equal opportunity to graduate from college. Research has shown that some students do not do as well in our classrooms as their counterparts. Some of the forces contributing to these differential outcomes are extrinsic — students’ prior academic experiences or the off-campus jobs they must hold down to pay for college. But, as uncomfortable as it is, we must also acknowledge that there are intrinsic factors at play because there is evidence that faculty’s beliefs about mindset manifest in how students experience the course’s design, syllabus, pedagogy, and classroom environment — predicts outcomes.

UNC Charlotte’s Community of Practice

The SEP Community of Practice started in the Fall of 2019 and has evolved into a comprehensive, year-long program. Our Community of Practice achieves the goal of creating a continuous support network in which instructors can learn together, share ideas, and develop resources to support changes in classes. Together, we have implemented evidence-based changes in their classrooms that have improved student success at UNC Charlotte and beyond.

For a brief overview of key concepts, strategies, and resources, view the “Resources” tab above. To learn more about SEP at UNC Charlotte, please contact A.J. Simmons, Senior Associate Director of First Year and Transition Programs at AJ.Simmons@charlotte.edu.