Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University System and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) knew the value of supporting all learners when they partnered with ReUp in 2019. What they had yet to discover: how this partnership could turn their most ambitious student support goals into a reality.
Partnership Overview
Interactions made by ReUp
with A&M Corpus Christi students
Students Enrolled
*Corpus Christi Summer 2023 Cumulative Results
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) is so unique, it’s on an island of its own–literally. The “island university,” established 75 years ago, is located just off Texas’s Corpus Christi Bay. As a Hispanic and Minority Serving Doctoral Research Institution, it offers over 85 programs to roughly 11,000 students.
It is also one of 11 Texas A&M universities that make up the Texas A&M University System, another ReUp partner (see the TAMUS case study here).
Providing more education and career opportunities for adult learners
Before the TAMU-CC enrollment team was introduced to ReUp, they knew their re-enrollment strategy could be stronger: with limited staff and resources, it was difficult to re-engage with students that had left school for over a year. Determined to provide more opportunities for students to continue their education and find purpose-driven careers, they sought out a solution to re-engage with this unique student population and improve enrollment and completion rates.
On the other side of the equation, students who had attended TAMU-CC and were considering going back had challenges of their own. Like many adult learners in the US who have been out of the classroom for multiple years, navigating an ever-evolving university landscape that is catered towards traditional entry can be intimidating.
How can student support services and adult learners connect where they are to meet shared goals of better career and life outcomes?
Seeking outside partners to manage student support services is becoming more common in the US, with more higher education leaders showing strong interest in public-private partnerships. According to a recent report, 75% of university leaders see public-private partnerships growing on their campuses.
For TAMU-CC, partnering was just the solution they needed to enhance and extend their enrollment strategy for more equitable support.
How TAMU-CC Became More Adult Learner-Friendly
Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s re-enrollment strategy took off with the help of ReUp’s outside perspective, adult learner expertise, and ability to expand capacity and innovation. As a result, the university made the following data-driven changes to become more adult learner-friendly:
- Expanded student support
- Created a new web presence dedicated to returning students
- Enhanced promotion of the online programs on their website
- Eliminated the application fee through the ReUp partnership
- Offered more scholarship opportunities targeted to adult learners
A trusted partnership that goes the distance
Dr. Andy Benoit, Vice President of Enrollment Management at TAMU-CC, joined the university just as the partnership with ReUp was beginning. He immediately saw the value in working with an outside organization.
I started seeing ReUp’s value through the care they give to students. They had the same mission that we did, to give our students an opportunity to create better lives,” he said.“I saw how we could do great things together because this is a true partnership—it isn’t just transactional.
— Dr. Andy Benoit
Vice President of Enrollment Management at TAMU-CC
A trusted partner can offer an outside perspective and deep expertise while enabling teams to expand their capacity, often through tech innovations. For example, ReUp’s sentiment analysis technology uses natural language processing (NLP) to find markers within student communications that indicate how likely an adult learner is to re-enroll and persist in earning a credential.
Once more adult learners were engaged, TAMU-CC leaned on ReUp Success Coaches to leverage technology to form important connections with learners. Another key benefit of the partnership was leveraging ReUp’s data and analytics.
“Students who come through a process with ReUp are transitioning back into the university after being out for long periods of time, sometimes many years, and they have significant success rates,” Andy said. “It got us thinking: can we evolve this into something even bigger?”
ReUp serves the largest database of stopout students in the country, with millions of data points captured over several years. ReUp can analyze student data to segment target populations, identify learners that are at-risk of stopping out again, and track KPIs to optimize enrollment strategy.
TAMU-CC’s Best Practices for Advancing Enrollment Strategy
The partnership between ReUp Education and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi demonstrates the transformative power of bringing in an outside partner to elevate enrollment strategy. By combining student feedback and data, having candid internal conversations, and refocusing on their mission, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and ReUp achieved remarkable results in re-engaging stopped-out students.
“Being data-driven is important—data doesn’t lie, it tells a story. So when you can look at incremental growth, that’s powerful for institutions; it shows you’re heading in the right direction,” Andy said. “But you also have to look beyond numbers on a spreadsheet and take the student voice into account, all the anecdotal story that speaks to their unique experiences.”
TAMU-CC developed several best practices for re-engagement and re-enrollment strategy through working with ReUp:
Balancing anecdotal student information with data
TAMU-CC looked beyond the numbers to understand students' personal stories, while still grounding strategy in analytics.
Having hard conversations internally
TAMU-CC was open to feedback from ReUp on improvement areas and was open to adjusting current practices.
Recommitting to the mission
Keeping the focus on changing students' lives, not just enrollment targets, helped TAMU-CC and ReUp enhance the student experience.
Finding a partner that helps you think bigger
ReUp's expertise and expanded capacity empowered the TAMU-CC enrollment team to pursue more ambitious goals for serving students.
By adopting these best practices, institutions like TAMU-CC build on their strengths, address weaknesses, and unlock new potential for equitably serving today’s diverse students.
ReUp Education is revolutionizing the enrollment to graduation journey for all adults seeking higher education. Built upon the belief that with the right support, resources, and people in your corner, anything is possible we partner with future-facing institutions and state systems to bring equitable success in higher ed to all.
Let’s start the conversation
Schedule a call with a ReUp team member to learn more about what a ReUp partnership could do for your institution.