How ReUp’s Personas Deliver Personalized Coaching at Scale
ReUp Personas are dynamic, data-driven profiles that evolve over time, much like a health assessment. Personas adapt as new information is gathered to reflect the unique motivations, challenges, and relationships shaping an adult learner’s ability to return to and thrive in higher education.
ReUp Education’s mission is straightforward but critical—to re-engage and support adult learners with some college, no credential (SCNC) in returning to and completing their higher education journeys. With over 40 million Americans in this category, they represent an untapped potential for institutions of higher ed and the workforce. These learners often have strong motivations to return, but complex personal, financial, and professional barriers stand in their way.
To tackle these challenges, ReUp developed its Personas model—a cutting-edge solution driven by the need to provide scalable, personalized support for SCNC learners. After scaling the research to tens of thousands of learners, we patented the technology. Recognizing that no two learners face the same obstacles, Personas combines technology with the human touch of coaching to meet learners where they are.
Understanding ReUp’s Personas
At the heart of ReUp’s personalized coaching approach lies the concept of learner Personas. These dynamic, data-driven profiles are designed to evolve—tracking the unique motivations, challenges, and relationships that shape each learner’s higher education experience. Much like a health assessment, Personas adapt continuously as new information is gathered, ensuring learners receive the most relevant and personalized support possible. Learners aren’t confined to rigid categories but are instead supported in a way that reflects their ongoing growth and changing circumstances.
Personas are rooted in a critical discovery made by ReUp from years of supporting adult learners—success isn’t determined by academic performance. Rather than a single factor determining success, it’s about an individual’s overall health in five interconnected areas of life, known as the ReUp Spheres:
- External (family, support systems, caretaking responsibilities, work, career aspirations)
- Self (confidence, mental health, personal aspirations)
- University (academic history, relationship with the institution)
- Finances (financial barriers, access to resources)
- Coach (open to coaching, engagement with coaching)
Using natural language processing and machine learning, ReUp’s patented technology analyzes millions of data points from learner interactions (via phone, email, text, and surveys). These insights are used to dynamically classify learners into one of over 2,000 Personas, each linked with tailored intervention strategies. By doing so, we can quickly identify what learners need to re-enroll and persist in their educational pursuits.
Why Personas matter
Another essential question involves whether there’s a distinct outreach strategy for adult learners, separate from traditional students. Adult learners often juggle multiple responsibilities, from careers to family obligations. Recognizing these differences and tailoring outreach accordingly is crucial for meaningful engagement.
- Deep insights into learners’ lives: By focusing on the nuanced dimensions of a learner’s relationships, Personas capture not just the “what” but the “why” behind their challenges and goals.
- Scalable personalization: Personas equip Success Coaches with insights to effectively support thousands of adult learners without sacrificing individual care.
- Actionable recommendations: Each Persona is connected to research-backed coaching strategies, offering clear next steps to help learners succeed.
Support powered by insightful Personas
Armed with Persona-driven insights, ReUp is uniquely positioned to address the complex realities of SCNC learners. Here’s how Personas guide our work:
- Identifying barriers and enablers: Through interactions and response to outreach, ReUp can assign learners an identifier that tells us the Spheres in which they need more support. For example, a learner who is identified as having need in the Finance Sphere, but is supported in the External Sphere, might be grappling with financial insecurities due to defaulted student loans but have strong support from their family. Using this knowledge, a Success Coach can prioritize financial aid resources while building on the learner’s familial support to instill confidence.
- Tailored interventions: Personas provide concrete strategies to address the specific needs of learners at a point in time. For example, a learner who shows confidence in the Self Sphere may be motivated by the desire to be a role model for their children. A Success Coach can support this learner by highlighting the long-term impact of their education and assisting them in securing flexible class schedules to balance their commitments.
- Combining technology with human touch: While ReUp’s Personas technology classifies adult learners and recommends strategies, Success Coaches deliver support with empathy and adaptability. They build meaningful relationships with learners, ensuring each intervention aligns with the individual’s evolving needs. In addition, the trends and insights provided by Personas inform the content and resources offered in ReUp’s learner-facing platform.
How Personas shape coaching to support learners
Personas offer insights that help our Success Coaches understand each learner’s unique situation, making conversations more focused and meaningful. “This is a tool that empowers Success Coaches to guide learners in a way that is both efficient and deeply personalized,” says John Reyes, Manager of ReUp Learner Services. “When someone is thinking about returning to school, there’s so much to learn about their story—what’s motivating their return, how they view their past educational experiences, and even the practicalities like their financial plans. Personas help me focus my curiosity in the right areas, so I can see the learner’s situation more holistically and ask better questions.”
The flexibility of Personas ensures that Success Coaches can adjust their approach while keeping the learner’s situation front and center. “They’re a guide, not a script,” Reyes says. “Coaches still have the freedom to ask the right questions and adapt resources as the conversation evolves, but Personas reduce the mental load of figuring out what areas to explore.”
Personas also play a critical role as coaches support learners who are further along in their journeys. “When a learner moves into the maintenance stage of change, their coaching needs can shift,” Reyes adds. “The tool gives us a way to revisit past conversations and connect them to the present. For example, I might say, ‘You mentioned this barrier when we last spoke. Has this changed as you’ve progressed?’ This helps us keep the coaching relevant and focused, without losing sight of earlier challenges.”
To understand how this works in practice, here are two examples of how Personas support learners:
Patrick, a 46-year-old ride-share driver, has always dreamed of being the first in his family to earn a degree. After losing financial aid 15 years ago, he assumed that defaulted student loans would block him from returning to school. Through interactions with Patrick and his responses to outreach, our Persona technology identified him as showing low confidence in the Finance Sphere. Through coaching, he learned about repayment plans and found an online program that fit his schedule. His dynamic Persona data revealed a growing self-confidence, making him feel more prepared to see his degree through to completion.
Claudia, a 35-year-old IT specialist and Army veteran, was skeptical about pursuing a traditional four-year degree. Still, she wanted a credential that could advance her career. ReUp Persona technology identified her as being skeptical in the University Sphere. As a result, our recommendations pointed her toward industry-specific certifications and online programs with minimal general education requirements. Her Success Coach addressed her concerns about cost and time, offering practical guidance that helped her enroll with confidence.
Results
ReUp has supported over one million adult learners, with over 48,000 re-enrollments and 6,000+ graduates so far. These numbers underscore the measurable impact of Persona-informed coaching on learner outcomes.
Broader benefits of ReUp Personas for institutions
ReUp’s Persona-driven approach doesn’t just benefit individual learners—it also addresses institutional priorities. Personas data reveals the overall ‘health’ of the adult learner population, sentiment within each Sphere, and how it shifts over time. This results in:
Increased re-enrollment rates
ReUp’s approach boosts re-enrollment rates by addressing the unique barriers adult learners face and providing targeted support to overcome them. Research shows that adult learners, on average, go through 28 activities—such as meetings, responses, and outreach—before deciding to return. Persona-driven strategies streamline this process by identifying learners with the highest intent to re-enroll, allowing us to concentrate efforts where they will have the greatest impact.
Improved retention and graduation
Aggregated data allows us to see where the real obstacles and strengths are across the population and in what numbers. By addressing both academic and personal challenges, Personas foster greater success in higher education persistence. This is critical for institutions striving to support vulnerable SCNC populations while maintaining retention goals.
Scalability for larger cohorts
With Personas technology, institutions can scale their support systems without diluting quality. This advantage is particularly significant as enrollment strategies shift to focus on adult learners.
Actionable insights for institutional strategy
Persona data creates dynamic feedback loops and aggregate population-level insights, helping institutions identify root causes, then adapt policies, programs, and services to better meet learner needs. This not only improves outcomes but also aligns with broader equity goals, enabling more inclusive support systems.
The future of adult learner success
Today’s adult learners represent the future of higher education. Institutions that embed supportive, personalized solutions powered by technology to scale their enrollment strategies stand the best chance of thriving in a competitive landscape. ReUp’s patented Personas offer a scalable, innovative way to better understand and support SCNC learners with empathy and precision.
If your institution is ready to enhance adult learner support, re-enrollment rates, and retention success, ReUp can help. Schedule a call with our team to learn how our unique Persona-based coaching can support the success of adult learners.
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.