The Design Mindset for Student Success

Categories: Student Success

About Course

The Design Mindset for Student Success introduces educators and institutional leaders to a design-thinking approach for strengthening engagement, belonging, and completion across the student journey. Through empathy-driven reflection and applied practice, participants learn to view institutional challenges as design opportunities — mapping the student experience, generating creative solutions, and aligning curriculum and support systems for lasting impact. By the end of the course, participants will develop a Student Success Design Blueprint that integrates empathy, equity, and evidence-based innovation to create smoother, more connected pathways for all learners.

Course Outcomes

By completing this course, participants will be able to:

Apply empathy-driven design principles to understand the student experience.
Identify friction points in institutional and classroom systems that hinder persistence.
Design engagement strategies that strengthen belonging and academic momentum.
Align curriculum and student services for seamless, supportive pathways.
Use data and feedback to guide continuous design improvement.
Create and present a Student Success Design Blueprint for implementation.

Course Content

Introduction to the Course
Who This Course Is For: Faculty, academic program coordinators, instructional designers, student success teams, and retention specialists. Format & Delivery: 7 self-paced online modules Optional live Q&A for guided application Downloadable tools and templates Certificate of Completion from TruePath Learning™ Learning Outcomes: By completing this course, participants will be able to: Apply design-thinking principles to improve student retention and completion. Map the learner experience and identify key drop-off points. Design learning environments that foster belonging, motivation, and progress. Integrate proactive supports directly into curriculum and program structure. Use equity-centered design to close persistence gaps. Translate retention data into actionable design decisions.

Copyrite and Usage Guidelines
Course Overview

01:19

Module 1 – The Design Mindset for Retention
Reframe retention as a design challenge. Understand how intentional course and program design influences persistence.

Module 2 – Mapping the Student Experience
Create a learner journey map to visualize where and why students disengage — and how to redesign those moments.

Module 3 – Designing for Engagement and Momentum
Implement course-level strategies that build confidence, connection, and steady progress.

Module 4 – Aligning Curriculum and Support Systems
Link academic and student-service functions to create a seamless learning experience.

Module 5 – Designing for Equity and Inclusion
Apply inclusive design principles to ensure every student has an equitable path to success.

Module 6 – From Data to Design Decisions
Use retention data to drive continuous design improvement and create a personalized Retention Design Blueprint.

Module 7 — Pulling It All Together: The Student Success Design Blueprint
Integrating the learning, connecting the dots, and applying the framework to real-world contexts.

Final Section: Summary, Evaluation & Certificate

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About Course

Course Outcomes

Course Content

Copyrite and Usage Guidelines

Course Overview

Module 1 – The Design Mindset for Retention Reframe retention as a design challenge. Understand how intentional course and program design influences persistence.

Module One Overview

Module One: 1a Design Mindset for Retention Video

Module One: 1b Design Mindset and Retention Reading Resource

Module One: 1c Retention Lens Inventory Worksheet

Module One: 1d Retention Lens Inventory Assignment

Module One: 1e Design Mind-Set Knowledge Check

Module 2 – Mapping the Student Experience Create a learner journey map to visualize where and why students disengage — and how to redesign those moments.

Module Two Overview

Module Two: 2a Mapping the Student Experience Video

Module Two: 2b Mapping the Student Experience Reading Resource

Module Two: 2c Student Journey Mapping Worksheet

Module Two: 2d Student Journey Mapping Worksheet Reflection

Module Two: 2e Mapping the Student Experience Knowledge-Check

Module 3 – Designing for Engagement and Momentum Implement course-level strategies that build confidence, connection, and steady progress.

Module Three Overview

Module Three: 3a Designing for Engagement and Momentum Video

Module Three: 3b Designing for Engagement and Momentum Reading Resource

Module Three: 3c Designing for Engagement and Momentum Worksheet

Module Three: 3d Designing for Engagement and Momentum Reflection

Module Three: 3e Designing for Engagement and Momentum Knowledge-Check

Module 4 – Aligning Curriculum and Support Systems Link academic and student-service functions to create a seamless learning experience.

Module Four Overview

Module Four: 4a Aligning Curriculum and Support Systems Video

Module Four: 4b Aligning Curriculum and Support Systems Reading Resource

Module Four: 4c Aligning Curriculum and Support Systems Worksheet

Module Four: 4d Aligning Curriculum and Support Systems Reflection

Module Four: 4e Aligning Curriculum and Support Systems Knowledge-Check

Module 5 – Designing for Equity and Inclusion Apply inclusive design principles to ensure every student has an equitable path to success.

Module Five Overview

Module Five: 5a Designing for Equity and Inclusion Video

Module Five: 5b Designing for Equity and Inclusion Reading Resources

Module Five: 5c Designing for Equity and Inclusion Worksheet

Module Five: 5d Designing for Equity and Inclusion Reflection

Module Five: 5e Designing For Equity and Inclusion Knowledge -Check

Module 6 – From Data to Design Decisions Use retention data to drive continuous design improvement and create a personalized Retention Design Blueprint.

Module Six Overview

Module Six: 6a From Data to Design Decisions Video

Module Six: 6b From Data to Design Decisions Reading Resources

Module Six: 6c Data to Design Decisions Worksheet

Module Six: 6d From Data to Design Decisions Reflection

Module Six: 6e From Data to Design Decisions Knowledge-Check

Module 7 — Pulling It All Together: The Student Success Design Blueprint Integrating the learning, connecting the dots, and applying the framework to real-world contexts.

Module Seven Overview

Module Seven: 7a Pulling it All Together: The Student Success Design Blueprint Video

Module Seven: 7b The Retention Design Blueprint for Student Success Reading Resource

Module Seven: 7c The Student Success Design Blueprint

Module Seven: 7d The Student Success Design Blueprint Reflection

Module Seven: 7e The Student Success Design Blueprint Knowledge-Check