A New Era Of Student Success: Helping Teams Transform Student Experience & Institutional Pride

Empowering Teams, Elevating Impact, Strengthening Institutional Effectiveness

Three years ago, we wondered what would change if every learner had a clear, actionable path toward the future they wanted.

Since then, we’ve had the privilege of learning from and collaborating with students, advisors, and leaders at more than 200 institutions—shaping what the next era of student experience can look like.

Across campuses nationwide, one truth kept surfacing: students were navigating resources largely on their own, and advising teams were doing everything possible with tools not designed for today’s reality and rising student expectations. Those conversations revealed clear patterns—and an opportunity to do better.

Students deserve an integrated journey—one that connects self-discovery, academic choices, and career preparation into a guided pathway—with teams serving as catalysts for transformation, engagement, and meaningful experiences.

And what we learned is shaping where we are headed next.

Emma's Experience: How Can I Easily Demonstrate the Value of Advising?

At a regional university, an advisor reflected on her students’ journeys. Despite managing a caseload of 500, she felt pride when students made confident, informed decisions—yet frustration when administrative tasks and disconnected systems limited her reach.

Across higher education, this tension is everywhere: teams are working harder than ever, but institutional recognition and student outcomes don’t always reflect that effort. Fragmented systems, rising caseloads, and pressure to demonstrate measurable results can dilute both team effectiveness and institutional pride.

The question is clear: how can institutions equip advising and student success teams to scale impact, strengthen outcomes, and demonstrate the full value of their work—while navigating a labor market that is increasingly scrutinizing the role of professional advising expertise?

What We’ve Learned: Insights From 200+ Colleges & Universities

Across our conversations, we found out that students often fall behind because the systems around them make it too hard to move forward. And teams, despite their talent and dedication, are often working uphill with limited access to effective tools and resources.

The barriers may look slightly different on every campus, but they always point to:

1. Access: Students can’t benefit from support they can’t find. When resources are scattered, even the most motivated student slips through the cracks. Advisors know this better than anyone—they spend countless hours helping students track down what should’ve been simple in the first place.
2. Clarity: Advisors change lives when they can intervene early. But with unmanageable advising ratios, many students don’t get clarity until after a setback. Early, personalized guidance isn’t a luxury; it’s the difference between confidence and confusion later on.
3. Momentum: When exploration, planning, and next steps live in different systems, students stall, and advisors spend their time troubleshooting instead of mentoring and guiding. When everything connects, students move faster, arrive prepared, and conversations deepen.
4. Data: Advising teams already know the story behind the numbers, but the data they need is scattered across systems. When information finally comes together, advisors can spot who needs support and guide students with intention, not guesswork. And demonstrate the true value of the profession.

Our Focus for 2026 and Beyond

Over the past few years, we’ve spent a lot of time listening and experimenting with advisors, student success teams, and leaders across the country. What we heard was consistent and clear, and it’s shaped how we’re moving forward.

1. Sharing What Works: Making it easier for teams to access evidence-based research and real lessons from colleges nationwide—so student curiosity turns into confident, actionable next steps - and teams reach new heights.

2. Strengthening community resources: Partnering with organizations like Appreciative Advising and NACE to streamline access to advising and career readiness research, and help teams put those insights into practice faster.

3. Building tools that respect the art of advising: Using technology intentionally to reduce administrative burden, surface meaningful insights, and support professional judgment—so advisors can spend more time mentoring students and less time navigating complex systems.

From the whole team at Advisor AI, thank you for your partnership and interest in shaping students’ lives and futures. Your commitment and insight make everything we build better, and we’re grateful to be creating what’s next.