The Exemplary Student Pathways Project

The Exemplary Student Project (ESP) is an initiative of The University of Texas System that aims to improve student success by redesigning curricular pathways at each of the UT System's nine academic institutions. The ESP project combines the power of data with a proven change model to design new pathways to support more students to enter and complete quality degree programs.  
 
Supported by generous funding from the Lumina and Trellis Foundations, the ESP project: 

  • Positions the curriculum as the locus of change to achieve equitable student success. 

  • Cultivates data agency through an iterative change model—the Participatory Action Institutional Research model (PAIR)—that brings together institutional teams, referred to as “PAIR Cohorts,” to dive deep into data and develop action plans designed to close gaps in outcomes, remove barriers to student success, and re-envision curricular structures and disciplinary pathways.

  • Supports institutions to build capacity, sustain, and institutionalize student success projects and action plans aligned with near- and longer-term strategic goals grounded in concrete strategies for implementation, assessment, and stakeholder engagement.  

ESP Symposium
February 15-16, 2023 in Austin

The ESP Symposium brought together leaders from across The University of Texas System, funders, and external partners to showcase the innovative student success projects underway at the System’s eight universities. The Symposium:

  • Explored—through panel presentation and focused discussions—best practices and complexities of redesigning curricular pathways and developing data agency across the institutions; and
  • Featured the eight Phase I PAIR Cohort projects underway at the academic institutions.
  • The Symposium included graphic notetaking. Scroll down to see the dynamic boards that captured the proceedings.

The Symposium conference program can be read here.

Thanks to continued funding from the Lumina Foundation and additional funding from the Trellis Foundation, the second phase of the project (September 2023-August 2025) will result in interdependent deliverables designed to build capacity and evidence of impact, sustain, and institutionalize the ESP PAIR change model with:

  • A professional development model designed to support institutional leaders and practitioners to use data to re-envision pathways and curricula. 
  • An impact assessment framework to build evidence and accountability for the ESP change model’s efficacy.
  • The ESP Playbook offering guidance for other institutions and systems to adopt the ESP PAIR change model to remove barriers to student success and close gaps in student outcomes.

 

ESP Project Graphic

 

Between Fall 2021 and Summer 2023, the ESP Project funded a total of 22 institutional cohorts focused on identifying a student success challenge and developing an action plan to address it. Project summaries can be found below:

Exemplary Student Pathways Logo