Training Success Coaches to Empower Students and Increase Retention

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

There are 2 big lessons I gained. First is to lean into silence instead of trying to fill it. The second is to not jump in with a solution for every problem. When a student comes to me with a problem, I no longer feel the pressure to fix everything. I am prepared even if I have no idea of what the student is talking about. I now have the tools to structure the conversation and help them find their answers. Because I was a student myself 6 months ago, I never felt qualified do to this work. This training help me feel more comfortable and confident in my abilities and role as a student success coach.

—

Kailey R.
Student Success Coach, Northwestern Michigan College

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

As a college basketball coach and a K-12 school superintendent for many years, I viewed being a "coach" as being an expert, a person who transfers knowledge, an encourager, a resource. I've had some exposure to cognitive coaching in the educational setting, but what I have learned in this training goes way beyond that and is very different. I have been able to enrich the lives of others, even in my everyday life outside of class, and I find myself being blessed by those interactions. These coaching methods and strategies are unique. They enable me to help others discover their own answers and solutions to problems and situations, increasing their confidence and developing a success mindset.

—

Dan G.
Associate Men's Head Basketball Coach, Grace Christian Univeristy

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Coaching used to feel exhausting. I would offer advice. I would try to fix their problems for them. I would basically spend the full meeting talking at the student. I would leave the meeting thinking, "I sure hope that was good advice." Now there's a sense of relief in my coaching conversations. Now, I'm quite literally empowering the student to define and achieve their goals, and I stay with them on this path. But now I don't lead them where I think they need to go. Students now develop a greater sense of responsibility. I've had a couple of students say, "Wow! This was really helpful today!" They are truly finding how much more empowered they feel when they come up with their own solutions. They had it in them the whole time, but I just didn't know how to ask the right question to draw it out.

—

Kelsey W.
Student Success Coach, Northwestern Michigan College

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I have had 30 years of experience teaching and running my own consulting business. When I started success coaching at our community college, there was no initial training so I was coaching students my own way.  I now know that it wasn't really coaching. I often felt nervous and uncertain about meeting student's needs. Now, I realize that I wasn't asking the specific questions needed to help students open up and identify the obstacles blocking their success. Because of the Empowerment Success Coach training, I now have a process and the skills needed to be an effective college success coach. I don't need to have all the answers because the coaching process allows the student to focus on the solutions they need, not the ones I think they should choose. The training experience was clear, succinct, and practical. I loved the process of learning new coaching skills, practicing those skills with each other and then, debriefing to receive feedback. During this training, I built confidence as a Success Coach. For the members of our success coaching team, I can confidently say that this training has changed us individually and as coaching colleagues. Empowerment Coaching has given us a solid foundation thus allowing us to better meet the needs of our students.

—

Jennifer S..
Student Success Coach, Northwestern Michigan College