Thanks to the success of the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes, LSU is one eight colleges and universities that University Business magazine and Higher One Holdings Inc., a financial technology company, will honor in the Spring 2016 round of the Models of Excellence program.
The Models of Excellence program recognizes innovative approaches to encouraging and nurturing student success on campus. According to the University Business, graduation rates for LSU’s student-athletes increased from 55% when the center opened in 2001 to 81% in recent years.
“That an NCAA Division I school provides its student-athletes with academic support services is hardly news. What differentiates Louisiana State University’s efforts is that its support encompasses more than just academics,” the magazine says.
The Cox Center helps student-athletes by providing programs for academic support, financial literacy, health and wellness, as well as assistance in dealing with media, according to the magazine. The facility relies heavily on technology to help student-athletes stay on schedule and keep track of their academics, in part by using iPads that are preloaded with apps to help them take notes, record lectures and study.
Other Models of Excellence honorees include: Tulane University in New Orleans; Mercy College in New York; the University of Central Oklahoma; Concordia University Wisconsin; National University in San Diego, California; Northern Arizona University; and Colorado College.
“The Spring 2016 Models of Excellence honorees are higher education institutions that recognize student success as the best indication of effective academic and business practices,” says JD Solomon, editorial director of University Business. “We are excited to share their strategies with the rest of the nation.”
University Business and Higher One magazine recognize higher education institutions that have shown gains in improving student outcomes three times a year—April, August and December.
Colleges and universities can apply for the distinction and are judged in categories such as expanding college access, improving retention, boosting graduation rates, financial literacy and responsibility and adjusting to college life.
