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Student Success Coaching Program SSCP
  1. Student Success Coaching Program
  2. About Us

About Success Coaching

Mission

The Student Success Coaching Program facilitates the transition and promotes the success of a cohort of incoming and continuing first-generation college students at UC San Diego. Students are part of a collaborative, holistically supportive and validating environment that applies a strengths-based approach.

Vision

The Student Success Coaching Program will catalyze all first-generation students to develop as self-assured leaders who leverage their strengths to impact their local and global communities. The Student Success Coaching Program will pave the way for a thriving culture of support for first-generation students that intentionally eradicates historical institutional barriers.

Program Goals

  1. Be a source of support for first-generation students by valuing their strengths and validating their unique identities. (Sense of Belonging/Validation & Support)

  2. Foster skill development that increase students’ self-agency/advocacy through programming, individualized referrals, and individual coaching. (Skill Development)

  3. Empower first-generation students to create their own definition of success. (Self-Authorship)

Program Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

  1. Students will be able to build academic skills inherent to their success.
  2. Students will participate in academic and co-curricular experiences that align with their goals.
  3. Students will be able to apply self-reflection in pursuit of their goals (personal, academic, and/or professional).
  4. Students will be able to articulate the strengths of their first-gen identity.
  5. Students will be able to devise a dynamic success plan towards their goals (personal, academic, and/or professional).
  6. Students will be able to activate a support network inherent to their success.

Definition

Success coaching is defined as:

the individualized practice of asking reflective, motivation-based questions, providing opportunities for formal self-assessment, sharing effective strategies, and co-creating a tangible academic plan. The coaching process offers students an opportunity to identify their strengths, actively practice new skills, and effectively navigate appropriate resources. This process ultimately results in skill development, performance improvement, and increased persistence. (Robinson, 2015)

What makes coaching distinct?

UC San Diego's success coaching program is different from other types of student support — what makes coaching distinct from these other roles?

  • Success Coaching: Coaching is a thought-provoking creative process that inspires students to maximize their personal and professional potential. It recognizes the agency of the student, and focuses on setting goals, creating outcomes, and managing personal change.

  • Mentoring: A mentor is an expert who provides wisdom and guidance based on their own experiences.

  • Therapy: In therapy, the focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past that hamper an individual's emotional functioning in the present.

Source: International Coaching Federation