Inclusion by the Numbers in CSU-Northridge Classrooms

Institutions committed to improving diversity & inclusion have always faced an interesting challenge. As efforts to promote diversity grow increasingly and measurably successful, the need to create inclusive environments for those diverse populations becomes more acute. How do we even start to measure progress towards that goal? Below is a snapshot of NameCoach usage at California State University, Northridge, as students and teachers met each other during the first [...]

Belonging, Student Success, and Persistence: the Simple Power of Names

In a previous post, we learned how the Xavier University Center for Teaching Excellence has deployed NameCoach to help address the most important element in student success: sense of belonging. “According to Terrell Strayhorn (2012), the number one key to student success in college pertains to the concept of belonging. A basic human need, students’ sense of belonging has been associated with positive outcomes in college, including academic [...]

Freezing Summer Melt

As colleges gear up to enroll a whole new class of excited students, we start thinking about how to combat the thorny phenomenon of “summer melt”: college-intending students who take a step towards enrollment - such as accepting admission or putting down a deposit - but don’t show up. According to research by Lindsay Page et al., published by Harvard’s Center for Education Policy Research, between 10% and [...]

Xavier Center for Teaching Excellence on Names, Belonging, and Success

A Campus Climate Survey at Xavier University highlighted the concept and importance of belonging to student success. A letter from the Xavier Center for Teaching Excellence summarized: “According to Terrell Strayhorn (2012), the number one key to student success in college pertains to the concept of belonging. A basic human need, students’ sense of belonging has been associated with positive outcomes in college, including academic achievement, satisfaction, and [...]

Setting the Bar Higher for Inclusion on Campus

We’ve had the good fortune to be on the front lines of the fight to create inclusive learning environments in higher education. But we haven’t been in that fight alone. We’ve had the honor of working alongside a number of schools doing amazing, if sometimes unnoticed, work to improve life in the classroom and on campus for their students. Institutions like Stanford, Northwestern, and California State University-Northridge. And [...]

University of San Francisco: Preventing the Last Memory of College Being Someone Pronouncing Your Name Wrong

As told to NameCoach by Peggy Takahashi, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Programs Associate Dean, University of San Francisco Our job is to prepare our students for engaging careers in business. We’re a Jesuit school, so social justice is an important part of our mission. We look at our students’ education not just as a step to their career, but in terms of their whole life. That starts by [...]

2018-02-28T00:57:14+00:00February 26th, 2018|Belonging, Case Study|

Inclusion by the Numbers in Foothill College Classrooms

Institutions committed to improving Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion have always faced an interesting challenge. As efforts to promote diversity grow increasingly and measurably successful, the need to create inclusive environments for those diverse populations becomes more acute. How do we even start to measure progress towards that goal? Below is a snapshot of NameCoach usage at Foothill College as students and teachers met each other during the first [...]

2019-08-02T21:34:55+00:00February 22nd, 2018|Belonging, Canvas, Case Study, Foothill College|

Q&A with Paul Schantz, California State University, Northridge

We recently had an opportunity to talk to Paul Schantz, Director, Web and Technology Services, Division of Student Affairs, California State University, Northridge, about how the university is using NameCoach to provide a more inclusive learning experience for its students. Can you tell me about CSUN? We’re a large institution with 40,000 students in the heart of the San Fernando Valley. Close to half of our enrollment is Hispanic. [...]

NameCoach is On the Runway 

We’re excited to announce that NameCoach is one of nine education technology startups selected to join Michelson 20MM Foundation’s EdTech accelerator, Michelson Runway. Being part of this most recent Michelson Runway cohort aligns tightly to our mission of promoting equity and efficacy in higher education. Creating a more inclusive learning environment for students has become high priority for faculty and administrators in higher education and NameCoach is an [...]

2018-02-16T05:01:19+00:00February 16th, 2018|Belonging|

Wish We’d Had NameCoach

The last school I taught at had a high percentage of immigrant and refugee students. This meant that many graduation ceremonies were cringe-worthy. Despite practice and notecards with phonetic hints, the administrator butchered the names of the majority of students. One year was particularly heinous. Not only did the announcer butcher most names, he did so multiple times in an attempt to get them right. That year, I [...]