University Task Force on Student Success and ARC Working Group
In 2022, Matt chaired the University Task Force on Student Success, charged by then Provost DesRoches to investigate the factors affecting student attrition and identify recommendations to increase belonging, persistence, and academic success. The Task Force made 11 recommendations, which were approved for implementation by the Board of Trustees in December 2022. These include establishment of a central academic resource center (ARC) to provide tutoring and supplemental instruction, expansion of pre-matriculation courses and programs, and resources to provide equitable access to undergraduate research and faculty.
To advance the Task Force recommendations, Matt chaired and Caroline served on the ARC Working Group (WG), which surveyed faculty and students on needs and desired resources for academic support; benchmarked academic resource centers at AAU and other peer universities; and conducted site visits to ARC’s at seven universities. The report to Provost Dittmar in December 2023 proposed a comprehensive model for providing centralized academic support at Rice–in close collaboration with the faculty and existing academic support units/programs–with the ultimate vision of ensuring that every Rice undergraduate is able to pursue, progress through, and achieve their preferred academic path. Above all, the WG recommended establishment of a new academic support office to be co-located with existing offices to form the ARC; programming focused on foundational STEM and quantitative reasoning courses; reliance on peer-led collaborative learning; and establishment of a centralized accommodations testing.
