Seven state teams to participate
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) today announced the launch of a new, two-year national initiative designed to strengthen state leadership in building research-based advising systems that support all students. Holistic Advising for Student Success will engage seven participating states—Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, South Carolina, and Washington—in a sequenced program of assessment, coaching, and in-person collaboration.
Despite strong evidence that proactive, relationship-centered advising improves retention, accelerates completion, and enhances student success, advising systems across the country remain fragmented—often split among academic planning, financial aid, basic needs, and career pathways. This fragmentation can slow student momentum, especially for learners who are furthest from opportunity. State leadership is essential to bridge these gaps and align funding, data systems, accountability measures, and expectations to enable institutions to implement holistic advising at scale.
Supported by generous funding from ECMC Foundation and in partnership with MDRC, a nonpartisan research and policy organization, SHEEO will lead a two-year, multi-state learning community focused on strengthening advising ecosystems through evidence-based strategies, policy design, and cross-sector collaboration. Participating states will receive individualized technical assistance, coaching, and access to peer learning opportunities to assess their current advising landscapes, identify policy levers for reform, and advance durable models that center students and their full range of needs.
“This learning community recognizes that advising is not just an academic function but is a critical driver of student belonging and success,” said John Lane, Vice President for Academic Affairs at SHEEO. “By equipping states with the tools and partnerships needed to align advising across systems, we can ensure every student receives coordinated support from enrollment to completion.”
Dr. Alex Mayer, Director of MDRC’s Postsecondary Education Policy Area at MDRC, adds, “Holistic advising is at the heart of the most effective student success strategies in higher education. We’re excited to be part of this ambitious initiative to help states use rigorous evidence to enhance and strengthen their advising strategies to help more students succeed.”
State teams will develop policy agendas to scale holistic advising statewide and ensure lasting improvements in student persistence, completion, and postsecondary attainment.
For more information about the Holistic Advising for Student Success project, visit https://sheeo.org/project/holistic-advising-for-student-success/.
About SHEEO
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staff. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership.
About MDRC
MDRC was founded in 1974 on the idea that high-quality research and evidence can play a vital role in reducing poverty and expanding opportunity in the United States. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, MDRC conducts rigorous studies of programs and policies that affect people with low incomes, actively disseminates the lessons to policymakers and practitioners, and works directly with programs and agencies to help improve their effectiveness and efficiency.