Fragmented advising systems continue to slow student momentum, particularly for learners who have been historically underserved. Evidence is clear: proactive, relationship-centered advising strengthens retention, accelerates completion, and improves credit attainment. Yet on many campuses, advising remains divided across academic planning, financial aid, basic needs, and career pathways, requiring students to navigate disconnected systems on their own.
State leadership is essential to bridge these gaps. States set the conditions that align funding mechanisms, data definitions, accountability metrics, and expectations, enabling institutions to implement holistic advising at scale.
Generously funded by the ECMC Foundation, SHEEO’s Holistic Advising learning community is a national, multi-state initiative designed to strengthen this state-level leadership role by using research and evidence. In partnership with MDRC, a nonpartisan research and policy organization, SHEEO will support up to six states in assessing their advising ecosystems, developing coherent and durable policy agendas, and advancing sustainable models that improve student persistence, completion, and postsecondary-attainment success. Through structured assessment, technical assistance, coaching, and peer learning, participating states will receive research-backed guidance and tools needed to advance lasting advising reforms that centers students and their full range of needs.
How This Project Model Works
The Holistic Advising learning community follows a focused, research-informed model that helps states design sustainable advising reforms that support all students. Each participating state begins with a baseline assessment and policy scan, examining its current advising landscape, funding structures, data capacity, and policy levers. This assessment establishes a clear starting point and identifies opportunities for statewide alignment. Throughout the project, states take part in monthly technical assistance sessions and peer-learning discussions that bring national experts, researchers, practitioners, and other state teams together to explore evidence-based advising strategies and share emerging insights.
To translate learning into action, SHEEO and MDRC provide individualized coaching tailored to each state’s context, helping teams refine their goals, engage stakeholders, and strengthen policy proposals. State visits by the SHEEO and MDRC teams will deepen this work by grounding policy development in on-the-ground experiences, allowing state teams to meet with institutional partners, speak with advisors, other student support staff, and students, and better understand local advising practices. All participating teams will also convene in-person to focus on collaborative problem-solving, policy design, and cross-state learning. Together, these components create a sequenced and supportive environment that enables states to develop durable holistic advising strategies that improve student persistence, completion, and long-term success.
Call for State Teams and Informational Webinar
A call for state teams was issued January 5, 2026. SHEEO invites interested agencies to submit a Letter of Interest by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on Friday, January 23.
An informational webinar to review the goals and expectations of the learning community was held on January 13, 2026. You can access the webinar slides here, and the recording here; Passcode: Q=q0yD0P
Contact Us
For inquiries about the project, contact Sakshee Chawla, Senior Policy Analyst, at schawla@sheeo.org.