Building the Framework

Over a structured three-year planning process and through support from EAB, USC has cultivated a holistic, integrated model for student success. USC's Student Success Framework—a comprehensive, research-based model grounded in five interconnected dimensions of success (academic success, career readiness, experiential engagement, social responsibility, and well-being)—is designed to foster sustained student achievement by supporting the whole student.

1. The interconnectedness of academic success with all elements of student success
2. Student success approached holistically rather than as isolated components
3. The connection points the subcommittee identified as particularly powerful strategies.

The Integrated model demonstrates the five primary dimensions of student success, each of which the subcommittee worked collectively to define in a meaningful way.  In addition, the final product suggested specific high-level metrics which could be used to measure success across the dimensions.

Student Success Dimensions

Student Success Dimensions	Definition
Academic Success	Academic success is the attainment of programmatic learning outcomes and educational outcomes through sustained engagement with progressively challenging educational activities, progress towards degree completion, and the development of critical thinking, analytical, communication, and other foundational intellectual capacities that will set a student up for a lifetime of learning.
Career Readiness	Career readiness is the comprehensive preparation for transitioning into and navigating today's dynamic and ever-evolving workforce and/or advancing professional, academic, and/or graduate studies. It encompasses equipping students with the knowledge, technology, and skills to excel in building relationships, effective communication, and critical thinking.
Experiential Engagement	Experiential Engagement is students’ purposeful participation in co-curricular experiences, high impact practices, and other campus-related activities fostering academic, personal, and professional goals. Connection is achieved through positive relationships with faculty, staff, and peers.
Social Responsibility	Social responsibility is the active engagement of students in civic learning, global awareness, environmental stewardship, and community involvement to recognize and address the needs of others at local, national, and global levels in pursuit of the common good.
Wellbeing	Well-being is an "optimal and dynamic state that allows people to achieve their full potential."* For student success, optimal well-being is the  interconnection of many areas including physical, psychological, social, and financial wellness. It includes both individual and community well-being, where students feel healthy, connected, and empowered to thrive in all areas of their Gamecock experience.

^{"Student Success Framework" by the University of South Carolina Student Success Framework Committee is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.}

^{Please cite as: University of South Carolina Student Success Framework Committee. (2025). Student success framework [Diagram]. Office of the Provost and the Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support.
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/provost/planning/index.php}

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^{*NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation, NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education & ACHA - American College Health Association (November 2020). Inter-association definition of well-being. Retrieved from https://www.nirsa.org/hands-in/}