Jianwei Niu, dean of University College, cut the ribbon on the new University College Student Success Center earlier this spring. The new center is the seventh dedicated space of its kind for UTSA students.
APRIL 1, 2025 — UTSA is advancing its commitment to becoming a model for student success with a strong investment in college-based student success centers. From personalized academic guidance to career preparation resources, these centers serve as important gathering spaces and connect students to both college-specific resources and university-wide services — ensuring every student has the tools and support needed to thrive.
This spring, the University College opened its Student Success Center, the seventh dedicated space of its kind for UTSA students. The University College Student Success Center joins the other college-based centers within UTSA’s Academic Success District, a collection of key student support services on the Main Campus.
“We are thrilled to provide a dedicated space where University College students can make connections beyond the classroom and develop a sense of belonging,” said Jianwei Niu, dean of University College. “Human connection is key to student thriving, and this center represents our commitment to fostering success at every level.”
UTSA’s hub-and-spoke model creates a seamless and coordinated support system for students. At the center or “hub” of this model is UTSA Student Success, which provides academic advising, tutoring, peer mentoring and coaching, career resources and other academic support services for all students. The college-based student success centers function as “spokes,” offering support that aligns with students’ majors and career goals.
The student success hub-and-spoke ecosystem is united by five shared goals:
Collaboration is key to success. Representatives from hub-and-spoke units meet monthly to discuss initiatives, raise awareness of programs and services and find opportunities to partner. College student success center leads also meet regularly to strategize approaches to achieving shared goals, review data and identify best practices that can be scaled across the university.
One result of this collaboration is Student Success Day, held each semester to connect students with resources and build connections — all while enjoying free food and giveaways. This semester’s Student Success Day is set for Tuesday, April 8.
“Our hub-and-spoke student success model has been so effective that other universities are looking to UTSA as an example of how to break down silos and create a truly student-centered culture,” said Tammy Wyatt, UTSA senior vice provost for student success. “They are especially impressed by how we’ve fostered a shared sense of responsibility for student success across the university.”
Student success centers in every UTSA college provide tailored academic, career and personal development resources, fostering a seamless support network to help Roadrunners thrive.
The UTSA Carlos Alvarez College of Business Student Success Center offers extensive support for undergraduate and graduate business students, including tutoring, career exploration, weekly workshops, resume writing sessions and networking events where students can connect with alumni and industry professionals. Last year, 6,600 students participated in the center’s programming, which included 215 professional development events and 150 employer-focused events.
The center also oversees Career Compass, a required professional development program designed to prepare business students to be competitive in today’s job market. Taking a gamified approach, students complete the program by earning points each time they participate in workshops, internships, leadership roles and other experiential learning activities.
“As a result of Career Compass, I have been able to expand my perspective and embrace new opportunities,” said Vincente Rios, a junior majoring in cyber security. “Career Compass has introduced me to so many tools, like apps for employment and internships, VMock for resume writing and LinkedIn for building a professional profile. Through the program, I’ve also earned certifications and gained resume-worthy experience, which have been invaluable for my career goals.”
Wyatt, who also oversees the university’s Career-Engaged Learning areas, intends to further integrate experiential learning and career readiness across the hub-and-spoke ecosystem. This includes stronger collaboration with the University Career Center, Najim Center, Office of Undergraduate Research and others.
An example of this collaboration is the Clinical Teacher Mix ’n Mingle event co-hosted by the UTSA College of Education and Human Development Student Success Center and the University Career Center. This event helps aspiring educators refine their resumes, practice their interview skills, and connect directly with Texas school districts, sometimes resulting in on-the-spot job offers.
Several college student success centers also partner with UTSA Housing and Residence Life (HRL) to offer themed residential communities. These living-learning communities provide first-year students with built-in academic support and peer connections and have helped improve retention and academic performance overall.
For example, the Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design’s Student Success Center facilitates the Engineering Focused Interest Group (FIG), where first-year engineering students live together in Guadalupe Hall and benefit from study groups, mentoring and shared core classes. The 2023-2024 FIG cohort had 100% retention and a 3.10 average GPA — compared to 85.5% retention and a 2.94 GPA for all first-time Klesse College students.
Similarly, the College of Sciences Student Success Center collaborates with the HRL team to support about 80 students in the COS residential community in Alvarez Hall, organizing community-building events and sharing resources through their peer mentoring network. Beginning in Fall 2025, University College will support three themed residential communities: one for data science-related majors, one for ROTC students and one for multidisciplinary studies students who are focusing on hospitality and events management.
Through these and other programs and partnerships, UTSA continues to enhance its interconnected student success network, ensuring that every Roadrunner has access to a support system to help them thrive.
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Covidence is a systematic & scoping review tool used to streamline the process of screening and reviewing articles. Using this software, research teams can easily import studies, perform automatic deduplication, and extract data using templates. This workshop will show attendees how to start a review in Covidence, add collaborators, and get started on screening.
Virtual (Zoom)In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to Pandas, a Python tool for working with data easily. It makes it simple to organize and analyze information when data is organized and categorized, like spreadsheets or tables.
Group Spot B, John Peace LibraryEach fall and spring semester, students convene at the Main Campus at UTSA with booths, ideas and prototypes. A crowd of judges, local organizations, students, faculty and sponsors walk around and talk to the students about their projects and ask questions. Students get the real-life experience of "pitching" their project with hopes of getting funding or support to move to the next level.
UTSA Convocation Center, Main CampusJoin the doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Conferreal Ceremony and celebrate their accomplishments.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusCelebrate the graduates from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
AlamodomeCelebrate the graduates from the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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