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Southwest Texas College

Staying on Track: How Southwest Texas College Uses Targeted Insight to Strengthen Persistence and Completion

3%

increase of fall-to-fall retention for low-income students

15.5%

increase in low-income student enrollment for the past two years

The Situation

Southwest Texas College serves students across a large, predominantly rural region where many learners balance college with work, family responsibilities, and financial pressure. For these students, progress can be fragile – a missed advising meeting, an unexpected balance, uncertainty about program eligibility, or a setback in academic standing can quickly turn into a stop-out.

Southwest Texas College’s advising and student support teams face a practical challenge: the issues that derail students – academic standing, aid eligibility, holds, and program requirements – are connected, but the information that explains them can be spread across systems and offices. When staff cannot see the full picture quickly, outreach is slower, guidance is harder to tailor, and students on academic plans or near completion are more likely to miss a step that keeps them enrolled.

Southwest Texas College wanted a more consistent way to coordinate advising actions and student support across departments, especially for students who benefit most from structured follow-through – including students on Individual Academic Plans (IAPs), students seeking financial aid reinstatement, TRIO SSS participants, first-generation students, and low-income students. The priority was straightforward: make it easier for staff to identify what a student needs next and follow through in time to keep students progressing. That focus helped the institution make significant gains in student success and was recognized nationally when the Aspen Institute named Southwest Texas Junior College a Top 10 Finalist for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence in 2011.

The Solution

Southwest Texas College partners with ZogoTech to unify student, academic, and service data into a single, trusted foundation and turn it into actionable insight for daily work. With consistent definitions and up-to-date dashboards, Southwest Texas College can move from static lists to living cohorts – students on IAPs, near completers, TRIO SSS participants, and other priority populations – and drive timely outreach, documentation, and follow-through across advising and student services.

Across campus, teams use ZogoTech in several distinct ways:

  • Tracking student contacts: Advisors log and monitor interactions to ensure timely outreach, follow-ups, and support.
  • Supporting students on Individual Academic Plans: Staff track progress, document required meetings, and help students on academic suspension or seeking financial aid reinstatement stay on pace.
  • Identifying near-completers: Advisors identify students close to program completion, confirm remaining requirements, and encourage timely graduation applications so credits translate into credentials.
  • Targeted support using filters and alerts: Staff filter students by current enrollment, program eligibility, TRIO SSS participation, or first-generation and low-income status to provide focused advising and resources.
  • Academic and financial insight in one place: Advisors view class schedules, grades, balances, financial aid indicators, and immigration eligibility in a single platform, streamlining decisions and reducing delays for students.

Dr. Randa Schell, Chief of Staff, describes how central this approach is: “We use data every single day to make most, if not all, of our decisions. ZogoTech provides an easy and quick way to obtain that data. Our ZogoTech partnership is one of the tools we use frequently to inform our decision making and our college culture.”

Faith Ibarra, TRIO SSS Director, emphasizes the value of precision in student support – quickly finding the right students and acting with the right context: “ZogoTech is essential in my role because it allows me to quickly filter and identify students based on key criteria – such as current enrollment, TRIO SSS eligibility, first-generation or low-income status, and proximity to graduation. I can view class schedules and grades at a glance, and the platform helps me check program eligibility, balances, and other critical information through the Advisors tab. We also rely heavily on ZogoTech to track SPI numbers, monitor student participation in our services, and better understand trends within our population. Together, these tools allow us to offer more timely, targeted, and informed support to the students we serve.”

“We use data every single day to make most, if not all, of our decisions. ZogoTech provides an easy and quick way to obtain that data. Our ZogoTech partnership is one of the tools we use frequently to inform our decision making and our college culture.”
Dr. Randa Schell
Chief of Staff

The Benefits

Southwest Texas College’s approach has strengthened outcomes for students with the greatest need while also improving how consistently teams can follow through on high-impact advising work.

  • Improved fall-to-fall retention for low-income students: Southwest Texas College tracks fall-to-fall retention for low-income students and has reported steady improvement since COVID: 62.2% (2022), 62.7% (2023), and 65.2% (2024). This progress is attributed to the institution’s data-driven outreach and expanded student support services, including the college’s food pantry.
  • Growth in low-income student enrollment: Over the past two years, Southwest Texas College also reported growth in total enrollment for low-income students: 2,351 (2022), 2,464 (2023), and 2,716 (2024). These trends reflect the impact of using data to guide interventions, allocate resources, and better support students with the greatest need.
  • More reliable follow-through for students on academic plans and financial aid reinstatement: For students on IAPs or pursuing financial aid reinstatement, progress depends on completing specific steps on time. With structured tracking and documentation, advisors can maintain a clearer cadence of meetings, milestones, and follow-up so requirements are easier to meet and less likely to be missed.
  • Fewer students stalling just short of completion: Near-completer identification helps advisors focus attention on students who are within reach of finishing. By confirming remaining requirements and encouraging timely graduation applications, Southwest Texas College reduces the risk that students stop out one or two courses short of a credential.
  • Stronger coordination across departments: Southwest Texas College describes improved cross-department coordination, with enrollment, advising, academic affairs, and student services operating from a unified view of student needs. That alignment reduces delays and supports quicker decisions, giving students clearer guidance across touchpoints.

Southwest Texas College’s use of ZogoTech reflects a practical student success strategy: keep students moving by making support timely, targeted, and consistent. By strengthening contact tracking, enabling structured follow-through for students on academic plans, focusing outreach on priority student groups, and identifying near-completers before they stop out, Southwest Texas College is improving persistence and helping more students translate effort into completed credentials and next-step opportunity.