College of students playing and socializing on The Green

Student Success & Thriving

Student Success & Thriving Initiative

Student success at the University of Delaware is grounded in connection, belonging and shared responsibility. Creating a dynamic culture that supports student success requires campuswide collaboration to help students navigate the University and thrive throughout their UD experience.

Student thriving provides a shared framework for this work. It recognizes that success is holistic and shaped by academic experiences, relationships, wellbeing and access to support.

This work reflects a collective commitment to aligning people, resources and practices across the institution to better meet students’ needs. It depends on collaboration across roles and units, as well as a shared understanding of how each area contributes to the student experience.

This site serves as a central resource for information, priorities and campus initiatives related to student thriving.

Learn more about the Thriving Project

Priorities

Faculty and staff across UD have engaged in thoughtful conversations about student support and opportunities for improvement. These discussions revealed several consistent priorities:

  • Strengthening connection and belonging as a foundation for student success
  • Helping students navigate support, services and resources
  • Reducing silos and building more coordinated, cross-functional approaches
  • Connecting faculty, staff and units more intentionally around student success work

Together, these priorities reflect an opportunity to better align efforts and create a more seamless student experience.

Staff share insights at the 2026 Student Success Summit

Current and Upcoming Work

UD’s Student Success Group is translating insights from the 2026 Student Success Summit into coordinated next steps, including:

  • Cross-functional collaboration (Spring 2026)
    Focused work informed by summit feedback and survey findings to strengthen coordination and impact.
  • Campuswide student survey (October 2026)
    A University-wide survey created to better understand students’ experiences, needs and sense of connection across UD.
  • Student Success Summit 2027
    March 24, 2027, featuring Dr. Amelia Parnell

These efforts will help guide intentional, data-informed action across the institution.

Stay Connected

The 2026 Student Success Summit marked an important milestone in this ongoing effort. Additional opportunities to engage and learn more will be shared in the coming months.

Learn more about the 2026 Student Success Summit and related initiatives.

Thank you for your continued commitment to supporting UD students and advancing student success and thriving.

Students smiling for a group photo at the S4E Flea Market