Student success in higher education is still measured by one dominant metric: whether students stay. On many campuses, it’s the only metric anyone talks about. Retention matters, of course. It’s the foundation of student success. But it is not the definition of success.
Families aren’t asking whether a student will stay enrolled. They’re asking whether the investment will pay off. With rising costs, declining public trust, and growing scrutiny of degree value, the conversation has shifted. Students want what every investor wants: a clear, credible return.
Here’s the piece many campuses overlook—retention and ROI aren’t competing priorities. They are connected. When students see a path to meaningful work, build skills employers need, receive strong academic and professional support, and prepare for a purposeful life, they stay. They finish. And they graduate into careers that validate the investment.
The institutions that will stand apart in the next decade won’t treat retention as an endpoint. They will show a seamless arc from persistence to career readiness to long-term economic mobility and a thriving life. And the campuses that communicate this value with transparency and conviction will earn the trust of students and families.
So what should you do about it?
1. Clarify Accountability for Student Success
For too long, “student success” has been everyone’s job, and therefore no one’s job. Responsibility is often diffused across student affairs, academic leadership, the provost’s office, advising, and career services, with no single owner empowered to drive an institution-wide strategy.
Recent research reinforces this gap. In national surveys, fewer than half of student success leaders report that their institution is highly effective at making student success a priority or collecting the data required to measure progress. The fragmentation is real—and costly.
To deliver on ROI, institutions need a senior, empowered Student Success Leader (VP or Associate Provost level) who:
- Owns the vision from enrollment through career launch
- Coordinates cross-campus efforts across academic affairs, student affairs, advising, and career services
- Aligns outcomes, data, and interventions across the full learner lifecycle
- Measures, reports, and continuously improves operational and performance outcomes
Student success is a shared responsibility, but true progress requires an empowered and accountable leader.
2. Build the Right Data Infrastructure
A strong ROI story is impossible without strong data. Tracking retention and graduation alone won’t explain value to students or help leadership improve it. Institutions need a data-driven student success strategy that captures outcomes across the full learner lifecycle.
Essential data includes:
- Post-graduation earnings and income trajectories
- Job placement outcomes, including role relevance, time-to-employment, and satisfaction
- Employer demand and alignment between programs and labor-market needs
- Experiential learning pathways such as internships, co-ops, research, and apprenticeships
- Career engagement metrics: mentorship usage, career services engagement, skills gaps
- Cost, debt, and net price data tied to long-term value
- Outcomes for non-degree pathways, including certificates, stackable micro-credentials
Institutions should use this data to inform academic planning, enrollment strategy, employer engagement, advising, and marketing. Without data-driven student retention insights, institutions cannot meaningfully improve outcomes—or communicate their value with confidence.
3. Create a Holistic Roadmap to Career Readiness
A forward-looking higher ed ROI strategy requires coordinated effort across curriculum, student supports, employer engagement, and technology. Students need a clear path from classroom learning to career launch, and institutions need a roadmap that makes that path visible and consistent.
A strong career-readiness framework includes:
- Curriculum + Competency Alignment: Define the competencies students gain in every program and connect them to real career pathways. Liberal arts institutions, in particular, have an opportunity to better articulate how critical thinking, communication, problem-solving, and adaptability translate into skills employers value.
- Integrated Professional Development: Career readiness must be embedded across the learner journey, not relegated to a final-semester workshop. This includes employer partnerships, alumni mentorship, experiential learning, resume and interview preparation, digital portfolios, and networking support.
- Proactive Data and Continuous Improvement: Use predictive data to anticipate student needs, identify risk early, and guide students toward high-value pathways. Advising and support structures should reflect real-time insight, not end-of-term surprises.
- Leveraging AI for Scalable Career Support: The emergence of AI presents transformative opportunities for institutions to scale personalized career development. Examples include:
- AI-powered interview simulators that provide real-time feedback
- Skill-gap analytics that help students understand where they need development
- Career-exploration engines mapping pathways based on interests, competencies, and market demand
- AI-enabled advising assistants that extend the reach of human advisors
When institutions implement these elements cohesively, students receive consistent, individualized support that strengthens persistence, confidence, and long-term career outcomes.
4. Make Career Readiness a Market Differentiator
Students and families want clear evidence that an institution can help them launch a career successfully. Recent Gallup findings show that Americans see career-relevant, practical education as the most important change colleges can make to strengthen confidence in higher education. They are looking for visible support, real outcomes, and a system that connects education to employment. In a crowded market with rising expectations, this is no longer optional.
Institutions should weave their career-readiness strategy into admissions and recruitment by:
- Showcasing investments in career services, professional development, and employer partnerships
- Demonstrating the infrastructure that supports learners from day one through career launch
- Highlighting success stories, alumni career trajectories, and employer relationships
- Communicating results clearly by sharing employment rates, salary bands, and experiential learning participation
When institutions share this work consistently, they differentiate their value and give prospective students what they need most—confidence that the investment will lead somewhere.
Student Success Solutions We Offer
Carnegie partners with higher ed institutions across the country to strengthen data-driven student success and ROI strategies with support that drives measurable outcomes. We focus on ensuring you are keeping the promises you make to students, all students.
Our Services Include:
- Student Success Assessment: Identifies structural gaps, opportunities, and strategic priorities across your advising, data systems, curriculum alignment, and career readiness ecosystem.
- Strategy Session (1 Hour): A working session with Carnegie’s Student Success team to help leadership teams rapidly assess where they stand—and what steps to take next.
And looking ahead, one of the key focus areas at the Carnegie Conference in January will be how institutions can design and operationalize an ROI-focused student success strategy. It’s an ideal opportunity for leaders who want to go deeper, compare notes with peers, and leave with a concrete action plan.
Partner With Us
In an era where students and families demand clear returns, the institutions who align success and career outcomes now will be the ones who stand out, compete, and thrive. Carnegie is here to help you lead the way.
FAQ: Student Success, Retention, and ROI
What data can help predict student dropouts?
Predictive indicators include early academic performance, LMS engagement, advising frequency, financial stress markers, and participation in support services. Institutions that integrate this data through analytics systems can identify risk earlier and intervene proactively.
How can institutions improve student success rates?
A holistic student success strategy should align academic support, advising, career services, and early-warning analytics. Clear institutional ownership and cross-department coordination improve outcomes significantly.
Which metrics matter most when measuring student ROI?
Beyond retention and graduation, key ROI metrics include job placement rates, post-graduation earnings, salary growth, employer demand alignment, and debt-to-income outcomes.
What role does career readiness play in retention and long-term ROI?
Students who see clear career pathways—supported by internships, mentorship, and employer partnerships—are more likely to persist, graduate, and achieve strong employment outcomes, reinforcing institutional value perception.
How can AI support scalable student success initiatives?
AI tools can provide interview simulations, skills assessments, personalized advising prompts, and career exploration pathways at scale. This expands advisor capacity and helps students make informed, confident decisions.
What services does Carnegie offer to support student success and retention?
Carnegie provides a Student Success Assessment to identify institutional gaps and opportunities, along with one-hour Strategy Sessions to help leadership teams clarify priorities and build an actionable plan for improving outcomes and ROI.