A mind at work - Maximizing the relationship between mindset and student success - 2019 National Report

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Margaret

2019 National Report focused on maximizing how student mindset influences success in community colleges. The report outlines why mindset matters, connecting productive mindsets to higher engagement, improved student experience, and better academic outcomes such as higher GPA. It examines the differences between growth and fixed mindsets, highlights self-efficacy, and details academic relevance alongside belonging. The publication also frames practical implications for colleges through guided pathways and classroom strategies addressing noncognitive factors.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword: The Role of Mindset in Improvement

Why Mindset Matters

A Productive Mindset Correlates With Higher Engagement

Mindset and the Student Experience

Growth vs. Fixed Mindset

Self-Efficacy

Relevance of Academic Experience

Sense of Belonging

A Productive Mindset Correlates With Higher GPA

Questions to Consider

A at Work Maximizing the Relationship Between Mindset and Student Success 2019 NATIONAL REPORT CONTENTS Foreword: The Role of Mindset in Improvement 1 Why Mindset Matters 2 A Productive Mindset Correlates With Higher Engagement 4 Mindset and the Student Experience 5 Growth vs. Fixed Mindset 6 Self-Efficacy 10 Relevance of Academic Experience 13 Sense of Belonging 14 A Productive Mindset Correlates With Higher GPA 17 Questions to Consider 19 Published by the Center for Community College Student Engagement, The University of Texas at Austin © 2019 Permission granted for unlimited copying with appropriate citation. Please cite this report as follows: Center for Community College Student Engagement. (2019). A mind at work: Maximizing the relationship between mindset and student success. Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, Program in Higher Education Leadership. Acknowledgments Community colleges are redesigning the student experience—beginning with the end in mind—by focusing on guided pathways. As the college experience is changing, so are the perspectives of administrators, faculty, and staff. As a sector, we are long past the time of having as our primary ethos an open-door admissions policy. We are now emphatically focused on trying to ensure that those who walk through our doors are successful, defined as transferring or having the skills needed to thrive in a job that pays a living wage. With this new focus comes a need for more tools that will help students reach their goals. One emerging tool is educating students about mindset. The person best known for mindset work is Carol Dweck, a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset, and while her research primarily focuses on K–12 students, it is increasingly being applied to higher education. In 2015, the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) launched an academic mindset initiative that builds on Dweck’s work. The initiative aims to better understand the noncognitive factors that affect student success and then develop classroom strategies that address those factors. At the third AACC Pathways Project Institute in 2016, Tristan Denley, then the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for TBR, discussed the impact of noncognitive factors on student success. This discussion spurred the Center for Community College Student Engagement’s (the Center’s) interest in collecting national data on academic mindset. Many of the students who walk through the doors of community colleges have already been told they are not college material. Or they have had experiences that led them to believe they cannot do math or are not good at taking tests. Through intentional and deliberate actions, colleges can begin to move students from what the Center is calling nonproductive mindsets to productive mindsets and change the way they feel about past failures. This shift can lead to more engaged students—and ultimately, more successful students. This work would not have been possible without the efforts of the researchers who have already been invested in this topic. The work would certainly not have been possible without the colleges that participated in the 2018 Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), the faculty in whose classes the surveys were administered, and the students who responded. We would also like to thank the colleges that participated in the mindset focus groups and the colleges featured in this report that shared the mindset work happening on their campuses. Evelyn N. Waiwaiole Executive Director Center for Community College Student Engagement FOREWORD The Role of Mindset in Improvement Tristan Denley Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer University System of Georgia The last decade has brought student success and completion to the forefro

FAQs

What is the report’s main focus regarding mindset and student success?

The report examines how educating and shaping students’ mindsets can improve engagement, the student experience, and academic outcomes in community colleges.

How does the report compare growth mindset and fixed mindset?

It contrasts growth and fixed mindsets and explains how shifting students toward productive mindsets can change how they interpret past failures and pursue success.

Which noncognitive factors does the report highlight as affecting student success?

The report emphasizes noncognitive factors explored through an academic mindset initiative and uses them to motivate classroom strategies and guided pathways reforms.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Margaret