Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) was named the first four-year university in the nation to be designated as an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Campus of Distinction on March 27.
For eight years, the Center for Student Success (CfSS) has been an AVID Higher Education Institution. Since then TAMUK has been working to become the first Campus of Distinction. The hard work was recognized as TAMUK was announced as the first AVID Campus of Distinction last Wednesday.
“We feel so blessed and grateful to have this designation because this is something that we’re passionate about. This is the Center for Student Success’ baby and at the root of all this is our students. So, to get this recognition just reinforces that what we’re doing is amazing and our students are benefitting, and now we can share with everyone…this is what we’re doing, it works and everybody should be doing this,” Dr. Stephanie De Los Santos, the AVID liaison at TAMUK, said.
AVID is a non-profit organization that focuses on student success through professional development for teachers and staff to learn about different ways to engage students. The organization also believes in taking a holistic approach in education to ensure student success.
At TAMUK, the CfSS has built itself around five AVID components- academic advising, professional development, first year seminar, tutoring and mentoring and co-curricular activities. Dr. De Los Santos explains that the CfSS also works to support students through a “Circle of Care.”
This “Circle of Care” helps guide students towards success all through college and even after.
Betty Krohn, the director of AVID for Higher Education, spoke about why TAMUK was chosen to be the first AVID Campus of Distinction during the announcement.
“When we look at…success at an institution, we really look at four areas. We look at leadership, we look at the systems that you have in place, we look at culture and we look at instruction. And, everything we do…really falls into one of those four areas, and when we’re attuned to what’s happening in all four and they’re working together collaboratively, that’s when students can really be successful. And that’s what we’re seeing here at Texas A&M Kingsville,” Krohn said.
Dr. George Rasmussen, TAMUK Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, congratulated the CfSS staff for their hard work in setting TAMUK up to receive the honor of becoming the first Campus of Distinction.
“And I really appreciate the effort that this group here has put together to really make that happen. They’re the ones working with the students and they’re the ones on the front-line and they’re the ones that actually have been able to work with the faculty and say this is what makes a difference. So, I appreciate everything they’ve done to be able to get this level of distinction,” Rasmussen said at the announcement.
For TAMUK students, the Interim Associate Vice President for Student Success Dr. Shannon Baker believes that the AVID distinction will show them that the university cares about their success.
“I think what this means for our university is that students can be assured that they’re on a campus where faculty, staff and the administration are dedicated to helping them succeed and we’re dedicated to providing foundational blocks for them to get through when they’re struggling. We all struggle in different classes, and the AVID strategies are utilized in many of their classrooms, they’re utilized in your first-year seminar experience, they’re utilized at our tutoring center and by our advisors, so even though students might not hear the word AVID every day, they’re experiencing it every day,” Dr. Baker said.
Being the first four-year university to become an AVID Campus of Distinction will open many opportunities for the university.
“We’ll keep utilizing AVID strategies on our campus, but additionally we’ll be hosting other campuses that will come here to learn about what we’re doing so they can take that back to their home campuses. So, we will be the example now to set for other four-year institutions of higher learning,” Dr. Baker said.
