The New Student Success Formula
With over 15 years of experience in higher education administration, research and academics — and now serving as Pathify’s Head of Solutions — Dr. Christine Deacons epitomizes dedication to student and institutional success.
When exploring the intersection of student support and technology, I knew Christine would provide perspectives as thought-provoking as they are practical. Drawing on her extensive research and work at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), we sat down and unpacked the power of predicting student outcomes, the value of embracing technology and the impact of an engaged community on college campuses.
Hannah Fitzsimons (HF): You’ve seen first-hand the challenges around student equity and persistence. How do these experiences shape your approach to student success?
Christine Deacons (CD): At Eastern Michigan, I led a research group focused on exploring what I call the “business of being a student.” We wanted to understand the experiences and barriers facing vulnerable student populations.
It’s like watching ducks on a pond — on the surface, they appear calm and composed but underneath, they’re paddling furiously to stay afloat. I saw this in many students — they appear fine, but in reality, they’re overwhelmed and terrified of sinking.
Research shows 40% of full-time students don’t graduate, with most dropouts occurring in the first year. Feelings of self-doubt and ineffective institutional communication significantly contribute to this issue. To support these students, we knew we must quickly and accurately identify those at-risk before they reach the point of no return.
HF: What a clever analogy. How do institutions proactively identify those at-risk students?
CD: Institutions must invest in better communication tools, early alert systems and creating a more community-oriented environment where students feel seen and supported. It’s about catching students before they start sinking.
HF: You’ve done research on student engagement and success. What insights and findings can you share from your work?
CD: I worked with Columbia University’s Dr. Sandra Matz where we analyzed over 50,000 students and their interactions within community spaces, across four college campuses.
We focused on predictive performance, or forecasting behaviors before they happen. It’s challenging to track student social interactions and engagement — traditional systems like the Learning Management System (LMS) and Student Information System (SIS) offer demographic and academic data but often fall short in capturing crucial, real-time interactions happening on campus.
In our research, we monitored campus digital communities when tracking engagement — everything from comments posted, messages sent, notifications clicked.
HF: What an interesting shift — from relying on the SIS and existing data systems to leveraging another system to tell a more complete student engagement story.
CD: Exactly. We discovered certain centrality measures — such as the number of digital interactions, connections or how a student helps to bridge the gap between other students — strongly predicted both summer melt and persistence, boosting retention rates by up to 15%. Combining institutional and behavioral data allowed us to predict student retention with greater accuracy.
HF: When we think about measuring student success, we tend to focus on standard or administrative metrics, right? Variables such as a student’s GPA, the number of credits they’re taking, whether they attended class, or if they completed an assignment. However, those metrics alone don’t necessarily predict success.
CD: That’s right. The challenge with those institutional measures is they’re often captured too late. By evaluating both institutional and behavioral data, we gain a fuller picture and a stronger, more accurate prediction of whether they will stay on track or drop out.
HF: How did your research impact your experience at Eastern Michigan?
CD: We relied heavily on technology at EMU by implementing a mobile student app that consolidated essential systems into one interface and provided students with a safe space to connect with one another and build a digital network of support.
HF: Hmm, that sounds familiar!
CD: Doesn’t it?! I wish we had Pathify back then — it would have been truly life-changing. The web/mobile parity would have elevated our experience far beyond what our standalone app offered.
Either way, using an app made campus navigation easier and built a supportive community — critical in nurturing success. We onboarded students into the mobile app as soon as they enrolled in classes which alleviated anxieties and fostered excitement, leading to higher retention and reduced melt, especially among at-risk student groups.
It also provided the additional, behavioral support before a student even realizes they need it. To return to the duck analogy, it lessens those panicky feelings when we provide the right information and resources, early and often.
HF: Your mission of “cracking the code” for student success anchors your background. How does it impact your role at Pathify?
CD: For me, it’s always been about more than simply understanding why students persist or drop out — it’s about finding effective and scalable solutions and strategies to help more students succeed.
This mindset fuels everything we do on the Solutions team at Pathify. We want customers leveraging Pathify’s platform to create environments where students feel connected and empowered. We’re turning this into reality by building and enabling supportive environments, just as my research at Eastern Michigan emphasized.
HF: It sounds like higher ed leaders have a lot to consider — from both technology and student experience perspectives.
CD: The reality is, higher education faces more scrutiny and pressure than ever before.
Leaders need to move beyond the “we’ve always done it this way” mindset and instead, embrace new strategies and ways of thinking if they want to see positive changes. We must also use proper technology to engage students in ways that resonate — and are proven to work.
Institutions unwilling to think boldly and shift their approaches will inevitably fall behind. However, the institutions who embrace new ideas, technologies and remain open to change are the ones rising to the top — creating meaningful, lasting success on their campuses.
About Christine Deacons
Dr. Christine Deacons brings over 20 years of expertise in higher education administration, research and academic leadership. Before joining Pathify, she served as Vice President of Student Success and Head of Research at Ready Education and holds a PhD in Educational Leadership from Eastern Michigan University. When she’s not driving innovation in student success, Christine enjoys exploring Michigan and indulging in outdoor activities with her family.
