Texas Wesleyan University has been selected to join the third national cohort of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Higher Education’s Transforming the Postsecondary Experience initiative, a prestigious multi-year effort focused on improving student outcomes in teaching, learning, retention and completion.
Only 10 institutions nationwide were chosen for the new cohort.
“Texas Wesleyan has a 135-year legacy of transforming students’ lives through education,” said Wesleyan President Emily Messer in a statement. “Joining this national initiative affirms our commitment to ensuring every student, regardless of background, zip code or family income, has access to a transformative educational experience. We are proud to partner with the Gardner Institute and work alongside peer institutions who share our belief that student success is everyone’s responsibility. This work strengthens our mission and positions our students to thrive in college, in their careers and most importantly in their communities.”
Launched in 2023, the Transforming the Postsecondary Experience initiative guides colleges and universities through a comprehensive redesign of the first two years of college — a period critical to student success.
Research from the Gardner Institute shows that approximately 76% of all student attrition takes place during or immediately after those first two years. Through this initiative, Texas Wesleyan commits to a five-year, evidence-based process aimed at strengthening teaching and learning, closing performance gaps and improving retention, persistence, and degree completion.
As part of the cohort, Texas Wesleyan will build and implement systemic strategies to remove barriers to success, strengthen academic pathways and support degree completion for all students — especially first-generation, low-income, and underserved populations.
The university is nationally recognized for its impact on social mobility and educational accessibility and is a member of FirstGen Forward, a national network honoring institutions committed to supporting first-generation students.
“As we launch this cohort, the colleges and universities recognize that purchasing a tool or launching another initiative won’t shift student outcomes on its own,” said Andrew Koch, CEO of the Gardner Institute. “These campuses understand meaningful change requires strategy, long-term commitment and sustained support. By adopting a whole-institution approach, they are positioning and supporting leadership to realize real, durable transformation.”
The Brevard, North Carolina-based John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Higher Education, co-founded as an independent nonprofit organization by Betsy O. Barefoot and John N. Gardner in 2007, traces its origins to work first conducted between 1999 and 2006 under the name of the Policy Center on the First College Year with initial support coming from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Gardner Institute’s cohort is supported in part by Ascendium Education Group, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ECMC Foundation, Greater Texas Foundation, Lumina Foundation and The Kresge Foundation, philanthropic partners committed to strengthening higher education outcomes nationwide.
Over the next five years, participating institutions will engage in coordinated redesign efforts supported by more than 30 research-based services and tools offered by the Gardner Institute. By the end of the initiative, institutions will have strengthened systems that promote student success, with particular focus on students from low-income households and those who are the first in their families to attend college.