Any college student will tell you: Academics are only one component of the full higher education experience. Countless other factors—the clubs you join, where you live, the meal plan you pick, the advisors you’re paired with—contribute to students’ feelings of success, belonging and achievement.
Dr. Robin Williamson, Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA), understands this intimately, “A lot of the components that happen outside of the classroom have such a powerful impact on what happens inside of the classroom.”
A lot of the components that happen outside of the classroom have such a powerful impact on what happens inside of the classroom.
Dr. Robin Williamson, Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Central Arkansas
Williamson herself was a first generation college student. She credits a work-study manager with helping guide her decision to switch majors from biology / pre-med to psychology and become a resident advisor—choices that put her on a path toward a 30+ year career in higher education.
At UCA, Williamson and her team are dedicated to ensuring the institution’s more than 10,000 students are surrounded with resources to fulfill a variety of personal, professional and social needs. With their recent implementation of RealResponse, the institution is equipped to deliver a new level of student-centered support, whenever they need it.
Building a haven for student success
A core tenet of UCA’s Division of Student Affairs is to enrich the whole person. As Williamson puts it, “Not only do we provide the opportunities for students to figure out who it is that they’re meant to be and how to be that, we also address a lot of basic needs.”
This philosophy manifests across the institution in ways large and small. In Fall 2024, for example, the university launched its UCA Commitment program: a groundbreaking, debt-free tuition pathway for incoming Arkansas first-year students with an annual household income of $100,000 or less.
Students who come to UCA have access to a vast portfolio of services geared toward improving their time on campus. This includes resources like the Bear Essentials Food Pantry to combat food insecurity, the World of Work Closet where students receive professional clothes for interviews and internships, and a dedicated department for supporting students (traditional and nontraditional) through their first year experience.
Says Williamson, “We have a lot of students with a lot of needs just to be able to be successful in the classroom, let alone do all the things outside of the classroom. I think of it like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. We really cover the whole pyramid: from providing safe housing, consistent internet, food, shelter, clothing, all the way up to leadership and training opportunities that we provide.”
Retention starts with prioritizing human connection
Student affairs programs and resources typically come to life through 1:1 interactions with staff, faculty and peers. But when it comes to ensuring the needs of a five-digit student body are addressed, scalability is paramount.
Certain signs of a struggling student are easier to detect (for instance, unpaid bills or a dropped meal plan). But knowing when students don’t feel a sense of belonging is much harder to identify, unless you’re providing a safe, anonymous outlet for them to confide in.
With RealResponse (known on campus as 313-TALKUCA), Williamson and her team stay connected to students when they need it most—and not just when reporting compliance violations.
“Students have used it for questions about feeling overwhelmed, feeling left out or being lonely,” says Williamson. And I love that, because if sending a simple text gets you connected with us, we’re going to be successful in keeping you here because we have a [supportive] group of faculty and staff that go above and beyond, over and over again.”
Even if a student never has to use the platform, simply knowing that it’s there—and that they can reach out and get an immediate response—provides a sense of comfort.
“It really has been an extension of UCA’s sense of care and community. I always tell folks that our whole job is to provide wrap-around care for these students. RealResponse is one more tool to help us do that.”
Learn more about how RealResponse can amplify the voices and insights you need to strengthen your institution’s culture.
