Since 2021, the University Advising Center has partnered with the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships to implement the Scholarship Risk Intervention program, an initiative designed to help students retain their LIFE Scholarship, Palmetto Fellows Scholarship or general university scholarships.

How it works

Since 2021, 5,650 unique students had an insufficient GPA, not enough credit hours or both to maintain their scholarships. Leveraging their pre-existing relationships, advisors reach out to these at-risk students to encourage them to enroll in summer courses to boost their grades or attain the credit hours necessary to secure their scholarships.

Successful contact with students significantly impacts summer enrollment, scholarship retention, and fall retention at USC. The 2024 SRI has concluded, and advisors have successfully boosted summer class registration among students at risk of losing their scholarships. The UAC and OFAS are now awaiting summer grades to complete evaluation of this year’s initiative.

Why it matters

Providing an early alert to students whose scholarships are at risk empowers them to take advantage of summer school options and stay on track academically, ultimately boosting retention rates.

Advisors play a crucial role in this process by helping students retain their scholarships through summer class enrollment and ensuring that students register for degree-applicable summer courses. This ensures that students do not waste time, resources, or money on courses that do not contribute to their degree progress.

By the numbers

Among students who discussed their situation with an advisor:

• 62% enrolled in summer courses at USC. In contrast, only 40% of students without direct advisor contact chose to enroll.
• Scholarship retention is significantly higher, with 46% retaining their aid versus only 26% of students without direct advisor contact.
• The retention rate to the fall semester was also markedly higher, with 91% of these students returning in the fall. In comparison, 83% of students without advisor contact were retained at USC.

What’s next

The Graduation and Retention Network is building on the UAC’s outreach efforts by contacting 450+ at-risk students who were unable to improve their GPA or credit hour status with summer enrollment, either due to personal circumstances or the significant number of credit hours needed to meet scholarship requirements.

Learn more about the scholarship risk intervention program.