Transforming Campus Culture: Inside the CORD's Holistic Approach to Student and Faculty Success

Chieko Hara

Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence

Since opening its doors in January 2022, teams in the Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence (The CORD) have offered academic and career support to more than 20,000 individual students and conducted over 3,000 support visits with faculty. Through its many programs and partnerships, The CORD has created a newfound emphasis and enthusiasm around student success and has had an impact on the campus culture — among both students and employees.

The CORD'S programs and services are driven by the U of A's strategic goals of advancing student success, supporting research excellence and becoming an employer of choice. The CORD advances student success through a holistic suite of career and academic support services. Research excellence is encouraged by providing opportunities for research and scholarship as well as writing support to undergraduates, graduate students and faculty. The CORD supports becoming an employer of choice by offering faculty and adviser support and student professional development.

The CORD also supports the university's strategic goals through collaboration and by consolidating services offered to students and faculty in one innovative space. By bringing these services together, The CORD is reimagining how students and faculty interact, helping both succeed.

"Students experience deeper level learning and have better academic outcomes when they know and engage with their professors," said Trevor Francis, associate vice provost for student success. "The CORD creates opportunities for engagement by giving faculty an opportunity to see how, when and where their students receive academic support. By being present in the building and understanding the services students use, faculty can serve as critical conduits to campus resources and break down perceived barriers of faculty access by being more visible and accessible to students."

To champion these strong connections between faculty visibility and student success, The CORD offers high-impact programming for faculty, advisers and students.

Faculty support in The CORD includes faculty development and curriculum consultations, in-class support like classroom visits and out-of-class support for students. Faculty opportunities in The CORD include:

• Teaching and Faculty Support Center (TFSC)
• Teaching Innovation and Pedagogical Support (TIPS)
• Academic Integrity and Initiatives
• Arts & Sciences Student Success
• Career Education
• Writing Studio
• High Impact Practices (HIPs)

The CORD also supports academic advisers by providing software support and coordinating professional development opportunities. Academic advisor support includes:

• UASuccess training and support
• Coordinating professional development opportunities
• Coordinating the advising awards program

Student academic support services are multi-faceted, offering a layered approach that is tailored to each student's individual academic journey:

• Academic Coaching
• Career Coaching
• Arts & Sciences Advising
• COEHP's Boyer Center for Student Services 
• Course-Specific Tutoring
• Supplemental Instruction
• University Perspectives
• Undergraduate Research Support
• Writing Studio
• Welcome Desk – Enrollment Quick Questions

The CORD's comprehensive approach to support is praised not only by the campus community but also by peer institutions. The center's unique integration of faculty and student support is the first and only one of its kind in the SEC, making it a model peer institution others aspire to.

"The University of Arkansas is committed to providing the resources our faculty and students need to succeed in their scholarship, in their research and in the classroom," said Terry Martin, provost and executive vice chancellor of academic affairs. "The CORD allows us to advance both student success and faculty success, facilitating our mission as a land-grant institution."

To learn more about The CORD's services for faculty, advisers and students, visit success.uark.edu.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.