viii Introduction students. Throughout this book the reader will learn about how librarians and student success administrators can partner effectively to start this process. Academic librarians and student success administrators can collaborate together they can create additional pathways and opportunities for students who struggle to succeed. This book intends to provide a road map for library employees and student success administrators to initiate and develop discus- sions on college campuses to define and then address student needs. Student needs are emergent, and while all students need more services and support, new services may need to be tailored based on regional needs. Through a selection of case studies and historical context, readers will learn both how to define what student success looks like in their units and how to design custom services to address student barriers to that success. Academic library employees include frontline staff, librarians, managers, and administrators. On-campus student success administrators are profes- sionals who include advisors, student counselors, as well as managers. These two main audiences, library employees and student success professionals, share a common cause of serving students, including those who are at the margins of college campus demographics. Readers will acquire skills to enhance student success initiatives and strengthen collaborations with one another. A tertiary group of potential collaborators includes higher education employees from student success programs such as academic affairs, admis- sions, and student retention—anyone who collaborates with internal or external stakeholders. An internal stakeholder could be someone from one’s own team, and external stakeholders could be someone from a different divi- sion or college from your team. External stakeholders may also include indi- viduals from outside the college or university. This book draws from lived experiences from the perspectives of librari- ans and student success administrators who have for decades collaboratively designed new services to help strengthen student services. Certain parts of the book will help provide new definitions of student success customized to the individuals or groups mentioned. In Chapter 1, we present the lens by which we view this problem. By pre- senting the core issue, it can be more effective to help improve outcomes for students. Through this understanding, it can be more effective to make changes within higher education that situate the student experience to enhance their success. Then, part 1 of this book lays out the history of stu- dent success, focusing on those who have been let into the university and the barriers they faced over time. Student populations on campus are expanding to include more diverse demographics. At the same time, universities are faced with changes to funding models. Students attending the university today are not being adequately supported by their educational institutions, and as a result, students are not always able to succeed. While universities
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