Robeson Community College Partners with Upswing to Provide Increased Academic Support Services

Upswing, an online student engagement organization, is partnering with Robeson Community College (RCC) in Lumberton, North Carolina, to connect the college’s students with integrated student support resources such as live, online tutoring, a virtual assistant that quickly provides answers to students’ questions, and 24/7 engagement services to increase students’ success rates.

“Our goal is to consistently and efficiently communicate with all of our students and drive the use of our learning center, which combines writing and tutoring services ,” says Vonda Graham, Director of Academic Success at Robeson Community College.

Graham says many of the college’s students are busy working jobs and taking care of their families, so it’s essential to provide them with academic help when and where they need it, including scheduling in-person tutoring sessions so they feel engaged and connected to campus.

Upswing’s solution for RCC includes user-friendly, online tutoring, and a virtual learning classroom environment easily accessible to students with the look and feel of social media platforms. Through Upswing’s integrated services platform, students can connect with RCC tutors and Upswing tutors to receive academic support, tutor session feedback, and analyses.

Upswing Increasing Robeson Community College’s Academic Success

Upswing’s integrated student services platform focuses on increasing student achievement for diverse populations, especially in rural communities, by scaling student services, supporting 24/7 online tutoring, and optimizing student engagement with Ana, an SMS-based, people-backed virtual assistant.

Ana mimics a personal advisor’s experience through automated nudging sequences, two-way conversational interactions, and sentimental analyses, and acts as a mass communication tool to reach students on their phones.

“We need to reach students where they are, online, and want our students to have access to leading-edge tools available at their fingertips at all times,” says Graham. “Upswing provides our college with robust academic resources that make the RCC learning experience richer for our students.”

In addition, the Upswings integrated student services platform gives RCC’s students increased flexibility to schedule tutoring sessions and expanding the reach of its student support services.”

RCC’s students will be using Ana daily to get their questions answered, receive reminders about important dates such as financial aid deadlines, and schedule live support sessions on their mobile devices.

Graham believes that Ana will be a beneficial resource by consistently communicating with students at any time of the day to drive the use of the school’s learning center.

Ana becomes a new channel for the college to engage students and opens communication lines to create a space where students feel comfortable and receive motivational nudges.

“We’re proud to partner with Robeson Community College, whose enrolled student population is nearly half American Indian or Alaska Native. Upswing’s 2020 Vision is reducing the equality gap among college students by uplifting diverse students, and preparing them as the workforce of next-gen leaders,” says Melvin Hines, co-founder and CEO of Upswing. “Working in partnership with RCC, we’re ensuring our workforce is more diverse and inclusive with people from all backgrounds.”

About Robeson Community College

Robeson Community College provides opportunities for academic, technical, and life-long learning in a collaborative culture dedicated to inquiry, results, and excellence.  It’s vision is to be recognized for transforming lives through excellence in teaching, learning, and service by empowering individuals to achieve personal and professional goals. RCC’s values include:

• Student Success by offering academic and professional growth opportunities for our service area to meet the needs of students based on their interests and abilities.
• Excellence in teaching, learning and services to advance students toward fulfillment of life ambitions (or toward health, happiness and economic stability or well-being).
• Accountability to stakeholders (students, community, employees) by seeking continuous improvement in programs and services through data driven decisions.
• Integrity through honest and transparent interactions with others providing a reliable and accurate image of the College.
• Diversity and Inclusivity by understanding and celebrating the differences, similarities, and successes of our communities of interest.

About Upswing

Upswing is an Austin, Texas-based online student engagement organization focused on removing the barriers to degree equity. Learn more about Upswing at https://upswing.io/