Paritii | Identifying Key Barriers to Student Success

Case Study

Identifying Key Barriers to Student Success

Postsecondary education suffers from a “success gap” where specific student profiles are deemed less likely to succeed. We did a root cause analysis of what causes some students to disproportionately fail, withdraw and not complete. We delivered a blueprint to closing the gap using a whole systems approach to academic and social integration.

Problem

Postsecondary institutions face challenges in ensuring student success and retention. Many students encounter obstacles such as financial constraints, lack of academic preparedness, and difficulty navigating institutional structures, which can impact their ability to graduate. Additionally, advising and support systems may not always be designed to effectively address the varying needs of students, leading to lower retention rates and engagement.

Solution

We partnered with postsecondary institutions and key stakeholders to examine the root causes of student success disparities through comprehensive audits of institutional processes, data collection methodologies, policies, technologies, and teaching practices. Our approach helped identify structural inefficiencies and areas for improvement, allowing institutions to develop targeted interventions that remove barriers to student achievement. By addressing these challenges, we equipped our clients with actionable strategies to enhance student support systems and institutional effectiveness.

Impact

Paritii enabled our clients to understand the key factors leading to higher dropout, failure, withdrawal, and incomplete rates among students facing academic and institutional challenges. Our retention strategy focused on fostering academic and social integration within the college experience. This included strengthening the transition into collegiate life, building social capital, and developing student-centered support frameworks. Our solutions operated across multiple levels, engaging policymakers, institutions, faculty, students, and technology providers to drive meaningful, data-driven improvements in student success and retention.

view more case studies

Case study

Removing Barriers to Student Success

Paritii partnered with five institutions and the EdTech vendors that support them as part of a consortium dedicated to overcoming obstacles that hinder effective advising solutions in lower-resourced institutions. As a strategic learning partner, Paritii facilitated the assessment of advising challenges, guided the implementation of data-driven interventions, and worked collaboratively to refine technology solutions that enhance student support and success.

Case study

Framework for Responsible Technology Solutions

To help institutions, program administrators, developers, implementers, and funders evaluate the effectiveness of postsecondary technology solutions, we designed a Responsible Technology Solutions Rubric. This framework assesses how well a technology solution prioritizes fairness in AI, user-centric design, and accessibility for underserved students. It also enables institutions to self-assess their readiness to successfully adopt and integrate new advising solutions in a way that maximizes impact and effectiveness.

Case study

Stakeholder Relationships in Procurement

To understand the relationships between stakeholders within the software procurement process at Post-Secondary Institutions, we studied the strength of interactions vs the flow of data in Advising software and created a map that helps institutions identify potential gaps in the procurement process.

Case study

Software Procurement at Post-Secondary Institutions

To aid institutions in procuring the right software, we needed to understand the current procurement process. We interviewed relevant stakeholders to understand what triggers the purchase, what proposal and approval processes are completed prior to the acquisition, and how institutions plan toward integration, monitoring, and assessment of the solution.

Case study

Advising Technology Use Cases

‍With the move to Holistic Advising comes even more fragmentation of technology products that help students along their journey. To better understand how technology can enable student success, we interviewed a diverse set of students and advisors to prioritize their use cases and advise institutions on creating a technology procurement roadmap for Advising Software.

Case study

Student Advising Taxonomy

In order to create Holistic Advising solutions that enable student success, it is important to ensure that all stakeholders are speaking the same language and have a shared understanding of what this truly means. To facilitate these discussions, we created an Advising Taxonomy that outlines what Holistic Advising means, how it is actualized, who does the advising, and where Advising occurs for students.

Case study

Post-Secondary Student Support Ecosystem

The various support systems available to students are critical in enabling their success or failure in their post-secondary education. We created an ecosystem map to understand the human, process, and technological resources students turn to for advice before, during, and after their Post-Secondary journey.

Case study

Enhancing the Advising Experience for Students Facing Barriers

Comprehensive college advising plays a crucial role in supporting students facing barriers to success. We conducted interviews with both students and advisors to gain insights into what effective advising looks like and to identify the most impactful elements at different stages of the student journey. These insights help inform the development of meaningful interventions that enhance academic and personal support.

Case study

Bridging Opportunity Gaps Through EdTech

We created the first blueprint for responsible, digital learning solutions. Our approach integrates fairness in AI, advanced UX/UI analytics, and a product development process like no other. We demonstrate that technology can bridge opportunity gaps and empower all users by removing barriers that hinder progress.

Case study

Perspective – Responsible Design in the Product Development Lifecycle

There is a fundamental responsibility to create products that serve a broad range of users. However, limitations within the product development value chain can restrict who benefits from innovation. We help our clients expand participation and accessibility, enhancing both their market reach and customer trust while driving sustainable growth.

Case study

Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Centers

We addressed gaps in the healthcare system, ensuring monoclonal antibody treatment was accessible to communities in remote and underserved areas during the COVID-19 emergency. Our public health strategy and management approach helped our client expand their presence in regions with limited healthcare access, improving treatment availability for those most in need.

Case study

Community Responsive COVID-19 vaccination programming

We developed community-responsive COVID-19 vaccine education and programming tailored for low-income communities. Our customized public health initiatives increased vaccine uptake, restored confidence, and contributed to improved community health outcomes. Additionally, we provided guidance to national public health efforts, helping others replicate our success in expanding access and awareness.