Holistic Student Experience
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Students in HEP programs typically have access to college courses and to the resources needed to be successful in their degree. What is not as often considered, and is also vital to a meaningful college experience, is an expanded set of supports that allow students in HEP to feel included, to belong, to grow and learn in the ways that university students do simply by being in college, not necessarily through course content. Holistic student support is responsive to student needs and interests and addresses both academic and reentry needs.
A Holistic View of HEP
When the SDSU VISTA program had the opportunity to apply for a grant, we knew we wanted to seek support to cultivate a rich and holistic university experience for our students. That meant bringing together a multidisciplinary team of scholars, with disciplinary expertise as well as with lived experience of incarceration, to collaborate on the cultivation and facilitation of meaningful student support services.
The team seeks input from students in direct and indirect ways—for example, they might notice that students are anxious about finals and decide to hold a wellness workshop; or they might get requests for a resume building class and set that up in response. Student input is also gathered in more formal and specific ways each semester through surveys that help guide the team in workshop development, ensuring relevance and engagement.
Workshops in response to students' needs and interests have included topics such as leveraging lived experience for career pathways, graduate school preparedness, research and symposium presentation skills, reentry resources, and Disability 101 with a focus on justice-impacted populations. Additionally, Graduate Assistants provide peer tutoring, co-facilitate workshops where they document student questions and take notes to continuously refine support services and address evolving needs.