The more people who have a vested interest in the proposal, the more likely it is to be accepted.

Gaining approval and support from the individuals who are important to the success of your course requires preparation and communication. This support is necessary both for course effectiveness and for sustaining the course long enough to establish its value. Many people have found the following strategies useful for beginning or reinforcing a student success course.

Write a purpose statement for your course. This will probably be distinct from the purpose statement presented to students. One possibility is: "The purpose of our student success course is to improve student performance and persistence at our college." In contrast, a purpose statement appropriate to the student perspective could be: "The purpose of this course is to provide an opportunity for you to learn and adopt methods to be successful at this university."

Refer to your purpose statement often. When negotiating any aspect of your course, take care to avoid making compromises that will sabotage its purpose from either the institution's or the student's perspective. For example, it would be a mistake to settle for too few course contact hours.

Seek grassroots support as well as assistance from the top of the administrative hierarchy. Draw a political road map encompassing crucial factors for gaining support and identifying key individuals. Include those who are influential behind the scenes.

Maximize the informal process of gaining support for a proposal. Create an initial proposal that is not too detailed and does not challenge existing programs. Do not hurry the proposal into the formal structure of curriculum committees, faculty senates, etc. Enter the formal process only after the entire campus is familiar with the proposal and all objections have been considered. Make certain that the support for your proposal is sufficient to enable it to survive the formal decision-making process.

Send a proposal directly to the president or chief academic officer. See her in person about the benefits of such a course and include sample course materials in your presentation.

Involve people from a variety of disciplines and from administrative, academic, and student services sectors in the creation of your course proposal. The more people who have a vested interest in the proposal, the more likely it is to be accepted. Avoid assigning any early "ownership" of the course to a particular department or person.

Become the retention expert on your campus. Familiarize yourself with all data, research, and institutional studies related to student performance or retention at your school. Be prepared from the beginning to offer evidence that student success courses enhance retention and performance. (Refer to the publications listed in Additional Resources.)

Volunteer to organize a retention task force. This group can explore options your institution might use to improve student performance and reduce attrition. Include influential campus leaders, course supporters, and critics on the task force.

Work with critics early in the decision process. Talk to people who you think may object to your idea before they publicly speak their opposition. It is easier for critics to change their minds when they don't have to defend a position they have already taken. Also, their input is valuable, and their concerns are legitimate. Hearing their points of view and including them in the development phase can result in a course better suited to student and faculty needs.

Maintain perspective. Your student success course will serve students and the institution regardless of who claims credit for the idea or its implementation. Take care to avoid treating the course proposal as an extension of yourself. If it is expedient for others to assume ownership, be willing to let go of it as "your baby." Ideally the course will not "belong" to any one person; it will combine the thinking of a number if individuals.

Remember the issues and interests of the audience when promoting your course. For example, when speaking about the budget, address the positive relationship between improved retention and institutional finances.