Evidence-Based Practices & Professional Foundations
CEOP’s work is not built around one program model or one theory. It is shaped by what students tell us, what our campus data shows us, what national research points to, and what our professional communities continue to teach us.
Students do not experience college in separate boxes. A student may be trying to understand financial aid, get registered for the right classes, find a community, pass a difficult course, support their family, manage stress, or think about graduate school. Our job is to help make those next steps clearer and easier to navigate.
Why This Matters
Good student support should be thoughtful, practical, and responsive. CEOP uses research, professional practice, student feedback, campus data, and community knowledge to guide how we support students and families.
Ideas That Inform Our Work
Belonging and Social Connection
Students are more likely to keep going when they feel like they belong and know someone is paying attention. The What Works Clearinghouse includes social belonging as an intervention area focused on helping students see that they can be successful in college.
Clear Guidance at the Right Time
Students often need help before a problem becomes too big. Effective advising and timely guidance can help students understand requirements, make decisions, register for classes, and connect with the right office or person.
High-Impact Practices
High-Impact Practices are learning experiences that help students stay engaged, apply what they are learning, and build stronger connections. CEOP’s work connects to this idea through first-year transition, cohorts, peer learning, undergraduate research, student leadership, community engagement, and other hands-on experiences.
Peer Mentoring and Near-Peer Support
Sometimes the best support comes from someone who recently walked the same path. Peer mentors and student leaders can help students ask questions, find resources, build confidence, and feel less alone.
Peer Learning and Academic Momentum
Students can benefit from structured academic support, especially in challenging courses. CEOP’s Peer Learning Facilitator work fits within a larger family of peer-supported academic success strategies, including Supplemental Instruction and Peer-Led Team Learning.
Whole Student Well-Being
Students bring their whole lives with them to college. SAMHSA’s Eight Dimensions of Wellness reminds us that well-being includes emotional, social, physical, financial, intellectual, occupational, environmental, and spiritual wellness. This connects closely to CEOP’s focus on helping students find support, balance, and direction.
First-Generation Student Support
First-generation students bring strengths, motivation, family pride, and community knowledge to UNM. Strong support also means making college easier to navigate, explaining hidden expectations, building belonging, and connecting students to people they can trust.
Research and Graduate School Preparation
Research, faculty mentorship, and graduate school preparation help students see new possibilities for themselves. CEOP supports these pathways by helping students connect to research, mentoring, conferences, and graduate preparation.
How This Shows Up in CEOP’s Work
These ideas are not separate from our daily work. They show up in how we welcome students, build cohorts, train student leaders, support registration, connect students to academic resources, create spaces where students feel they belong, and help students prepare for research and graduate school.
Professional Networks That Strengthen Our Work
CEOP team members stay connected to professional communities that focus on orientation, transition, retention, student affairs, college access, TRIO programs, first-year experience, and student success. These networks help us learn from others, stay current, and bring useful ideas back to UNM.
NODA
NODA supports professionals working with orientation, transition, and retention in higher education.
National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition
The National Resource Center focuses on student transitions, first-year experience, research, and best practices.
NASPA
NASPA supports student affairs professionals through learning, networking, research, and advocacy.
Council for Opportunity in Education
COE supports college access and success work connected to TRIO programs and educational opportunity.
SWASAP
SWASAP supports TRIO professionals and educational opportunity programs across the southwest region.
TRIO New Mexico
TRIO New Mexico connects TRIO professionals across the state through communication, advocacy, networking, and professional development.
Selected Sources and Resources
These resources are examples of the research, practice guides, and professional frameworks that help inform CEOP’s approach.
A Commitment to Getting Better
CEOP continues to learn, assess, and improve. Our goal is to use evidence, experience, and collaboration to strengthen the work we do with students, families, and campus partners.
