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Student Engagement

Inside Louisiana Tech’s E3 Initiative

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Description

Louisiana Tech’s College of Business was on a pursuit to engage students outside of the classroom because they know that is the most effective way to prepare them for career and lifelong success. They turned to Suitable because we have been doing this longer than any other technology company out there and our mobile-first platform provides their students with a one stop shop for all experiential learning and co-curricular activities. This expertise has helped LA Tech increase student engagement to a much greater degree without sacrificing the fun for students.

About the School

Louisiana Tech serves over 1,200 students in their College of Business. In effort to focus more on student engagement, they developed the E3 Initiative, representing Engage, Explore, and Elevate.

Challenge before Suitable

Before partnering with Suitable, Louisiana Tech did not have adequate tools for tracking attendance such as stamping and card swiping/scanning. They found that this was not engaging for students and a hassle for administration to keep track of. Louisiana Tech College of Business also wanted a system that enabled them to create a personalized experience for their students. They had a mission to get students involved outside of the classroom and provide them with career readiness experiences critical to their development. It was crucial that they had the right technology, one that could pull all of the college’s activities into one central location so that they could more effectively visualize their student engagement and better collect & analyze involvement data to continue improving outcomes for students.

Life with Suitable

Louisiana Tech quickly realized that partnering with Suitable was the solution to their problems. Administrators worked with Suitable’s experts to develop a set of ten competencies specific to the school’s mission and vision. As a value-added partner, Suitable provides best practices and guidance for developing scalable co-curricular programs, but every school is still able to customize their program and competencies to best fit their needs. Once Louisiana Tech designed E3 on Suitable’s platform, they were excited at how quickly and effortlessly the students adopted the new technology. It was embraced so well because Suitable streamlined the process on both the administrative and student side, transforming how students develop skills essential for their futures.

In efforts to engage students in career development, Louisiana Tech previously had a different digital badging system that was very manual and inadequate, creating unnecessary work for the administration. But now with Suitable’s app, students track of their progress through levels of E3 with accuracy and convenience, in real-time. After a student participates in an activity they are able to see which competency it fulfills, keeping them aware of the skills they are developing. By partnering with Suitable, Louisiana Tech now has a central location that houses all experiential learning opportunities, badges, and data. Suitable’s gamified app has created a culture of engagement and friendly competition for the students in Louisiana Tech’s College of Business which, in turn, has led to increased value to students and improved strategic outcomes for the college. 

Outcomes Achieved 

With Suitable’s technology, Louisiana Tech’s College of Business has access to real-time data that is needed in order to satisfy accreditation requirements. The school is relieved to now have automatic badge tracking and issuance with 12 badges offered. Students have found Suitable easier to use compared to the previous system and there has been a tremendous faculty and staff buy-in. In the first quarter, 52% of students were engaged with E3, with the top students completed over 30 experiences each.

Plans for the Future 

In the future, Louisiana Tech’s College of Business plans to continue expanding the college’s adoption of Suitable. This includes involving employer partners so recruiters can begin building relationships with top performing students starting Freshman year. Suitable also provides each student with a shareable Experiential Learning Record, which helps students tell their story and showcase their accomplishments. Louisiana Tech also plans on utilizing the data that Suitable provides for AACSB reporting.