Supporting the “Who:” Coaching and College Student Development

A few weeks ago a coworker came to my office with a request: “I have a student here looking for her coach.” As her normal coach was unavailable I met with the student—let’s call her “Sam”—myself. I could tell Sam felt a sense of urgency.

“Sorry to just show up, but I have a situation to work through and I need coaching. This is one of the few places I can come where I won’t be judged,” she told me. We talked for a while, and as she verbally processed, I noticed her energy shift. Sam ended our session with some next steps and a plan to follow up with her coach.

Sam is just one example of the 1,363 students who have worked with a coach in our program and left with energy and awareness in pursuit of their goals.

For incoming college students, the transition brings newfound joy and independence and yet can be overwhelming and anxiety-producing. Students face daily decisions, sometimes significant, that require executive functioning skills and emotional regulation. These pressures raise questions and a desire for immediate answers.

Eager students often look to campus professionals to give them the “right” answer. However, in my years of coaching college students, I’ve found a key tenet of coaching to be true: Young adults are innately capable and resourceful. The fundamental element is figuring out who they are and what they really want. Exploring this on their own may not be an easy feat. Many students come to college without having taken stock of their identity or purpose.

The coaching process yields a safe, neutral environment where students can experience a true partnership with their coach. Students choose to explore their agenda and topics that may include college transition, major and career exploration, stress management, academic preparedness, social groups and relationships, decision-making and executive functioning challenges.

Our decision to launch the Success Coaching program at Tulane University was informed by a common observation made by faculty, staff and parents: Students were capable of gathering information and creating and committing to a well-articulated plan. However, they failed to execute. Something was missing: the student’s point of view. Thus, from the beginning, the intention of our program was to incorporate the whole person into the process and make it less transactional and more transformational.

“Through the coaching process, I get to watch students grow and feel more confident in who they are and what they are capable of doing,” says Success Coach Karen Hochheiser, ACC. This is especially significant for college students who are in the process of developing their identity and figuring out their place in the world. Coaching allows a safe space to try things on and do something different. It’s transformative and energizing for both the client and the coach.”

Since our pilot semester in 2012, our office has experienced an overwhelmingly positive response to the program. Peer referrals have increased each semester. During the pilot semester, 69 students participated in coaching resulting in 256 meetings. Four years later, in spring of 2016, there were 638 meetings. At the end of the 2015-’16 academic year, 1,363 students had participated for a total of 5,817 coaching meetings. This success is due in part to strengths-based messaging. For example, we ask colleagues and parents to “nominate” students for coaching instead of asking for referrals.

Our goal is not quantity. Instead, we focus on the quality of interactions. Through this approach students and coaches build rapport, establish trusting relationships and move forward to accomplish the students’ goals. As a result, student outcomes include improved emotional state, increased academic performance, enhanced organization, time management skills, improved self-efficacy and identification of a “trusted” person on campus. Moreover, in the spring of 2016, 99 percent of students reported finding coaching “helpful” or “extremely helpful.” We also determined a need to support the neurodiversity of our students. To that end, our coaches complete an ICF-accredited, coach-specific training program focused on ADHD and evidence-based methods. (We’ve found this knowledge and training can be easily transferred to our work with neurotypical students.)

Coaching through a scientific lens has tremendous value. In understanding brain mechanics, processing styles and the power of both positive and negative emotions, I find students to be eager learners. I observe a willingness to explore the elements that provide an explanation for what historically may have caused shame or insecurity. In this newfound awareness of neurobiological factors, students become aware and liberated from perceived limitations.

One student, who gave permission to share thoughts on being coached, said the following:

“I have always had the goal of overcoming my time-management problems, since they have been a burden on me throughout my entire life. Imagine feeling as if you were trapped underwater, with a chain around your ankle connected to a heavy weight. Your whole life, you’ve been struggling to break the chain and swim to the surface so that you can breathe. Finally, you gather enough strength to break off the chain and break the surface of the water, filling your lungs with oxygen. That feeling of relief, as if your life was just saved, is how I feel now after my experience with my coach.”