The HIP Advantage Initiative
The HIP Advantage Initiative aims to support student success, including retention and graduation, with High-Impact Practices (HIPs). The HIPs Advantage Initiative involves identifying, monitoring, and assessing HIPs and their outcomes across the University.
Definition of High Impact Practices
High Impact Practices (HIPs) are teaching and learning experiences that demonstrate significant, research‑supported educational benefits for students, particularly those from historically underserved or marginalized groups in higher education (AAC&U, 2023). Rooted in active, engaged learning, HIPs require students to pose and solve meaningful problems, collaborate within a community of peers, apply knowledge to real-world contexts, and engage in intentional reflection on their learning processes (McMahan, 2015).
Extensive educational research shows that participation in HIPs increases student engagement, deepens learning, and improves retention and completion rates (Kuh, 2008). To ensure effective implementation, HIPs incorporate eight key elements identified by Kuh & O’Donnell (2013):
- High performance expectations
- Significant investment of time and effort over an extended period
- Substantive interactions with faculty and peers
- Engagement with diversity, including interaction across differences
- Frequent, timely, and constructive feedback
- Structured opportunities for reflection and integration of learning
- Real‑world application and relevance
- Public demonstration of competence
Guiding Philosophy
“Campuses need a systematic approach to inventory who is doing what along these lines as well as which students participate...The larger point about this issue is that we need to clearly delineate what constitutes a HIP and expect empirical data to justify the claim. Moreover, just as we know students benefit more when expectations are high and performance metrics are applied, we should hold ourselves to similarly high, empirically verified standards when defining what constitutes a high-impact activity before declaring it is such" (Kuh & O’Donnell, 2013).