Case Studies
Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University is a public, historically Black land-grant university located in Prairie View, Texas, and a member of the Texas A&M University System. Founded in 1876, it is the second oldest public institution of higher education in Texas and the largest HBCU in the state, known for its rich cultural legacy, commitment to upward mobility, and academic excellence across undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. Prairie View offers a wide range of degrees spanning liberal arts, sciences, engineering, agriculture, business, and health disciplines, and its research, outreach, and community engagement contribute to its mission of student success and societal impact.
Prairie View A&M University, one of the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities, built its First-Year Experience around PAWS (Panthers Advocating for Wellness and Success), a peer mentoring initiative designed to give every new Panther the guidance and connection needed to succeed from their first year through graduation. Backed by a five-year Title III grant, the university set out to expand on that foundation, training 300 PAWS mentors and 30 CliftonStrengths champions, students supporting fellow students, to help drive persistence and success across campus.
The challenge was making sure this investment translated into daily habits:
- Giving mentors and CliftonStrengths champions a practical tool to reinforce their work with students day to day
- Bringing the CliftonStrengths programme into students' everyday routines rather than leaving it as a one-off assessment
- Building consistent habits that would help students persist, stay enrolled, and ultimately improve retention and student success across the university
Semester Student Planner worked with Prairie View A&M University to build a planner that blends the university's CliftonStrengths programme directly into the Semester coaching framework, turning what is often a one-off assessment into a daily habit students can build on throughout the year.
As part of the five-year Title III grant, the rollout includes:
- Custom planners for every first-year student at PVAMU, 2,500 in total, including the university's 300 PAWS mentors and 30 CliftonStrengths champions, so every mentor and champion has a practical tool to reinforce their work with fellow students
- CliftonStrengths content woven into the planner's daily and weekly structure, so students engage with their strengths regularly rather than only at the point of assessment
- A shared framework connecting PAWS mentoring, the CliftonStrengths programme, and Semester's coaching approach into one consistent, everyday experience for students
By bringing these elements together in a single tool, the approach turns PVAMU's existing investment in mentoring and strengths-based development into daily habits that support persistence and success.
- 2,500 Custom Planners
- A keynote speech
- 2-days of coaching
The programme will provide students with greater clarity, structure, and ownership of their academic journey. Staff reported stronger engagement with support resources, while students demonstrated improved confidence, organisation, and self-management throughout the academic year.
Prairie View, Texas, United States
The initiative will support improved student engagement and contributed to the university’s wider retention and student success goals. By embedding wellbeing and academic planning into daily student life, the programme helped create stronger foundations for persistence, performance, and long-term success — while giving the institution a repeatable, scalable model for future cohorts.
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