Texas Wesleyan University Selected to Join Nationally Renowned Gardner Institute Effort to Transform the Student Experience

FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas Wesleyan University has been selected to join the third national cohort of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Higher Education’s Transforming the Postsecondary Experience initiative, a prestigious multi-year effort designed to improve student outcomes in teaching, learning, retention and completion. Institutions selected for this initiative share a commitment to ensuring students earn a high-quality degree that leads to a fulfilling career and life.

Texas Wesleyan is one of just 10 institutions nationwide chosen for the cohort, further affirming the university’s mission-driven commitment to access and equity. “As we launch this cohort, the colleges and universities recognize that purchasing a tool or launching another initiative won’t shift student outcomes on its own,” said Andrew Koch, chief executive officer of the Gardner Institute. “These campuses understand meaningful change requires strategy, long-term commitment and sustained support. By adopting a whole-institution approach, they are positioning and supporting leadership to realize real, durable transformation.”

Launched in 2023, the Transforming the Postsecondary Experience initiative guides colleges and universities through a comprehensive redesign of the critical first two years of college. Gardner Institute research shows that approximately 76% of all student attrition occurs during or immediately after those first two years. Through participation in this cohort, Texas Wesleyan commits a five-year, evidence-based process aimed at strengthening teaching and learning, closing performance gaps and improving retention, persistence and degree completion.

“Texas Wesleyan has a 135-year legacy of transforming students’ lives through education,” said Dr. Emily W. Messer, president of Texas Wesleyan University. “Joining this national initiative affirms our commitment to ensuring every student, regardless of background, zip code or family income, has access to a transformative educational experience. We are proud to partner with the Gardner Institute and work alongside peer institutions who share our belief that student success is everyone’s responsibility. This work strengthens our mission and positions our students to thrive in college, in their careers and most importantly in their communities.”

As part of the cohort, the university will develop and implement systemic strategies to remove barriers to success, strengthen academic pathways and support degree completion for all students particularly those who are first-generation, low-income or from underserved populations. Texas Wesleyan is nationally recognized for social mobility and educational accessibility and is a member of FirstGen Forward, a national network honoring institutions committed to supporting first-generation students.

The Gardner Institute’s cohort is supported in part by Ascendium Education Group, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ECMC Foundation, Greater Texas Foundation, Lumina Foundation and The Kresge Foundation are philanthropic partners dedicated to building a higher education landscape where all students can succeed regardless of background.

Over the next five years, participating institutions will engage in coordinated redesign efforts supported by more than 30 research-based services and tools offered by the Gardner Institute. By the end of the initiative, institutions will have strengthened systems that support student success, with particular emphasis on students from low-income households and those who are the first in their families to attend college.