Our Approach
Pursuing higher education is a holistic process of self-discovery, intellectual growth, and personal development.
Three Areas of Focus
Academic Support
Our Academic Department, provides academic tracking, advising, tutoring, LD support, course load supervision, study hours and skills-based learning techniques.
Personal Development
Our Personal Development Program provides Student Success and Insight Seminars, a daily fitness and wellness curriculum, mindfulness training, service learning, student activities and community events.
Student Housing
Our Student Housing Program provides fully furnished, private student residences, independent living skills and conflict resolution training and shuttle services.
Our Integrated Coaching Model
At College Excel we combine academic coaching with a research-backed behavioral and neuro coaching model tailored to increase student motivation, improve performance, and bring about sustainable positive change both academically and personally.
Our Integrated Coaching model is delivered by our Student Success Coaches in a seven-step process (described below), beginning with identifying the individual’s strengths to help craft an attainable and compelling vision for their future self. With assistance from their coach, students work to develop college level academic skills while being challenged to overcome self-limiting beliefs, practice positive behaviors, and reinforce new ways of thinking.
Neuro and behavioral coaching is a brain-based approach focused on deconstructing old, unproductive reward systems that lead to repetitive and unwanted behaviors, while at the same time forming new neuro pathways that lead to higher levels of performance. Our model was developed in conjunction with Srini Pillay, M.D., a Harvard Medical School Psychiatrist who specializes in the neuroscience of behavioral change and how to create the optimal learning environment in the brain.
Mindfulness training is another key component of our approach. As students apply new techniques taught by their coaches, they learn to identify and reduce both unconscious and conscious anxiety allowing the brain to more easily learn and retain new information, while making lasting changes in their behaviors.
The 7-Step Behavioral Coaching Process
Throughout a students’ enrollment at College Excel, their personal team of Student Success and Certified Neuro and Behavioral Coaches offer guidance during each step of the process outlined below.
Education
Our coaches begin by introducing students to College Excel’s unique, research-backed coaching process and then establish the framework for their working relationship.
Data Gathering
A review of the student’s educational and personal history are conducted so that our coaches can contextualize and best understand each individual’s unique needs and life journey.
Planning
Coaches and students co-create an action-oriented plan that keeps each student focused on their vision and learning the new habits and skills that will lead to accomplishing their goals.
Behavior Change
Our coaches challenge students to practice and instill the skills and habits to confidently confront and overcome obstacles inhibiting their path to sustainable academic and personal success.
Measurement
Our coaches continually gauge students’ personal and intellectual growth during their enrollment through regular assessment, feedback, and reflection.
Evaluation
Coaches and students review the coaching process and identify gaps in learning and skills acquisition and then develop a plan to accomplish goals in these areas.
Maintenance
Coaches teach students to identify future challenges and how to self coach in order to sustain and maintain momentum from the positive changes achieved.
NOTE: A student’s length of enrollment in College Excel is determined by each student’s needs and the pace of their individual progress through our seven-step coaching model. On average, College Excel students create sustainable changes within 9-12 months of enrollment.
Master Your Emotions Curriculum
We know how difficult it can be to manage your anxiety as a young adult in today’s world and our experiential rock climbing curriculum empowers students to do more than survive when their fear sets in – they can thrive.
Being trained on how to successfully climb a rock wall allows students to practice emotional regulation and executive function skills to tackle difficult decisions in a high stress situation. Participants are coached as they plan their route and climb the wall using a variety of mindfulness, visualization and breathing techniques to manage their brain’s response to fear.
As students attempt their climbs coaches reinforce the importance of cultivating a growth mindset as they work through failed attempts and build their resilience. Failures are considered part of the learning process and provide opportunities for more learning through feedback and self-reflection. Triumphs no matter how small are celebrated with their peers and coaches as they build their confidence and learn to appreciate their courage, strength and resiliency.
All of these skills are vital for college students to embrace their experiences as a process to stay positive and motivated when faced with difficulties.
