Why Should Your Institution Apply? 

NASPA seeks eight 2- and/or 4-year accredited nonprofit higher education institutions that are designing, implementing and/or scaling career-integrated holistic advising practices. These efforts may include the development and expansion of career exploration programs; embedding career advising and career competencies into academic and co-curricular experiences; and aligning career supports, such as internships, work-based learning, employer partnerships, and career coaching, with broader student support systems. Institutions may have engaged in these efforts as part of comprehensive holistic student support redesign initiatives at the local or state level. NASPA will select eight institutions to participate in this project, with attention to representation across institution types, institutional contexts, and career advising models.

Selected Institutions Receive:

• A $2,000 one-time award. This one-time $2,000 award will be provided at the end of the experience to support the long-term sustainability of selected interventions and/or additional project work. 
• Access to a suite of advising and career integration tools and assessments to inform the cohort experience and for future implementation. These resources include:
  • Learning Framework/Theory of Change
  • Institutional Readiness Assessment
  • Student Experience Audit Template
  • Institutional Evaluation Rubric and Data Template
  • Career-Integrated Advising Toolkit
• Approximately $30,000 worth of complimentary virtual expert guidance. Participating institutions will be provided with one year of technical assistance workshops and access to materials developed by ASN partner organizations ATD, NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), EDUCAUSE, The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, The Center for Innovation in Postsecondary Education, and Young Invincibles.  These materials and resources were developed with input from institutions nation-wide, provided to over 250 institutions, and are valued at $30,000 per institution. 
• In-Person Celebration and Visibility. NASPA will cover registration, hotel costs and travel costs for two individuals from each institution to travel to a working meeting and presentation at NASPA’s Student Success in Higher Education Conference in June.
• Access to national networks of student success professionals and advising champions committed to engaging in institutional change efforts to support long-term success for all students, including Black, Latinx/a/o, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander students, and poverty affected students. 
• Access to a learning community of other institutions with shared learning opportunities and dedicated, facilitated time to learn within and across institutional teams. 
• National recognition through participation in the creation of resources for the field, including impact reports, institutional impact stories, and student vignettes.

Application Materials

Applications are being considered between March 30-April 23, 2026. Our selection committee will review all applications and notify selected institutions by May 1.

The following materials are available to support systems in reviewing eligibility requirements and preparing their application:

• Application Review Rubric
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Online Application Form
• PDF Copy of Application 

Key Dates

• Application launch: March 30, 2026 
• Application deadline: April 23, 2026
• Institutions selected: May 1, 2026 
• Project period: May 2026-December 2027

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Timeline & Activities

Institutions will identify an advising champion to serve as a main point of contact to build a campus team and engage in planning and logistics. This person could be an advising staff person or an individual who has direct contact with advising administration. The desired core team of institutional members that may vary depending on the focus of each service, but will likely include faculty, staff, leadership, institutional research (if applicable), and information technology. The Advising Success Network team will provide support and guidance (if desired)  in the selection of teams.

Participation in the cohort will begin from May 2026 through December 2027. The experience will be collaboratively developed, but will include:

• April 23, 2026: Applications due
• May 1, 2026: Institutions are selected for cohort experience 
• May 2026: Virtual kick-off event with teams from all selected institutions to introduce the theory of change and framework for career-integrated advising, cohort learning arc and tools, and develop common learning goals. 
• June 2026: Institutional teams convene in person at the 2026 NASPA Conferences on Student Success (June 10-13, 2026, Austin, TX). 
  • The ASN will coordinate and financially support travel (hotel, travel fees, conference fees) for two individuals per institution to attend this in-person cohort gathering to engage in a working session and present on their career integration strategies to date.
• June-November 2026: Participating institutions convene and conduct cohort learning sessions and cross-functional team meetings, define institutional goals and metrics, and select career-integrated advising models for exploration and implementation. Based on goals, metrics, and interest each institution will determine at least one career-integrated advising approach to implement throughout 2027. 
  • Participation will occur in monthly meetings with NASPA staff and coaches. This   may include between 1-5 hours per month of virtual meetings and asynchronous activities, with occasional pauses with respect to academic calendars and typically high-volume advising times of the year. An additional 2-3 hours per month may be required of the main point of contact for planning purposes.
• January-December 2027: Institutions launch at least one career-integrated advising innovation to be predetermined throughout June 2026 based on institutional goals and metrics. Throughout this implementation phase, institutions will be provided with ongoing coaching and support, learning sessions, and data collection support. At the culmination of the cohort experience, institutions will share knowledge and ideas through interviews with the ASN, which will inform the development of a microsite to share lessons learned and materials with the broader field.

Selection Criteria

Institutions that meet the following criteria will be strongly considered for their participation in this cohort:

1. Non-profit accredited two- and four-year institutions of higher education that demonstrate readiness to select and implement career advising interventions in the timeframe provided
2. Institutions that have prior experience leading holistic advising redesign projects and have adopted evidence-based practices for holistic advising redesign, including those who have previously worked with the Advising Success Network
3. Institutions willing to collect and review data related to long-term career outcomes from national datasets and institutional data. Applicants may describe their states’ existing tracking mechanisms for longitudinal data from postsecondary education (i.e. Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, California, Ohio), or how they capture institution-specific longitudinal data
4. Institutions that demonstrate a holistic approach to career advising. This includes institutions with Curriculum Integration (new courses emerge as part of a departmental curriculum or when career advising concepts are embedded into existing curricula), Organizational Proximity (offices leading career initiatives are more closely aligned or connected through one or a combination of physical space, departmental oversight, and/or programs for the purpose of bolstering student success), or Structural Mergers (Similar to organizational proximity, but distinct in that job description changes, shared resources, and a common office leader all exist in order to increase student success)
5. Institutions who demonstrate capacity and willingness to consistently and actively participate in the cohort experience, as outlined in the Timeline & Activities section above
6. Institutions who demonstrate readiness and willingness to reflect on broader institutional policies, practices, and outcomes and the role the institution plays in supporting student success

Advisory Group Members

NASPA extends its gratitude to this project’s Advisory Group for their invaluable contributions, drawing on their expertise in career advising and student success.

Dr. Kate Lehman | Executive Director, National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, University of South Carolina

Dr. Jennifer Keup | Vice President, Urban Initiatives & Executive Director, Coalition of Urban Serving Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)

Dr. Niesha Taylor | Director of Career Readiness, National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)

Nyema Mitchell | Vice President, Solutions Design & Delivery, Jobs for the Future

Dr. Zoranna Jones | Director of Strategic Initiatives, NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising

Dr. Angel M. Royal | Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)

Dr. Kathy Thompson | Director, Center for Innovation in Postsecondary Education (CIPE), University of South Alabama