In August, the Undergraduate, Advising and Transition Office hosted its first E-Success Summit. This event, which is usually held every semester on campus, was switched to an online platform to meet the current need for a virtual learning experience. The UAT team brainstormed to determine the best method to deliver both an interactive and high-quality experience while promoting the best strategies for academic success. Since Canvas is the official web-based learning platform for Georgia Tech, it offered the best solution for supporting our ambitious goals. Using Canvas, Fall 2020, E-Success Summit was created, which gave students easy access to not only learning strategies, but also learning tools they could download for future use throughout the semester.

The E-Summit was divided into five customizable modules: Motivation, Degree Exploration, Time Management, Study Strategies, and a Q & A with faculty and students. Each self-contained module introduced a topic, along with an interactive activity and a testing benchmark so that the team could monitor students' progress and later reflect on opportunities for improvement. As an incentive, students were encouraged to complete each module and the testing benchmark to earn badges at the end. The self-paced experience, which included a pacing guide, gave students something new—an opportunity to review the material and process the information on their schedule. The students responded to this independence enthusiastically.

Over 150 students participated in the Fall 2020 E-Success Summit, a record number for this event. Over 130 were actively posting to the discussion, while also advancing toward earning their badges. The E-Summit interactive component allowed each of our team members to respond to questions or comments posted in the open discussion forum. As a result of this event, many Georgia Tech students were given access to various high-impact strategies and resources who might not otherwise have received them. Students completed a survey at the end of the event that revealed the most valuable part of the experience was the tangible tools and study strategies. The assessment also provided feedback for expanding the focus areas and streamlining each module to achieve more continuity and engagement throughout the online event. The positive and constructive feedback from students will help our team build on the success and continue to explore cutting-edge ways to deliver academic support to students in the future.

Innovation is driven by creativity, but sometimes it is inspired by an unexpected shift, coupled with a strong desire to support students. The UA&T team understood the connection between effective strategy and GPA. That knowledge helped them curate a broad collection of resources designed to help students successfully transition to Georgia Tech. However, without the support of campus partners, the event's success would not have been possible. The team is grateful to all the individuals and departments whose expertise and guidance made Fall 2020, E-Success Summit, an achievement worth celebrating.