Can Mandatory Support Keep Students Enrolled?

Students on academic probation are often among the least likely to seek out the very support services designed to help them stay enrolled, leaving colleges searching for more effective ways to intervene before they stop out.

Ferrum College in Virginia is taking a more proactive approach.

In 2024, the private college launched Students Taking Academic Responsibility, or STAR, a mandatory academic-intervention program for students on academic probation. Those whose semester GPA falls below 2.5—or who enter the college with a high school GPA below 2.5—are automatically enrolled, rather than asked to opt in.

STAR combines weekly academic coaching, course-specific tutoring, attendance accountability and a one-credit College Skills seminar grounded in Stoic philosophy. The program is built on the idea that personal responsibility is a skill that can be taught—not simply a trait students either possess or lack.

While mandatory intervention may give some colleges pause, John DeVault, associate vice president of student success at Ferrum, said waiting for struggling students to seek help often means waiting too long.

“I saw trends with students that had nothing to do with how smart they were,” DeVault said. “They didn’t know how to use the resources around them, and there was a lot of anxiety about asking for help or even admitting they were having an issue. What I’ve seen is that you have to require it, and most families love that. They love having that safety net for their students.”

DeVault said the idea for STAR grew out of his own experience being placed on academic probation during his first year of college.

“I had a real tough time admitting there was a problem. I didn’t want to deal with that reality,” DeVault said. “Looking at students that I’ve dealt with—specifically students who have been suspended or placed on probation—I see the same trend.”

“So I was like, let’s take that aspect out of it and essentially mandate it for them, and that’s really a large part of the premise behind it,” he added.

A structured approach: In STAR’s first cohort in spring 2024, 73 students enrolled in the program, and 44 returned to college the following fall—a 60 percent retention rate, compared with a 37 percent historical baseline for students on academic probation over the previous decade, DeVault said.

The program also produced gains in academic performance. Over all, 71 percent of participants raised their GPA in a single semester. Among students who attended at least 75 percent of the required sessions, the average GPA increased from 0.55 to 2.64.

By spring 2026, STAR had expanded to include 134 students. Even with the larger cohort, 66.4 percent of participants improved their GPA—less than a five-percentage-point difference from the program’s initial cohort, suggesting the academic gains largely held as the program grew.

DeVault said the program’s structure—and his willingness to share his own academic struggles with students—help build trust early in the semester.

“I use a lot of my personal experience with the class, too, and they can relate and be like, ‘OK, this is normal,’ and it takes them off this anxiety cliff and brings them back down to reality,” DeVault said. “Starting with that framework and building the other pieces around it has translated into the GPA and retention gains we’re seeing.”

DeVault said the one-credit College Skills seminar has become one of STAR’s most important components. The class combines study-skills instruction with an introduction to Stoic philosophy, which DeVault said gives students a framework for focusing on what they can control: showing up, completing the next assignment and asking for help before a deadline. At the same time, it encourages students to let go of what they cannot change, including grades already received or semesters that did not go as planned.

“The program itself is kind of an evolution,” DeVault said. “When I first started it, we didn’t have the [skills] class component. But as we went through, having the class became a better idea because it was something that had some teeth.

“It was on somebody’s transcript—it was real,” he added. “That gave us the ability to have something where they get a grade and they can see it. It also became easier to track attendance.”

One student who stands out to DeVault entered STAR as a junior after facing personal challenges that affected his academics. Through the program, the student raised his GPA from 1.0 to 3.0 and recently graduated.

“Being able to play a role with students who are in that same situation I have been in is incredibly rewarding to me,” DeVault said. “Working with these kids who didn’t think that they had a real path forward, and have been able to get clarity in that emotional whirlwind, and just know what their options are.”

“And some students don’t elect to go back to college, and that’s OK,” he added. “But they can do it with clarity and with choice.”

Looking ahead: As STAR continues to evolve, DeVault said he is exploring a similar program for honors students, arguing that academic success does not necessarily protect students from the same anxieties and pressures that can derail their college experience.

“They get lost in the mix a lot,” DeVault said. “They still have the same anxiety that everybody else does. It’s just in a different way.”

Looking ahead, DeVault said he hopes more colleges consider mandatory interventions for struggling students rather than relying solely on voluntary support services.

“Don’t be afraid to do that, because the very students that you’re trying to reach are the very ones that are not going to go out on their own,” DeVault said. “I don’t think this program makes anybody smarter. I think it helps them get to their full potential and be able to realize what they’re doing.”

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