Chelsea Allen

Elevating a First -Year Success Program’s Visibility and Awareness through High Impact storytelling to strengthen Faculty Engagement

This was a service-learning project with a local client, Buffalo State University’s Roar 2 Success program. This project resulted in a visibility and awareness campaign proposal.

Written for a Public Relations Master’s Degree Final Project (COM 690) – 4/16/25

Executive Summary

Roar 2 Success, a student success program at Buffalo State University, is designed to support first-year students who show strong potential for academic resilience but enter college underprepared. Implemented in 2018 through a Title III grant from the U.S. Department of Education (Canfield, 2021) and formally institutionalized in 2022, the program serves as a bridge for students entering Buffalo State with a high school GPA between 75-80, who would not traditionally be accepted through general admission at Buffalo State, but do not qualify for other campus support programs. Roar 2 Success is rooted in the belief that students with academic grit, when given direct support and community, can not only persist but also thrive in a collegiate environment. The program offers wraparound services that create a high-touch, high-impact environment for successful student transition into college, such as: a summer bridge program, a first-year seminar class, intentional academic advisement and coaching, peer mentoring, community-building events, and professionalism workshops.

A study by the University of Chicago on the One Million Degrees program, which offers holistic support, including financial, academic, personal, and professional assistance, found notable improvement in student outcomes; a 35% increase in persistence to the spring semester and a 47% increase in retention (Arcese & Bidwell, 2019). Overall, this study found that comprehensive support programs yield significant student outcomes.

According to Roar 2 Success’ leadership, in recent years, the support program consistently meets and exceeds its performance goals. It plays a key role in the university’s efforts to support academic success, by positively contributing to student persistence and retention rates.

However, despite these strong metrics, internal recognition of the program remains limited. Among university leadership, deans, department chairs, and faculty, there is confusion regarding the program’s purpose and how it differs from other student support services. This lack of visibility threatens both the perceived value and long-term financial sustainability of Roar 2 Success. 

This public relations plan aims to raise internal awareness through faculty preferred communication channels, clarify the program’s unique value and intention through messaging and high-impact storytelling of student narratives, and building stronger institutional support through strategic communication efforts that highlights Roar 2 Success as a key component of student success and retention at SUNY Buffalo State University.

Read more below.

Overview of Campaign Proposal:

Written Campaign Proposal:

Link to Digital Campaign Presentation here