About CHEI
Our work is grounded in a simple idea: improving student academic, well-being, and career outcomes requires transforming how institutions support students outside the classroom. We operate at the intersection of student support strategy and student-facing innovation, partnering with staff, leadership, and faculty to co-design coordinated support systems and develop practical academic and well-being interventions that work for students and staff.
Two Areas of Focus
Strengthening Institutional Systems. We design and implement data-informed approaches that improve how student support is delivered and how decisions are made. This includes building the infrastructure and coordination necessary for institutions to operate effectively and to support effective and ethical AI implementation.
Developing Student-Facing Innovations. We design and test new approaches that directly shape the student experience, including work-integrated learning, AI-enabled tools, and models that support student thriving. These efforts are grounded in real student needs and evaluated in practice.
How We Work
CHEI was built to provide value to student support staff and leadership by identifying needs and bringing the capacity and expertise to solve them. We are practitioners and innovators who are passionate about serving others.
We operate within the real constraints of higher education and design approaches that work in those conditions. Our time is spent on what can be implemented, sustained, and scaled rather than on research or theory.
We focus on student support systems, staff, and leadership strategy, recognizing these areas as force multipliers for improving student outcomes.
Our approach is practical and iterative. We do not wait for perfect conditions. We start with strong ideas, test them in context, and build as we go.
We work in close partnership with support teams and leadership. Our work is co-designed, aligned to institutional, unit, and team goals, and responsive to local context. We listen first, then build in service of strategy.
Where We Work
CHEI is the accelerator lab for the Division of Student Success and Well-Being and works across the University of Central Florida and with national partners to design, test, and scale approaches that strengthen student success and well-being. Our portfolio includes over 20 active projects spanning data infrastructure, AI-enabled tools, workforce alignment, and student programming innovation.