Academic Accelerator Program (AAP)

Overview

The Academic Accelerator Program (AAP) is a structured academic support model designed to improve student success in high-risk gateway courses, particularly in STEM disciplines. Through a national partnership with the University Innovation Alliance, AAP integrates targeted academic support, coordinated instruction, and proactive engagement strategies to improve course performance and persistence.

This work focuses on embedding high-impact support directly into the student academic experience to strengthen outcomes at scale.

The Challenge

Gateway courses, particularly in STEM fields, often serve as critical barriers to student progression and degree completion. Many students struggle to succeed in these courses due to gaps in academic preparation, limited access to coordinated support, and inconsistent engagement with available resources.

At the same time, institutions often provide support services that are fragmented or optional, making it difficult to ensure that students who need support most are consistently reached.

As a result, institutions face difficulty:

• improving pass rates in high-risk gateway courses
• coordinating academic support across units and instructional contexts
• ensuring students engage with available resources
• scaling effective support models across large course sections

Without intentional design and integration, academic support efforts often fall short of producing meaningful, sustained improvements in student outcomes.

What We Do

• Partner with the University Innovation Alliance to design and implement the AAP model at UCF
• Integrate structured academic support directly into targeted gateway courses
• Coordinate across faculty, academic support staff, and student success teams
• Provide proactive outreach and engagement to students in participating courses
• Align tutoring, coaching, and instructional supports within a unified model
• Evaluate impact on course performance, retention, and progression

How This Work Is Different

AAP embeds academic support directly within the structure of courses rather than relying on optional or supplemental services. This ensures that support is accessible, consistent, and aligned with course expectations.

The model emphasizes coordination across instructional and support roles, creating a more integrated student experience. By aligning faculty, advisors, and support staff, AAP reduces fragmentation and strengthens the effectiveness of interventions.

Designed with scalability in mind, AAP provides a structured approach that can be expanded across courses and disciplines while remaining adaptable to different institutional contexts.

Impact

• Improves student performance in gateway courses
• Increases retention and progression in high-risk academic pathways
• Strengthens coordination between instructional and support teams
• Expands access to structured academic support
• Builds scalable models for course-embedded student success interventions

Partners

University Innovation Alliance (UIA)

UCF Student Academic Resource Center (SARC)

UCF Dept. of Chemistry

UCF Office of Academic Advocacy