Second-Year Experience (SYE) Initiative

More About the Initiative

The purpose of UT-Austin’s second year experience research is to facilitate holistic support for students in their second year, and to use curricular interventions to help students develop the disciplinary and professional identities that will lead to success in their work lives beyond UT. The innovation of the SYE Research Project at UT Austin lies in the integration of the UT System’s PAIR model with a students-as-partners approach to building data literacy and agency across the institution. Faculty, staff, doctoral students, and undergraduate researchers collaboratively analyze curricular and institutional data, translating findings into actionable interventions that improve second-year student success. By positioning students as full research partners and using an iterative, collaborative change model, the project strengthens institutional capacity for data-informed, student-centered decision-making and is adaptable across diverse higher education contexts. 

Support 

The SYE Research Project is supported by the UT-Austin Office of Academic Affairs, and by grants from The UT System’s Exemplary Student Pathways (ESP) Project. Through the Lumina and Trellis Foundation, the ESP Project: 

• Positions the curriculum to achieve success for all students.
• Cultivates data agency through an iterative change model—the Participatory Action Institutional Research model (PAIR)—that brings together institutional teams, referred to as “PAIR Cohorts,” to dive deep into data and develop action plans designed to close gaps in outcomes, remove barriers to student success, and re-envision curricular structures and disciplinary pathways.
• Supports institutions to build capacity, sustain, and institutionalize student success projects and action plans aligned with near- and longer-term strategic goals grounded in concrete strategies for implementation, assessment, and stakeholder engagement. 

Key Outcomes 

>> Texas ECE Amplify 

The Texas ECE Amplify program is a peer-mentoring initiative for second-year Electrical and Computer Engineering students designed to strengthen community and provide academic support and professional guidance. With roughly 200 participants organized into small pods led by experienced ECE students, the program enhances social networks, career exploration, and personal growth. Student participants report feeling less isolated, more confident in navigating academic and personal challenges, and better informed about career paths. 

>> Curricular Complexity Mapping 

Curricular Complexity Maps for over two-thirds of UT-Austin’s undergraduate degree programs have been created and show faculty and staff where points of blockage and delay occur, as well as which course offerings are most central in students’ pathways to their degrees. Preliminary results from this work were presented to a group of faculty and staff in April 2025, at the “Decoding the Second Year Experience" Symposium. Additionally, these maps were used to create a beta version of an app to help advisors and faculty see which curricular pathways may present significant challenges to students. 

>> Article Under Review 

A manuscript prepared by The Initiative of Students as Partners in Research and Education's (InSPiRE's) is currently under review in the International Journal of Students as Partners. The manuscript presents a case study of InSPiRE’s research on the Second Year Experience project at The University of Texas at Austin. Using personal narratives, they explore how collaborative, student-centered research, methodological diversity, and intentional community-building have shaped project outcomes and informed university conversations on student success. 

>> Presentation at the 2024 "Decoding the Disciplines" Conference 

The Initiative of Students as Partners in Research and Education (InSPiRE) presented at the Second Decoding the Disciplines Conference in Bloomington, Indiana, highlighting their research on second-year student experiences at UT Austin. Through their presentation, they shared the Initiative's foundations and evolution, personal narratives on what has made their involvement in InSPiRE a significant learning opportunity, and presented analyses and suggestions for next steps for supporting students in their second year and beyond.