Mary Xiong

“The a-ha moments in being able to apply my learning to my work are my greatest rewards in the program so far.  When I am able to recognize and understand how to analyze data to answer pressing retention issues, I feel as if I am a bit closer to finding a solution that will improve the quality of life and increased success rate for all students during and after college.”

Integrating Retention Initiatives for Collegiate Student Success

Mary Xiong serves as the Student Success Programming Coordinator for the Title III Initiatives Grant in which she strategically develops and implements infrastructural programs to improve student retention of low income & minority students.  These programs include the First Year Seminar, work-based learning, and scaling the non-cognitive assessment as a college-wide tool in initiating earlier outreach.  She also focuses on coaching & consulting for small businesses and K-12 schools on diversity, cultural competence, and learning & development training.  Mary Xiong also holds a Master of Business degree from the University of Wisconsin Parkside, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton College.  While pursuing her second Masters in the Learning Analytics program, she also volunteers her time as a board member for non-profit organizations in the Southeast region of Wisconsin.

Building Bridges Between People and Solutions

Mary is a builder of things, people and potential; therefore, she is also a planner and strategist.  She has spent the last twenty years in higher education and non-profit settings with the intent to build bridges between people, people and their potential, and connecting disparate phenomena to improve the quality of life for students.  She has observed the changing landscape of higher education and understands the need for accurate and good data to support building and planning successful strategies.  She believes that strategies built on well-intentions alone cannot withstand long-term success in improving learning and college responses to student needs. Rather, she believes well-intentions with the foundation of good data helps to manifest positive intent into well-researched, thoughtful and impactful actions.

Mary is a 2022 Education Data Impact Scholarship (EDIS) recipient.