What is Excelling@Iowa?

Excelling@Iowa is campus-wide student success platform used by staff and faculty to help support students as they navigate their transition to the University of Iowa, and throughout their undergraduate career. The system is used by over 600 faculty and staff, and over 30 departments, to help students succeed at the University of Iowa. 

Every student has a support team of at least two staff members at the University of Iowa. The first member of their support team is their academic advisor in the Academic Advising Center or their respective undergraduate college office. The second member of their support team is associated with their housing: on-campus students are connected to Residence Education staff; off-campus first year students are with Academic Support & Retention; and off-campus transfer students are with a volunteer who serves as a Transfer Support Team member.  These staff members provide outreach to the student throughout their first year at Iowa and remain connected to them in the following years.

In addition to regularly scheduled outreach and check-ins, students complete the Excelling@Iowa Transition survey during weeks 3-5 of their first semester at Iowa to gather additional information about their transition. University staff outreach directly to each student based on their survey responses. Students also receive a custom student report -- generated based on their responses -- with resources and information about how to connect with various offices and people on campus.

Fall 2022 Survey dates:

Spring 2024 Survey dates:

January 31 - February 16

What do we do with the information?

After a student responds to the survey, they may be contacted by staff around the university offering specific resources to help a student succeed at Iowa. Additionally, university administrators take the data from the entire first-year class to make decisions on how to best provide services to students.

Why are we utilizing Excelling@Iowa?

We want our students to succeed, and we want our students to feel that they matter and belong at Iowa. Through the Excelling@Iowa Transition Survey and other system functions, we can identify students who may be struggling with their transition to UI early in the semester and throughout the year. Iowa faculty and staff can then provide early support and intervention by connecting students who are having difficulties with resources to aid in their transition. 

The Goal of the UI Excelling@Iowa Initiative

Excelling@Iowa provides staff and faculty with an actionable platform to support student success at the University through integrated, coordinated, and proactive support. 

Objectives: 

  • Excelling@Iowa will provide staff and faculty with relevant and timely information to provide integrated outreach related to students’ achievement of personal and institutional educational goals. 
  • Excelling@Iowa will support the University of Iowa’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through understanding experiences of belonging, contributors to persistence, and create effective interventions for and with historically marginalized communities.  
  • Excelling@Iowa will provide a structure and network of support for all undergraduate students through guided messaging and tools for Excelling@Iowa users, as well as opportunities to identity successes and concerns and provide growth mindset messaging for students. 

How Students Access the Survey

Students who are required to complete the survey (new first-time first-year students, new transfer students, and TRIO SSS students) can find the link to the Excelling@Iowa transition survey in their Success at Iowa or TRIO Steps to Success ICON course site. Optional students will be emailed the link directly. This link is unique to each student and should not be shared.

If a student is finding trouble accessing the survey, they should email excelling-UI@uiowa.edu.  

How Staff Access the System

To log into Excelling@Iowa, users can visit excelling.uiowa.edu and log in with HawkID and password.

Currently, over 600 University of Iowa faculty and staff serve as Excelling@Iowa system users. In addition to housing information about the new student transition gathered through the Excelling@Iowa Transition Survey, the Excelling@Iowa platform also supports an institution-wide referral platform, emailing capabilities, and additional campus integrations. Faculty and staff may request access to the system to support students, and are granted a level of access most appropriate to their unique roles.

To request access, please contact excelling-UI@uiowa.edu.

Frequently asked questions:

Q: I am a student. I cannot access my survey, or my survey will not submit. How can I resolve this?

A: The Excelling@Iowa survey must be completed from a computer. It will often not submit correctly on a mobile device. The best option is to complete the survey on Google Chrome on a university computer. Please contact excelling-UI@uiowa.edu as soon as possible if you are experiencing issues with access or submission.

Q: I am a faculty or staff user. How do I log into Excelling@Iowa?

A: To log in to Excelling@Iowa, users can visit excelling.uiowa.edu and log in with HawkID and password.

Q: I am a faculty or staff user. I am having issues logging into the system. How do I fix my access?

A: All users must complete FERPA training, and sign their Employee Confidentiality Certificate annually after January 1. If both of these items have been completed, please contact excelling-UI@uiowa.edu and explain your issue. Please include screenshots, if applicable.

Q: How can I request data about the student experience?

A: Visit the “consultations” section of the website and complete the Academic Support & Retention Data Team Request form.

Q: How can I request a training for my department or myself?

A: Email excelling-UI@uiowa.edu and detail what information you would like to receive.