Addressing Hidden Barriers Through Just-in-Time Support

This session helps faculty, advisors, student-success professionals, support stag, and campus leaders look beyond the surface of common student behaviors and experiences, such as late or missed work, inconsistent engagement, avoidance of support, difficulty starting tasks, emotional shutdown, or limited help-seeking. These patterns are often interpreted as lack of motivation or commitment, but they may signal hidden barriers such as time scarcity, basic-needs stress, fragile academic belonging, executive function challenges, or uncertainty of support needs or access. The session builds from work developed at UTEP in developmental, gateway, and student-success contexts, including the open-access borderland realities of students who may be first-generation, working, commuting, non-traditional, or navigating complex educational transitions. Participants will use a practical framework: Signal → Possible Barrier → Support Response → Referral or Follow-Up. The opportunity addressed is simple but urgent: helping campus professionals respond earlier and more intentionally when students show signs of disconnection. Rather than focusing solely on academic performance, the framework supports a holistic view of student success and helps participants identify practical actions within their own roles. The goal is to create timely, humane, and sustainable support pathways that improve student persistence, belonging, and engagement.