Research report: From architecture to action: developing and validating the shared student success model (SSSM) for higher education institutions

A design-based research study at one higher education institution in India found significant improvements in psychological capital, career and life preparedness, and perceived holistic success across two implementation cycles of the Shared Student Success Model (SSSM). The framework is intended to support coordinated institutional action for student development, rather than define success mainly through narrow, placement-focused outcomes. The study addresses Gen Z students in Indian STEM institutions, whom the researchers describe as seeking autonomy, meaning, satisfaction, and holistic well-being beyond transactional career outcomes.

Earlier work established the Holistic Success Architecture, which specifies that perceived holistic success is fully mediated by psychological capital, or PsyCap, and career and life preparedness. The SSSM translates that framework into a staged institutional model designed to address the practical question of how those developmental outcomes can be supported. The SSSM has five dimensions: Student, Faculty and Staff Capacity, Technology and Data, Institutional Climate and Governance, and Infrastructure and Support Services.

Its defining requirement is that all five dimensions advance together through six maturity levels. Researchers developed and validated the model across two implementation cycles at the Indian institution, using a cohort measured before SSSM implementation as a baseline. Both cycles showed statistically significant improvements in PsyCap, career and life preparedness, and perceived holistic success.

Cycle 2 showed larger effect sizes, which the authors interpret as consistent with the co-advancement hypothesis and institutional progression through maturity levels. The accessible report does not provide sample sizes, numerical effect sizes, confidence intervals, or detailed methods for assessing maturity progression. The research also introduced a Co-Creation Quality Index, or CQI, to assess whether students experienced institutional co-creation as meaningful.

The abstract reports that the CQI indicated that co-creation was genuinely meaningful from students’ perspectives, although the available evidence does not specify its components, scoring method, or numerical results. They do not establish that SSSM caused the changes, or that the same outcomes will occur across other institutions, student populations, or implementation settings. The single-site design and limited detail in the accessible report therefore constrain conclusions about general effectiveness and causal impact.

Subject of Research: Development and validation of a five-dimension, six-level institutional framework for student success in higher education

Article Title: From architecture to action: developing and validating the shared student success model (SSSM) for higher education institutions

Article References: Bhan, A., Singh, S., & Gupta, A. (2026). From architecture to action: developing and validating the shared student success model (SSSM) for higher education institutions. Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-026-01798-9

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s10734-026-01798-9

Keywords: higher education, student success, psychological capital, career preparedness, holistic success, institutional maturity, Gen Z students, design-based research, co-creation, India, architecture, action