NORMAL Heartland Community College leaders are excited about an initiative they think will make students more likely to stay in school and complete their degree by applying principles such as personal responsibility and belief in themselves.

Amy Munson, Heartlands vice president for student success, told the board of trustees earlier this week, We are not able to make them successful, but we can give them the tools to make themselves successful.

The program, called On Course, was developed by educator Skip Downing, who wrote On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life.

Fifty faculty, staff and administrators participated in a three-day workshop led by Downing on the Heartland campus in January.

Although the original emphasis was on students in developmental classes those not ready for college-level work in all subjects the concept will be applied more broadly, Munson said.

Heartland leaders have modified a general studies course being offered this fall to incorporate Downings principles: personal responsibility, self-motivation, self-management, interdependence, self-awareness, lifelong learning, emotional intelligence and belief in self.

President Allen Goben said Downings principles fit well with Heartlands Guided Path to Success.

This fall semester, everybody is revved up because its time to test what weve been working on, Goben said.

He described the On Course strategy as a sequential way to interact with students and identify where there are problems. It could be a non-academic issue that is affecting their academic success, he said.

The idea is to point the student to where they can get help, whether its tutoring, counseling or other assistance, he explained.

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Heartland promotes new tools to help students find success