College Success!

College Success is a structured research-based approach designed to help university students improve organization, time management, planning/prioritizing, task initiation, self-monitoring, response inhibition, and active learning skills.   

More than “study skills training,” College Success is a cognitive-behavioral approach that helps your student develop structured and sequential steps to solving specific difficulties associated with his or her weak executive functioning skills and related language/learning challenges.   Unique executive skill needs are identified by each student and/or family members using our research-based questionnaire.

How College Success Works

Executive skill strengths and needs are identified by you, your student, and/or educators using our research-based questionnaire and initial interview.

Executive skill needs are addressed using five sequential and structured steps your student will learn to follow to take control of his or her future:

  • State Goals Clearly by considering how a weak executive skill hampers academic success and what changes would benefit his or her life.

  • Overcome Old Ways of Thinking by understanding the role of brain-based executive functions in her struggles, moving past self-blame, and taking responsibility for improvement.

  • Learn New Ways to be Successful by recognizing the situations that cause him or her problems in life, and then considering how to use research-based tools to reduce the effect of specific executive skill challenges.

  • Venture: Make a Plan, Set a Goal, and Take Action by establishing a plan to address the cause/effect of his or her executive skill challenges, setting specific measurable goals to successfully address his or her needs, identifying strengths to use to reach his or her goals, identifying those who can help, and taking daily action.

  • Evaluate Progress by celebrating what is working and utilizing a structured problem-solving approach to fix what’s not working.

Why College Success Works

College Success sessions and homework are structured to ensure the application of learned skills to address real-life needs.

  • During each session, a specific executive function is discussed, your student’s related learning and living challenges are identified, new skills are learned, and plans to address specific needs are made using the S-O-L-V-E procedures outlined above.

  • Between sessions, your student practices the new strategies he or she has learned to address real-life everyday needs.

  • At the beginning of the next session, we evaluate your student’s progress, we celebrate successes, and we solve any problems he or she had when implementing his or her plan.

  • A reference manual is provided.  All students who complete College Success have exclusive online access to forms, updates, and new downloadable tools.  These tools are designed for continued use in your student’s academic and life-long pursuits.

Problem-solving skills are applied to new challenges in daily life.

  • Your student learns to apply structured problem-solving skills and strategies to address his or her actual needs.

  • Problem-solving procedures/processes are slowly turned over to your student so that he or she can begin to take ownership and control of his or her learning and life.

  • Your student learns how to apply these underlying problem-solving skills to address new challenges in daily life during his or her last session.

How to Get Started

View the Goals and Objectives for College Success

View the research behind College Success.

Contact us to make an appointment.

Complete the appropriate questionnaire before your student’s first appointment.


(c) 2009- 2020, S-O-L-V-E, College Success procedures, College Success materials, and questionnaires are all copyrighted by Monte W. Davenport, Ph.D.  All Rights Reserved.

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