About Dr. Kevin Correa

Dr. Kevin Correa brings over two decades of experience in higher education, with a career devoted to student engagement, retention, and success. His leadership has shaped award-winning programs, empowered staff teams, and influenced the national conversation on student success coaching.

At Texas A&M University, Dr. Correa served as Executive Director of the Office for Student Success, overseeing advising, analytics, first-year experience, and support centers for first-generation and transfer students. Prior to that, he led the Arizona State University (ASU) Student Success Center, a nationally recognized center serving thousands of students annually across four campuses.

In addition to leading large-scale student success initiatives, Dr. Correa spent six years as a faculty member in ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation. As a Clinical Assistant Professor, Program Co-Coordinator, and Faculty Associate for Higher and Postsecondary Education, he taught graduate courses on leadership, organizational theory, student affairs administration, and professional well-being.

While at ASU, Dr. Correa developed the THRIVE framework—a student retention and success model grounded in higher education research, success coaching, and positive psychology. This framework was utilized by success coaches to support thousands of first-year, second-year, and transfer students. The framework was also featured in Dr. Correa’s closing plenary presentation at the 2023 Strengthening Institutional Linkages Symposium in Cape Coast, Ghana.

Dr. Correa has consulted with institutions across the U.S. and internationally on building success coaching programs, including universities in Australia, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Uganda. Moreover, he co-founded the NASPA Success Coaching Knowledge Community, a national hub for professional development and resource-sharing among student affairs professionals.

Widely recognized as an expert in student retention and success, Dr. Correa has presented at conferences nationwide and co-authored a chapter in Cultivating Student Success: A Multifaceted Approach to Working with Emerging Adults in Higher Education. He is also a Fulbright Specialist.

Higher Education Leadership: Selected Experience

• Executive Director, Office for Student Success, Texas A&M University
• Director, Student Success Center, Arizona State University
• Clinical Assistant Professor and Program Co-Coordinator, Higher and Postsecondary Education, Arizona State University
• Founding Co-Chair, Success Coaching Knowledge Community, NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
• Fulbright Specialist

Education

• Ed.D., Leadership and Innovation, Arizona State University 
• M.Ed, Higher and Postsecondary Education, Arizona State University 
• B.A., Sociology, University of Michigan

Coaching

• Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach
• Certified Personal Development Coach, Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute
• Foundations of Positive Psychology Coursera Specialization, University of Pennsylvania
• Member, International Coaching Federation

Writing

• Correa, K. & White, A. (2024). Success coaching in higher education: An emerging practice. NASPA Knowledge Community Journal (pp. 43-45). NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
• Correa, K., & Symonds, S. (2022). I’ve never had to do this on my own: Support to address retention and success for emerging adults. In Cohen, A., & Duncan, T. (Eds.). Cultivating success: A multi-faceted approach to working with emerging adults in higher education. Oxford University Press. 

Top 5 CliftonStrengths

• Achiever
• Strategic
• Relator
• Responsibility
• Analytical