About Us

Elizabeth Fogt has worked with college students for over twenty-five years at several different higher education institutions. During this time, she has supported both traditional and adult learners, trained and managed teams of academic advisors, taught classes, directed a post-baccalaureate premedical program, and developed equity focused academic policies and student services. Currently, Elizabeth serves as the director of undergraduate student success at Washington University in St. Louis, Continuing and Professional Studies. She earned my bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s degree from the University of Michigan.

Why Coaching in Higher Education?

Coaching is a natural outgrowth of developmental advising, something I tried to practice for most of my career. I got started in advising because I loved mentoring and encouraging college students, but I wanted to be able to stick with my students for longer than a single semester. I also didn’t like the way that grades seemed to eclipse everything else in teaching. Now, after a year of learning and practicing coaching techniques, I understand why coaching is a better approach than advising to cultivate student success and foster relationships. It is more equitable and more empowering. Instead of trying to guess what my students need and trying to meet them where they are, it’s more effective to ask them. Coaching has allowed me to stretch the self-imposed boundaries I had kept in place, afraid to share anything personal with my students. Now I’m able to keep the focus on the student but connect better by finding common ground. My favorite way to start a student meeting now is to smile and say, “So, tell me.” Often, I hear things that I’m expecting, but the biggest wins are when I don’t. The best part of coaching is when a student guides the discussion in a way that they need to go, and I can help with something I hadn’t predicted. That is why coaching matters so much.