Elevating Student Success & Institutional Excellence
Proven Strategies, Real Impact
Unlock your institution’s full potential with research-based strategies that boost student success, increase retention, and support long-term institutional growth. By aligning academic innovation with measurable outcomes, we help reduce administrative burdens, empower faculty, and support the kind of transformational learning environments today’s students need.
Why LearnWell Projects Exists
Higher education is evolving, but many institutions still struggle to turn good intentions into meaningful outcomes. What we offer here isn’t just theory—it’s a tested, adaptable framework drawn from real classrooms, strategic planning sessions, and faculty collaborations.
- Tailored Solutions: Every institution is unique. Your strategy should be too.
- Research-Driven Results: We don’t just collect data—we use it to drive meaningful change.
- Custom-Built Tools: Practical resources that address your campus’s specific needs.
- Field-Tested Methods: Our approaches have been implemented, refined, and proven effective across diverse academic environments.
As you explore our work, you’ll see how institutions have translated insight into action—improving retention, empowering faculty, and expanding student success at scale.
The LearnWell Framework
What Sets This Work Apart
While many student success initiatives focus on time management or surface-level behavior change, our approach digs deeper. The key difference? We help students engage in the mental labor required for deep learning—what we call the “infrastructure of academic work.”
We don’t just teach students how to manage their time—we teach them how to manage their minds.
Our strategies install this academic work infrastructure into classroom instruction and learning support systems, empowering students to move beyond passive information consumption and into active knowledge creation. The result? Mastery, independence, and long-term intellectual growth.
Beyond Metacognition: Understanding How Students Actually Work
I’m often recognized as an expert in metacognition, and yes—you’ll see that perspective throughout our work. But the real focus is even more foundational: understanding how students engage with academic tasks in the first place.
For over two decades, I’ve studied how students think, struggle, and succeed across disciplines. That work led to my book, How to Successfully Transition Students into College: From Traps to Triumph, and continues to inform the solutions we provide today.
If we want better retention, stronger performance, and higher graduation rates, we have to first understand how students experience academic work—then build systems that help them succeed within it.
Measurable Impact
At The LearnWell Projects, we’ve developed tools and frameworks that help institutions improve the metrics that matter most:
- First-Year Success: New students develop the skills they need to hit the ground running.
- Retention: By teaching students how to manage academic challenges, we improve persistence across the board.
- Graduation Rates: Our methods help students move confidently toward degree completion.
- Support for Underrepresented Students: By making academic work more accessible and transparent, we close achievement gaps and elevate overall student performance.
- Enrollment Growth: Institutions that deliver stronger student outcomes attract and retain more students.
When students succeed, institutions thrive—and our work sits at that intersection.
* Result sourced from Florida Polytechnic University’s First-Year STEM Success initiative (2021–2023), which overhauled introductory courses to improve student outcomes and reduce DFW rates by nearly half.
† Result drawn from The University of the Cumberlands Metacognitive Athlete Success Program (2016–2018), which helped student-athletes boost their average GPA from 2.1 to 3.1 in a single semester.
‡ Result based on orientation redesign efforts at Lenoir-Rhyne University, where participation increased from 60% to 98% within the first year, with 90%+ satisfaction sustained over six years.
§ Result reflects outcomes of the Samford University Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which implemented “Powerful Assignments” across disciplines and earned commendation from SACSCOC as a model with national potential.
Case Studies: Institutional Outcomes at a Glance
Florida Polytechnic University
Revamped the intro STEM course and built a student success model that led to:
- A 47% reduction in DFW rates
- Increased retention and persistence
- Improved graduation trajectories
- Stronger faculty-student engagement
University of the Cumberlands
Launched a student-athlete support program that raised the football team’s GPA from 2.1 to 3.1 in one semester. The model is still in place today, supporting students across academic and athletic programs.
Key Outcomes
- Boosted academic performance across diverse student groups
- Increased retention and persistence rates for long-term success
- Elevated student-athlete academic achievement, reinforcing discipline and learning efficiency
Samford University
Samford University, already a strong academic institution, sought to elevate student learning to new heights. To achieve this, the university partnered with The LearnWell Projects to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The result was a five-year, comprehensive strategy designed to strengthen student learning while unifying faculty across disciplines—all without burdening instructors with excessive, inauthentic assessments.
Worked with faculty to develop a 5-year learning strategy built around high-impact assignments that:
- Made learning more visible and measurable
- Created institutional models for assignment design
- Boosted student performance and faculty satisfaction
- Received high praise from SACSCOC as a model with national potential
The Breakthrough: Powerful Assignments (PAs)
At the heart of Samford’s QEP—Level Up: Transformative Learning Through Powerful Assignments—was a faculty-driven approach that amplified student learning through empathically designed assignments. These made learning visible, transforming abstract concepts into measurable and meaningful outcomes. Over the five-year implementation period, the Samford community recorded the following improvements.
Why Assignments? The Key to Transforming Teaching & Learning
Samford aimed not only to improve student performance but also to create a culture of professional development that unified faculty across disciplines. Assignments, unlike any other faculty tool, bridged the gap between academic content, student engagement, and authentic learning assessment.
“The design of assignments is one of the most creative and consequential tasks that faculty undertake… calling on knowledge of the field, understanding of how students learn, and expert judgment about tasks that help students strengthen learning while also providing evidence of it.” – National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)
From Vision to Execution: A Model for National Recognition
At the start of the collaboration, critical questions remained—missing links in processes, gaps in assessment, and unstructured implementation. Through training, consultation, and an iterative approach, we developed a solution that moved the institution decisively toward greatness.
The SACSCOC evaluation committee officially approved the QEP, declaring it a model with national potential for transforming faculty-driven learning.
Dunwoody College of Technology
Developed a metacognitive learning outcomes framework that improved:
- Alignment between outcomes and program goals
- Faculty capacity to support higher-order thinking
- Student readiness for technical careers
UC San Diego
This partnership with UC San Diego (UCSD) integrated metacognition into the university’s newly developed Triton Achievement Hub, a cutting-edge learning space designed to develop learners and leaders. This initiative laid a strong foundation for student success and empowerment, equipping students to thrive in UCSD’s rigorous academic environment. Integrated metacognitive learning into UCSD’s student success center, resulting in:
- Enhanced learning across disciplines
- Measurable academic gains for first-year students
- A strong foundation for lifelong learning
Lasting Impact on Student Success
- Measurable improvements in first-year student academic performance
- Stronger problem-solving and adaptability skills across disciplines
- Structured goal-setting processes for students to establish short- and long-term success plans
- Growth mindset interventions helping students embrace challenges as opportunities for learning
By embedding metacognitive tutoring, content tutoring, and Supplemental Instruction (SI) into the Triton Achievement Hub, UCSD transformed how students engaged with academic challenges, ensuring that learning was not just about short-term success but about developing skills that would last a lifetime.
LSU Shreveport
Served as the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) consultant for the SACSCOC accrediting body, working with the student success center to develop a metacognitive plan that empowered learning assistants to enhance student learning and performance. Additionally, implemented a metacognitive data program (Trench Data) that identified and addressed key challenges in the learning environment.
Key Achievements:
- Learning assistant training
- Metacognitive frameworks
- Institution-wide performance gains
Clemson University
Developed a program for bridge students that:
- Improved academic performance and engagement
- Boosted retention and transition rates
- Strengthened student connection to university life
Lenoir-Rhyne University
During my tenure at Lenoir-Rhyne University, I held several leadership roles, including Associate Dean of Students, Director of Co-Curricular Programs, and Director of the Learning Commons. In each of these roles, I led initiatives that elevated the university’s academic culture and advanced student success across diverse populations.
Key Initiatives and Achievements
Metacognitive Tutoring Program
Established a pioneering metacognitive tutoring model that significantly enhanced the academic environment.
Presented the program framework at the 2013 National College Learning Center Association Conference.
First-Year Student Success Curriculum
Developed a targeted metacognitive curriculum for first-year and transitioning college students.
External consultant reports noted measurable improvements in student learning, academic performance, and overall satisfaction.
Student-Athlete Academic Support
Created a student-athlete study hall program that yielded exceptional academic gains in its first year.
This success was sustained over a five-year period, consistently strengthening student-athlete academic performance.
University Convocation Program
Reconstituted and managed the university’s convocation program to align with institutional mission, vision, and values.
Implemented systemic and measurable strategies to reinforce institutional learning goals.
Multicultural Student Services
Founded a multicultural department that led to the formation of the university’s first Black Greek organization.
Organized and hosted a regional minority-focused conference, expanding diversity and student engagement efforts.
Orientation Programs
Redesigned and led a comprehensive orientation program that increased student participation from 60% to 98% in its first year.
Maintained satisfaction ratings above 90% from students, faculty, and administrators for six consecutive years.
These initiatives collectively contributed to transforming the learning environment at Lenoir-Rhyne University—cultivating a campus culture rooted in academic excellence, inclusion, and student engagement.
Meet Leonard Geddes
Education
- M.A., Agency Counseling (Consulting), Lenoir-Rhyne College
- B.A., Business Administration (Marketing), Lenoir-Rhyne College
Professional Associations
- SACSCOC Approved Evaluator
- Faculty Fellow, National Center for Developmental Education
- National College Learning Center Association
- College Reading and Learning Association
From Traps to Triumph
This book uncovers why high-performing high school students often struggle in college and offers strategies to reverse that trend.
What Educators Are Saying:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “A Roadmap to Success” – “If you have a student entering college, you need this book. It provides strategies that can be implemented right away to improve grades and navigate college successfully.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Paradigm-Shifting” – “Leonard Geddes offers an extensive, insightful explanation of why high-achieving high school students struggle in college. His ThinkWell-LearnWell resources have helped countless students move from failure to success.” – Dr. Saundra McGuire, LSU
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “A Guide to Transforming Teaching Practices” – “This book is not merely a book—it’s a guide to unlocking student potential. It has profoundly impacted my teaching philosophy, and I am confident it will do the same for others.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Revolutionizing Student Success” – “I have used this book to help guide nursing students who struggled despite being top performers in high school. It clearly illustrates what impedes student success and how to put them on a productive path.”
