Category
Customer Service
Training/Education
Submitted By
Taylor Bickford, taylor.bickford@colorado.edu, Program Director for Academic Success Initiatives and Coaching
Project Team
Lauren Osmer, lauren.osmer@colorado.edu, Academic Coach
Maurissa Moore, maurissa.moore@colorado.edu, Senior Academic Coach
Project Description
The Co-Working with Coaches program is a structured academic support service within A&S Academic Advising and Coaching that provides students with a quiet, distraction-free space to work independently alongside peers and a professional coach. Grounded in evidence-based coaching practices, the program integrates intentional study time with light structure, goal-setting, and reflection to help students build self-regulated learning skills. Sessions use a “body doubling” approach, where the presence of others enhances focus, accountability, and productivity. Open to all A&S undergraduate students, the program is especially impactful for students navigating challenges such as low motivation, time management, or belonging. By combining community, structure, and coaching-informed practices, co-working helps students develop confidence, resilience, and ownership over their academic success while improving persistence and performance outcomes.
Project Efficiency
The program’s greatest innovation is its use of “body doubling” within a scalable coaching model. Rather than requiring one-on-one appointments, a single coach can support multiple students simultaneously while still fostering accountability, focus, and skill development. This maximizes staff capacity while maintaining meaningful impact. The structured yet flexible format combines goal-setting, focused work time, and reflection to efficiently deliver high-impact practices like self-regulated learning. It transforms a simple study space into an intentional, skill-building environment that supports both productivity and long-term student development.
Project Inspiration
The program was inspired by the concept of body doubling, a strategy shown to improve focus, accountability, and task completion, especially for students who struggle with motivation, procrastination, or attention challenges. Recognizing that many students need structured environments and external accountability to stay engaged, the team adapted this approach into a campus-based support model. It was also centered in academic coaching research highlighting the importance of self-regulated learning, motivation, and non-cognitive skill development in student success, particularly for first-generation and underrepresented students.
What Makes You Happiest about this Project?
What is most rewarding is seeing students build confidence, ownership, and a sense of belonging in real time, while also recognizing the program’s potential to scale. The co-working model is inherently adaptable and can expand through partnerships with high-enrollment/high DFW courses, Residential Learning Communities, and other targeted student groups. And we're exploring the possibility of a peer coaching model, which could significantly increase its reach while maintaining its impact. With the right resources, this would create an opportunity to grow into a network of coaching-informed learning communities that extend support to more students and deepen connections across campus.