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The University of Akron will not renew a contract for "success coaches" for freshmen.

(Karen Farkas, cleveland.com)

AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron will not renew a contract to provide "success coaches" to incoming freshmen.

Last fall the university paid $840,000 to TrustNavigator, a newly-established Cleveland company.

Sixteen coaches, most recent UA graduates, were hired and each worked with as many as 275 students. They earned $28,000 to $32,000, plus benefits and were to follow the students through their academic career.

Critics questioned the need for coaches.

On Wednesday the university released this statement:

"We appreciate the efforts of the TrustNavigator success coaches this past year.

"Our review of the initiative concluded that there was not an appreciable difference in the fall-to-spring retention rate for students this past academic year with the Success Coaches, compared to the year before without them.

"Based on that review and with input from our academic leadership and student success teams and the Faculty Senate, we have decided to allow this contract to expire at the end of June.

"As we prepare the budget for the next fiscal year, we are carefully examining our expenditures and concluded that we would work to provide this type of support for our students in a different way than continuing the contract with TrustNavigator.

"We will work with the academic leadership and student success teams and the Faculty Senate to determine the best way to move forward in support of student success."

The contract, which expired June 30, could be renewed annually for three years. A 75-day notice was required for termination.

The coaches did help students, Rob Reho, chief operating officer for TrustNavigator, said Wednesday.

"Basically what we were told was that it was a budget decision and we are fine with that," he said. "We are sad because we think we made a viable impact and helped students like we were supposed to do. We did a lot of things outside the scope of the contract and felt we were true business partners. But we respect the decision of the university."

Reho would not say if the office was closing but said the company had no other college contracts.

"Our company is going forward and full speed ahead," he said.

President Scott Scarborough has said helping freshmen succeed was a priority. The university said success coaches would connect students to the university.

The non-renewal of the contract is the second initiative promoted by Scarborough that has not succeeded.

The university has scaled back the use of "Ohio's Polytechnic University," which was unveiled by Scarborough in May 2015.

The phrase has been de-emphasized to a tagline that can be replaced by others, said Larry Burns, vice president for advancement.

"When it (Ohio's Polytechnic University) was presented a year ago it was seen more as a tagline that could evolve into something more permanent," he said. "As time went on we felt, based on the reaction from many, that it works as a tagline for certain audiences but not for all audiences."