Student Success Program
About the Student Success Program
The Student Success Program is a federally-funded program for students who are first-generation college students, Pell-Grant eligible students and/or students with a diagnosed disability.
The main tenet of the Student Success Program is to increase retention and graduation rates of its participants through the provision of a continuum of academic (i.e., tutoring) and non-academic support services tailored to assist each individual participant from the time he/she enters UIW until he/she graduates from the university.
The vast majority of the program's participants are first-generation college students who are also Pell-Grant eligible.
Student Success Program - Mission Statement
Each day we will provide effective and efficient mentoring; tutoring services and other related activities and services necessary to assist our students in their postsecondary short and long-term goals and we will maintain an individual, professional and supportive relationship with each of the students participating in our program.
From the Director
The Student Success Program staff are here to ensure its participants are being provided opportunities available to students at the University of the Incarnate Word. Personal and academic successes are important to us and we are committed to helping students attain their educational goals. Please visit the other areas of our web site or our UIW Blackboard site to more information about the Student Success Program.
Hours of Operation
The Student Success Program office is open at 8:00 a.m., Monday – Friday. Closing hours vary by semester. Call 210-805-5812 to find out the current closing hours.
Contact us via email at
Dr. Rhonda Rapp, Director, rapp@uiwtx.edu
Leticia McDonald, Program Leader, mcdonall@uiwtx.edu
David DeRouen, Program Counselor, dderouen@uiwtx.edu
Kaipolani (Cori-Ann) Lee, Program Secretary,
Your Staff from left to right, Rhonda, Brenda (former Program Secretary), David and Leticia
Dr. Rhonda Rapp, Director
Dr. Rhonda Rapp has been the Director of the Student Success Program since the beginning of the program in 2001. She worked in Student Support Services at St. Philip’s College for the ten years prior to accepting the Director position at UIW. Dr. Rapp is also the Director of Student Disability Services at the University.
Dr. Rapp received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology and Sociology from Oklahoma State University; a Master’s of Education in Counseling Psychology with a specialty in Diagnostics from the University of Central Oklahoma University; and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Human Resource Development with a specialty in program development from Texas A&M University.
The best way to contact Dr. Rapp is by email at: rapp@uiwtx.edu or she can be reached by phone at: 210-829-3938. Her office is located in the Administration Building in Room 119.
Leticia McDonald, M.Ed.,Program Leader
Leticia McDonald has been the Program Leader of the Student Success Program since the beginning of the program in 2001. She graduated from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana in May 2000 with a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Political Science, and a minor in Sociology. She comes to the Student Success Program from the Southwest Campus of St. Philip’s College where she served as the Student Success Specialist for the Phoenix Program.
Ms. McDonald can reached by email at: mcdonall@uiwtx.edu or by phone at: 210-829-3925. Her office is located in the Administration Building in Room 221.
David DeRouen, Program Counselor
David DeRouen, Program Counselor, is the now 2nd newest Student Success Program staff member. David is a veteran US Air Force Air Weapons Director having served 16 years before retiring. He was a first-generation college student and is an alumni of UIW having graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Biology.
Mr. DeRouen can be reached by email at: dderouen@uiwtx.edu or by phone 210-838-2799. His office is located in Chapel 7.
Kaipolani (Cori-Ann) Lee , Program Secretary
Cori-Ann comes to us from the 50th state, Hawai'i. She attended the University of Hawaii at Hilo from 1999 - 2007, earning a BA in Hawaiian Studies and Anthropology with a teaching certificate in Indigenous Education along the way. Cori-Ann has also taught for two years at a Hawaiian immersion school, Nawahiokalani'opu'u on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Ms. Lee can be reached by email at: or by phone at: 210-805-5812 or by fax at: 210-805-5895. Her office is located in the Student Success Program Lab in the Administration Building Room 225.
Student Success Program photos:
