Among students who stopped out or considered doing so, 79% cited basic needs insecurity or financial hardship as the reason, yet 65% were unaware of the campus resources available to them. The probability of leaving school through dropout, academic probation, or leave of absence also rises with each additional need a student carries.

Beacon exists to help close that visibility gap.

Early findings from Beacon’s implementation with first-time, full-time students at NJIT during the 2025-2026 academic year show that the platform can reach students at scale, track how needs shift over time, and connect to outcomes like persistence.

Some of the findings:

• Beacon has significant potential reach, having achieved a 51% completion rate among the cohort, a response substantially exceeding those of comparable collegiate screening instruments.
• Student needs eased over time, with psychological distress measures and self-reported barriers to degree completion showing the steepest declines between fall and spring screenings.
• Engagement is associated with outcomes: students who clicked through to a Beacon-recommended resource saw significantly greater reductions in risk flags from fall to spring than those who didn’t.

Beacon gives campuses visibility into their full student population, offers a direct line to resources and real-time alerts for staff, while equipping the institution with enough data to make proactive, strategic decisions around student support investments.

Authors:

Carla D. Chugani, PhD, LPC, VP of Clinical Programs, Mantra Health
Akshath Rajaram, Senior Data Scientist, Mantra Health
Sean Dowd, MSW, Senior Director of Beacon Success, Mantra Health