Every year, Denver teacher Kyle Schwartz invites her third-graders to share on a Post-It note an answer to the prompt: “I wish my teacher knew …” The responses offer poignant glimpses into their young lives, revealing struggles with poverty, absent parents and social isolation. After Schwartz shared some of their stories online, #IWishMyTeacherKnew went viral, leading other teachers to adopt the lesson and gain insight into their students’ lives outside academics.

When our team at Persistence Plus heard about this, we knew we had to extend the question to students in college. Like third-graders, college students are dealing with many things outside the classroom. Like third-graders, their connection with their educators impacts their success. Unlike third-graders, they sit in large, impersonal lecture halls, wander campuses of thousands of students, and take some or all of their classes online. Though we know colleges care deeply about their students, college students are probably even less likely than third-graders to simply be asked what’s going on with them.

Read how Persistence Plus used one powerful question to uncover what students most wish their colleges understood—and how campuses can respond with empathy and action