It's another of those first-in-San Francisco things, and it's called Inside Track. Founded in 2000, this company makes its living by getting just the results we all want to see. It provides executive-style coaching to freshman college kids, and sends the bill to the college. Ilana de Bare profiled it in the San Francisco Chronicle a couple of months ago. Here's how it's done.

Coaches hold weekly sessions one-on-one with their students by phone or in person. They help students manage their time and set priorities; they share tips on how to approach their professors for extra help; they advise on how to use campus resources well. They offer encouragement.

So who's buying? That would be college administrators who want to improve their statistics on the percentage of students graduating. Why this extra effort? That's because the U.S. Department of Education has publicized the fact that only 57% of students in four-year colleges graduate within six years. Increasingly, funding is being tied to student retention and successful outcomes.

Inside Track says it has coached about 75,000 college students to date. Costs run between $800 and $1400 per student per year. Chapman College, Northeastern University, and our own Academy of Art University have all said in public that it's well worth the money.

Typically, the colleges pay the fees only for the freshman year. Then, if the students want coaching to continue, they'll agree to come up with the fee themselves. At Chapman, 38% have chosen to do so. So there's one more new twist on how to be a successful student.