Fail Forward Week (September 29 – October 3, 2025)

Failure is part of life. Everyone fails at something, and most of us fail often. The good news? Failure is not the end—it’s one of the best ways to learn. Each setback offers valuable lessons and a chance to build resilience. Failure challenges us to think differently, sparks creativity, and leads us to solutions we might not have discovered otherwise. When we fail, we don’t stop—we keep moving forward.

Fail Forward Week invites us to pause and reflect on the role failure plays in shaping who we are. The challenge isn’t avoiding failure—you will fail at something. The true test is how you respond. Do you let it hold you back, or do you take what you’ve learned and keep moving forward?

Choosing to move forward means refusing to let setbacks define you. It means seeing failure not as defeat, but as direction. Each stumble is a chance to step into growth, innovation, and perseverance.

When we fail at something, we often need to think outside the box to create a solution to overcome the obstacle.  We will have coloring sheets available in the Student Success Services (Student Success and Veterans Resource Center) and in the Tutoring and Academic Support Center (Torreyson Library, Room 223) for you to take a moment to reflect on what you have learned.  Keep moving forward!

Turning Failure into Forward Motion

When obstacles appear, failure forces us to step outside our comfort zones and search for new paths. This process builds adaptability, courage, and persistence. Moving forward after failure isn’t about ignoring mistakes—it’s about using them as fuel for progress.

     Learn from it – Failure reveals where we can improve.

    Grow from it – Each setback strengthens resilience and determination.

    Move forward with it – What once held you back can now push you ahead.

Celebrate Forward Progress

Fail Forward Week is a celebration of progress—not perfection. It’s about choosing growth over stagnation, action over fear, and possibility over limitation.

So let’s come together to embrace our failures, share our lessons, and support one another in moving forward.

Because no matter how many times we stumble, the most important thing is this: We keep moving forward.

Activities for the week:

Failboards – Available all week in first-year residence halls

Failboards are located in all the first-year residence halls on campus.  Stop by to write how you have failed. There will be markers and large butcher paper on the wall for you to write about what you failed recently and tell us how you have moved forward.

Trash Your Fail – Wednesday, October 1st, Noon – 2 pm

Stop by the Alumni Circle in front of the Torreyson Library to Trash Your Fail.  We will have paper available for you to write down your fail and then TRASH IT.  Sometimes, the act of writing it down and then throwing it away or shredding it helps with the process of moving forward.

Fail Forward Week at UCA is sponsored by: UCA Student Success, Living Learning Communities, the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College, and the Department of Student Transitions.