With the launch of 2024-2026 Strategic Plan in January, we have had the opportunity to visualize our plan through the diagram below. I love that we have placed “student success” in the middle of everything we are working towards.
For those of us who work in a department whose name is literally Student Success, it is a natural assumption that by default, everything we do automatically supports student success. Our name is both a point of pride and responsibility. Without intentional reflection and assessment of our practices we may miss an opportunity to provide the best for our students and meet their needs.
Over the last year, Student Success teams have leaned into deep reflection on how we best serve and support students through ongoing conversations centered around service hours and modality. We have expanded our service hours to move beyond the “traditional” 8-5 schedule, with some advising team members even working until 10 pm (yes, that’s pm .. not a typo)! In addition to the expanded service hours, we have also transitioned into providing student support services throughout both winter and spring breaks and into the summer Fridays.
By extending service hours, we are breaking down barriers and reaching students who may have been previously underserved. This past fall, we put a call out for Certified Advisors who would be interested in providing services beyond the “traditional” 8-5 schedule. We were excited to have Gabriela Gonzalez, Jose Ortiz and Katherine Ortiz serve as our first team members to begin working in a remote and in-person, hybrid schedule with service hours through 10 pm. Recently, we added three more Certified Advisors and were excited to welcome Jennifer Rudolph, Dani Sanchez, and Gabby Tapia to the 10 pm schedule.
We have received positive feedback among students about the convenience of not having to take time off from work/lose wages or need to arrange childcare in order to attend advising appointments.
Gabriela Gonzalez shared the following regarding one of her advisees, “I had a meeting with a student that was SOO thrilled they were able to schedule an appointment after their child had gone to bed. They were grateful for the flexibility, as it allowed them to fulfill their ‘mom responsibilities’ while still being able to be engaged in their academic advising appointment without having to take off of work.”
As we examine at what it means to keep student success at the center of what we do, I am so grateful to the team for slowing down to reflect and look inward at ourselves to reflect upon what it means to be a member of the Student Success department. Through asking ourselves the questions of: Who is represented?” and “Who is not?” it has allowed us to help keep our students at the center and we are are being led to a place we may not have explored just a year ago.
