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Council for Student Success

The Council for Student Success replaces the former Student Success and Retention Council.

Charge

  • Provide leadership and oversight of university-wide student success efforts
  • Create and charge standing and ad hoc working groups to address issues relevant to student success
  • Hear reports and recommendations from the working groups
  • Approve, enact, and evaluate courses of action to improve student success
  • Disseminate information about student success to campus stakeholders

Membership

  • Associate Provost, Academic Success (co-chair)
  • Associate Vice President, Enrollment Management (co-chair)
  • Vice President, Student Affairs
  • Associate Vice President, Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
  • Dean, Graduate School
  • Dean of Students
  • Director, Office of Student Success
  • Faculty Senate President
  • Provost and Executive Vice President
  • SGA President
  • Staff Senate President
  • Chairs of the Standing Working Groups

Members

Kurt Boniecki
Associate Provost for Academic Success | Council Co-Chair

Kevin Thomas
Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management | Council Co-Chair and Chair of the Communication Working Group

Robin Williamson
Vice President for Student Affairs

Angela Webster
Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, UCA Chief Diversity Officer

Angela Barlow
Dean of the Graduate School

Kelly Owens
Dean of Students

Julia Winden Fey
Director of the Office of Student Success | Chair of the Innovation and Best Practices Working Group

Brent Shires
Faculty Senate President

Patricia Poulter
Provost and Executive Vice President

Mya Hall
SGA President

Nadia Eslinger
Staff Senate President

Susan Sobel
Associate Dean and Director of Counseling | Chair of the Student Experience and Well-Being Working Group

Amy Hawkins
Assistant Provost for Teaching and Academic Leadership | Chair of the Faculty Support Working Group

Amber Hall
Director of Institutional Research | Chair of the Research and Data Reporting Working Group

Lesley Graybeal
Director of Service-Learning and Volunteerism | Chair of the High-Impact Practices Working Group

Lindsey Shurley
Director of New Student Programs | Chair of the Student Orientation Working Group

Standing Working Groups

Each working group’s charge and membership is determined by the Council and may be modified or updated at any time as the Council deems appropriate. Working group charges and memberships listed here are current as of 2019-10-10.

Student Experience and Well-Being

Charge

  • Consider factors that affect students’ experiences and sense of well-being at UCA including, but not limited to, social belonging, coping with stress, financial literacy, personal relationships, and campus safety.
  • Recommend actions to improve students’ experiences and well-being
  • Assess the effectiveness of actions taken to improve students’ experiences and well-being

Membership

  • Associate Dean and Director, Counseling (chair)
  • Director, Disability Resource Center
  • Director, Student Financial Aid (or designee)
  • Associate Vice President, Housing and Residence Life (or designee)
  • Director, New Student Programs
  • Director, Diversity and Community
  • Director, Student Wellness
  • Faculty member from CHBS (appointed by the dean)
  • UCA Police Department designee
  • Veterans Services Coordinator

Faculty Support

Charge

  • Consider factors that affect teaching effectiveness and students’ academic outcomes
  • Recommend actions to support faculty teaching and improve students’ academic success
  • Assess the effectiveness of actions taken to support faculty teaching and improve students’ academic success

Membership

  • Assistant Provost, Teaching and Academic Leadership (chair)
  • Associate Vice President, Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
  • Chair, Academic Council
  • Chair, Faculty Senate Academic Affairs Subcommittee (or designee)
  • Chair, Department of Student Transitions (or designee)
  • Director, Torreyson Library (or designee)
  • Assistant Provost, Academic Assessment and General Education
  • Faculty member nominated by the Assistant Provost, Teaching and Academic Leadership

Innovation and Best Practices

Charge

  • Review the extant literature to gain information on new or established best practices in higher education for improving student success
  • Research and develop new solutions to improve student success
  • Report findings to the CSS

Membership

  • Director, Student Success (chair)
  • Associate Vice President, Enrollment Management
  • Associate Vice President, Outreach and Community Engagement (or designee)
  • Chair, Department of Student Transitions
  • Up to four additional members selected and approved by the members above based on expertise and interests

Research and Data Reporting

Charge

  • Identify known and potential factors affecting student success
  • Evaluate and develop methods for collecting data on known and potential factors affecting student success
  • Analyze student success data and report findings to the CSS

Membership

  • Director of Institutional Research (chair)
  • Assistant Provost, Academic Assessment and General Education
  • Assistant Director, Student Success
  • Assistant Vice President, Division Operations of Student Services
  • Assistant Vice President, Student Engagement, Leadership, and Service
  • Associate Provost, Academic Success
  • Associate Vice President, Enrollment Management
  • Information Technology designee
  • Office of the Registrar designee

Communication

Charge

  • Develop, coordinate, and implement university-level communications with students and parents to positively affect enrollment and retention
  • Gather data necessary to support these communication efforts
  • Assess and report on the effectiveness of these communications

Membership

  • Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management (chair)
  • Designees from the following areas:
    • Academic Advising
    • Admissions
    • Athletic Academic Advising
    • Financial Aid
    • Graduate School
    • Honors College
    • Housing and Residence Life
    • Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
    • International Engagement
    • Learning Communities
    • New Student Programs
    • Office of Student Success
    • Office of the Registrar
    • Scholarship Compliance
    • Student Accounts
    • Student Life
    • Online, Transfer, and Returning Student Services
    • University Marketing and Communications

High-Impact Practices (HIPs)

Charge

  • Oversee the implementation of widely-tested curricular and co-curricular programs that increase student engagement, inclusion, and equitable outcomes for students (i.e., High-Impact Practices or HIPs) including, but not limited to, first-year experiences, learning communities, undergraduate research, study abroad, internships, and service-learning
  • Recommend new HIPs or improvements to existing HIPs
  • Assess the effectiveness of HIPs implemented at UCA

Membership

  • Director, Service-Learning and Volunteerism (chair)
  • Assistant Vice President, Student Engagement, Leadership, and Service
  • Associate Vice President, Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
  • Associate Dean, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  • Dean, Schedler Honors College (or designee)
  • Chair, Department of Student Transitions (or designee)
  • Director, Learning Communities (or designee)
  • Director, Education Abroad
  • Assistant Provost, Academic Assessment and General Education
  • Executive Director, Career Services (or designee)
  • Torreyson Library designee

Student Orientation

Charge:

  • Collaborate with the Office of New Student Programs in developing and implementing orientation programs for students (undergraduate and transfer) based on best practices and student need
  • Review current programming (as offered by Admissions, Advising, New Student Programs, Transfer Services, First-Year Seminars, etc.) and assess for comprehension, inclusion, equity, and continuity
  • Recommend actions to improve student orientation programming

Membership:

  • Director, New Student Programs (chair)
  • Director, Admissions (or designee)
  • Director, Academic Advising (or designee)
  • Director, Online, Transfer, and Returning Student Services (or designee)
  • Director, Student Success (or designee)
  • Director, Learning Communities (or designee)
  • Director, Diversity & Community (or designee)
  • Director, Student Life (or designee)
  • Chair, Department of Student Transitions (or designee)
  • Director, Veteran’s Services (or designee)
  • Director, Housing and Residence Life (or designee)
  • Director, Non-Traditional Student Office (or designee)
  • Director, Family Network (or designee)
  • SGA President (or designee)

Reports to

Provost and Executive Vice President

Meetings

Monthly

Page updated: September 24, 2021