Redefining Student Support

Redefining Student Support launched with changes to our organizational structure, so that our departments are working together with greater efficiency, flexibility and fluidity to serve and support students holistically.  This new structure is focused on connectedness and increased collaboration around the areas of student engagement, health and wellness, and student support.  View our new organization chart.

Some highlights include:

• Uncoupling the Dean of Students position from the Associate Vice Chancellor position. This change was made in order to ensure that the Dean of Students could fully dedicate their time to this critical campus role, which includes speaking as an advocate for students, meeting the needs of high-risk students and serving in a triage role during crisis.
• Creating new roles, which include Director of Human Resources, Director of IT, Director of Financial Planning & Reporting, and Director of Business Services. Each role was created to review infrastructure and operations across the Division; assess the scope, responsibilities, and level of support currently provided; and advance a vision for the future that meets department and division needs and partners effectively with campus.
• Bifurcating Housing and Dining Services to create Housing and Dining Services and Residential Experience and Services.  This change was made to elevate both the operations and residential experience.
• Centralizing communication and marketing staff from across the division. The Student Affairs Communication team was created to improve collaboration across the division and campus, provide more streamlined and strategic communication for our students, and increase support for departments.
• Improving space utilization to meet the current needs of our students and ensure that student facing offices are easily accessible.

Another key focus of Redefining Student Support is innovation and continuous improvement to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of our students.  Highlights include:

• Using data to improve. Departments from across the division are using data from their assessment plans to make changes and improve services. This includes adding new products to retail markets, changing program dates and implementing improved emergency management.
• Working closely with the Boulder Faculty Assembly and students to change Honor Code procedures in an effort to create a more streamlined and timely process. This was a true collaboration among campus community members, and created a new model to ensure students have a timely resolution to their infractions and that faculty receive updates throughout the process.
• Establishing the Student Engagement Response Team (SERT) to support students’ awareness of campus policies, impacts to CU’s academic mission and the Student Code of Conduct when they have an event that may fall under descriptors such as demonstrations, protests or rallies.
• Creating Alternative Programming team, which brings together staff from across Student Affairs to create programming that engages students at key points in the year, including St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, and finals. 
• Transforming models. Residence Life introduced ResX, which was designed to foster personal, global, community and academic responsibility. Residence Life also began working more closely with New Student and Family Programs to improve the experience of our first year students, move-in and fall welcome overall having by having same goals and learning outcomes for students through ResX.  
• Creating a welcoming and inclusive environment. Recreation Services undertook a multi-year initiative, which included theming the space to adding new programs for all who are interested in participating.

Health and Wellness Services was created by integrating operations and services to better meet holistic student health needs. In working to support the changing needs of our students, we have made a number of positive and innovative changes to our services by applying research to practice. We’ve increased our collaboration with CU Boulder faculty to take current research and use it to inform our programs and services, as well as applying research from across the country. As we continue to establish a culture of holistic health and wellness at CU Boulder, we are also partnering with our other University of Colorado campus partners.

Some highlights include:

• Launching SilverCloud Health, an online portal that is free for students, faculty and staff. This tool allows the user to learn more about three key emotional health topics—anxiety, depression and stress—all at their own pace. Each module offers information, tips and techniques to better understand one’s emotional well-being.
• Expanding free educational workshops to include topics such as anxiety, depression, relationships and sleep. The Relationship Hacks workshop is consistently popular with students.
• Implementing new technology this year, such as offering telehealth appointments (appointments by video) for established clients and conducting research on the ability to use virtual reality to help clients with anxiety.
• Creating a Mental Health First Aid program to help faculty and staff learn strategies to assist someone experiencing a mental health crisis, with the goal of supporting the individual until professional help arrives.
• Expanding peer wellness program as well as their workshops and trainings.
• Creating the Supporting Student Resiliency Professional Development Series to give faculty and staff additional skills in areas critical to student retention and success, with the opportunity to earn a non-degree certificate.

Student Affairs is grateful for opportunities to partner and make meaningful change for our students. There are a number of Student Affairs professionals serving on key campus committees, including the Unified Student Experience, Foundations of Excellence, Academic Futures, Financial Futures and more. A few highlights from our partnerships include:

• Vice Chancellor Gonzales serving as a sponsor for the Unified Student Experience. This project has been an incredible lift from our partners at the Office of Information Technology and so many others from across campus. Many members of our team have served on committees as well, and it is exciting to see how this project is improving our students’ digital experience.
• Working with the Office of Data Analytics and campus partners to explore student success outcomes from the point of entry through graduation, so that we are able to tailor programs and meet individual student needs. 
• Through Academic Futures and Foundations of Excellence, staff have engaged in robust conversations and planning for the future of the academic experience for our students, with particular focus on the first-year experience.
• Student Affairs has a large footprint on campus, and we are serving on the core teams for Financial Futures and Strategic Facilities Visioning. These conversations focus on evaluating how we meet the needs of campus while mitigating rising costs, utilizing facilities more efficiently and evolving to meet the needs of our future students and families.
• Strategic Relations and Communications and OIT’s Business Analysis and Solutions Architecture team, who have provided invaluable support and ongoing collaboration with our Redefining Student Support initiative, and so many others on campus.
• Partnering with the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience to create the Campus Mental Health Collaborative.