Student Affairs, Academic Affairs work to enhance education

The divisions of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs are collaborating on several initiatives designed to enrich students’ academic experiences at Binghamton University.

Provost Donald Nieman and Vice President for Student Affairs Brian Rose discussed the partnership at the Oct. 19 University Council meeting.

“This collaboration is absolutely essential to providing students with a high-quality, holistic education,” Nieman said.

“I don’t even like the word ‘division,’” Rose said of the partnership. “The goal should be the integration of the student experience inside and outside the classroom to provide extraordinary value added. We accept extraordinary students into this institution. Our responsibility is to do well by them and deliver an extraordinary education.”

Student Affairs and Academic Affairs have already worked together on projects such as additional support for the Educational Opportunity Program; TRIO’s Student Support Services; Discovery advisors; Harpur 101 courses for new students; and experiential educational programs such as the Liberal Arts to Careers Externship (LACE).

Rose described five initiatives that the two divisions are developing:

• Residential communities will adopt projects that bring in an additional faculty member. Such a project would last three semesters so it could bridge the summer and provide student internships.

“Our goals are to have broad participation – meaning a large number of students involved, to connect with alumni and community,” Rose said. “We’ll provide actual research over the course of the project and report on that research at the end of the initiative.”

• The divisions will work with the Center for Civic Engagement to identify a long-term, three- to five-year, multi-disciplinary civic-engagement project for students and faculty to pursue.

“What is a community problem in the area?” Rose asked. “How can we leverage the research interests of the faculty and the commitment and learning opportunities of the students to make a dent on whatever problem that may be?”

• An integrated advising model: “We have to figure out a way to tie all of the people who are impacted to a particular student into a true advising network.”

• All schools at the University will work with the Office of Institutional Research and the Office of Student Affairs Assessment and Strategic Initiatives to obtain better data on what happens to students when they graduate.

• Continue to improve co-curricular transcripts and give students the chance to formally record extra things they do on campus.

“I think it’s always important to remember what our core mission is,” Nieman said. “Offering our students the highest quality education we can that will prepare them for successful careers and satisfying lives. That is something we focus on intensely here.”