Dear Faculty and Staff,
I write today to let you know that we are in the process of making important changes to our undergraduate student support and advising structures. We are doing this because we must provide all of CWRU’s undergraduate students an unmatched experience with the highest standard of institutional supports, a goal that I am sure you share with me.
Since November—with the assistance of consultants from the Educational Advisory Board (EAB)—we have engaged in a deliberative process with leaders of the offices supporting students, Faculty Senate leaders, and associate deans for academic affairs from the College and schools that confer degrees to undergraduate students. Included in this work were listening tours and interviews with students, faculty and staff to gain a wide array of perspectives on how we are supporting and advising our students.
We have found that this system has not always been clear for our students, and for this reason we need to transform it. Additionally, we have identified a critical first step: We will create a "front door" for our students where not only they, but our entire campus community, understand roles, responsibilities and services offered. We will achieve this by re-envisioning the Division of Student Affairs by including functions that are currently housed in Student Advancement, Undergraduate Studies and International Affairs. We determined that these structural changes best reflect our aspirations.
Between now and July 1, we will implement these changes with the goal of providing the best service possible to our undergraduate students. During this time, several working groups will fine tune the details, keeping in mind our desire to simplify and streamline support for students. I will provide periodic updates on these changes.
I am thankful to all of the faculty, staff, and administrators who have contributed thoughts and ideas in support of this effort.
Ben Vinson III
Provost and Executive Vice President
Case Western Reserve University
10900 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH, 44106