From Student Services to Student Affairs: A changing lens to better support students

What’s in a name? In the case of the division at Dal that provides support for students inside and outside the classroom, a recent name change is a lot more than a simple shift in wording.

Over this past summer, what most people on campus have known as Student Services began rebranding itself as Student Affairs. The name shift reflects the notion that while the department does provide services to students, it’s about more than that. Professionals throughout the division work collaboratively with faculty, staff, and students to support the student learning experience and the academic mission of the university.

“Our shift in name signals that our approach is one that prioritizes the personal, social, cultural and physical needs and interests of students, in addition to their intellectual, academic and vocational needs and interests,” says Arig al Shaibah, vice-provost student affairs.

Programs and supports

Dr. al Shaibah joined Dalhousie in the newly created vice-provost role on April 1 this year, with a mission of transitioning the department to the university’s new provost model of governance. Since April, she has spearheaded the development of a divisional strategic plan, aligned with institutional priorities and guided by four broad values:

• Student-centricity: providing student advocacy, and balancing this with student empowerment
• Diversity: promoting accessibility, respect, inclusion and equity in Dal’s programs and practices
• Professionalism: working cooperatively with integrity, honesty, transparency, and accountability
• Continuous learning and improvement: pursuing ongoing professional development and ensuring programs and services are informed by evidence and best practices
  

“Our vision is to be a leader on campus in creating accessible, inclusive, relevant and effective programs and support services within respectful and safe living and learning environments,” says Dr. al Shaibah. “We want every student at Dalhousie to have the opportunity to achieve their personal and academic goals, as well as to develop as global citizens and lifelong learners.”

With those values as a guide, Student Affairs is in an ongoing process of creating a more holistic, student-centric approach to its mandate. Taking an evidence- and theory-informed approach to students’ success, Student Affairs is aptly equipped to more fully support students’ health and wellness, personal and social development, academic and career preparation, and enrolment and registrarial support needs.

First-year and beyond

Highlights of this improved collaboration include:

• To prepare incoming students for the transition to university, Student Affairs communications efforts focus on fostering students’ development of the Five Senses of Success (Lizzio, 2006) and uses survey data about their expectations coming into university and how those match with their experience. As part of the Student Affairs’ priorities, continued emphasis will be placed on the first-year experience, through the development of purposeful outcomes and associated programming for orientation and transition.
• The Advising and Access Centre has steadily been moving towards a more developmental and holistic approach to student advising. In addition to helping students navigate their academic programs, the advisors will assist students to reflect on their career and personal goals; develop an academic plan; and connect them to other resources on campus. This holistic approach to advising and supporting student success helps students achieve their goals and create a vision for the future.
• In the Faculties of Agriculture, Science, and Arts and Social Sciences, Student Affairs is piloting a "Bounce Back" program for first-year students who are struggling after first semester. The program will pair students with professional advisors and peer coaches, and integrate the use of specific online resources to further support students as they continue through their first year.

Wellness and connections

Student Affairs provides support for Dalhousie students’ success, appreciating that there are varying needs to consider, whether supporting domestic or international students, or when supporting undergraduate, graduate or students in professional programs.

“Among our priorities, we’re responding to recommendations of the 2015 international student support strategy to better serve our growing international student population,” says Dr. al Shaibah. “As well, we’re now focusing more on the graduate student experience by launching an advisory group in partnership with the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Dalhousie Association of Graduate Students.”

Student health and wellness is another area where collaboration is becoming stronger—especially with programming that focuses on mental health and alcohol harm reduction. The department is developing a university-wide strategy on alcohol harm reduction scheduled to launch in September 2017.

Health and Wellness Services is in the midst of establishing an inter-professional health model that better integrates the programs and services they offer. It includes a peer wellness coaching pilot, and a new pilot student sick leave process that includes a self-reporting system to increase efficiency and student-centricity of the accommodation request process.

In an example of collaboration with departments outside Student Affairs, Student Health Promotion and Student Health Services have partnered with the School of Nursing to give nursing students the opportunity to conduct flu shot clinics, mobile STI clinics and various health promotion-related activities.

New initiatives

As part of the Student Affairs strategic plan, a number of initiatives have either started or will roll out over the next year. These include:

• Renewing the search for an assistant vice-provost & university registrar, after revising the name and scope of the role.
• Introducing a strategic enrolment management framework to guide the university in establishing a strategic process for developing and implementing a long-term enrolment plan.
• Launching a comparative review of best practices in the delivery of employment services and career exploration coaching to inform future possibilities for the Career and Leadership Development Centre.
• Introducing a more effective system for handling misconduct in residences.
• Understanding the factors which influence student retention and success, and beginning to develop programs and services to target students most affected by these factors.
• Integrating High Impact Practices and related outcomes and targets into the delivery of student programming and support services.
• The hiring of Dal’s new ombudsperson (Diane Hawco) to assist students to navigate university policy and procedures to more effectively deal with any university-related conflicts or challenges.
• Hiring an aboriginal advisor (Sara Swasson) to oversee a new Aboriginal Student Centre.
• Collaborating on fostering a safer campus environment through the development of a sexual violence policy and related procedures and programs.
• Building capacity individually and organizationally to effectively, efficiently and equitably manage resources.
  

Clearly, there’s a lot happening in Student Affairs these days.

“In Student Affairs we look to enhance the student experience and support the personal development and academic success of our diverse student body,” says Dr. al Shaibah. “While we pride ourselves in being professionals who deliver quality student services, we’re much more than that. We’re educators who collaborate with faculty, staff, and students to enhance the broader student learning experience.”