Integration of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs email
November 14, 2018
From: Moon, Daniel
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2018 1:49 PM
To: all-studentaffairs <all-studentaffairs@unf.edu>; DeansDir <DeansDir@unf.edu>; AcadAff Div <AADiv@unf.edu>
Cc: Szymanski, David <david.szymanski@unf.edu>; Chally, Pamela <pchally@unf.edu>; McCullen, Ann <amccullen@unf.edu>; Shuman, Shari <sshuman@unf.edu>; Stone, Karen <kstone@unf.edu>; Warren, Christopher <c.warren@unf.edu>; Coleman, Jay <jcoleman@unf.edu>; Patterson, Karen <karen.patterson@unf.edu>; Kantner, John <j.kantner@unf.edu>; Jaffee, Marianne <mjaffee@unf.edu>; Helbling, Cristina <c.helbling@unf.edu>
Subject: Integration of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs
Colleagues,
I am very happy to share with you an update on the integration of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs and the draft Organizational Chart of the main units involved. It is important to note that this is not a complete org chart, but simply reflects the units directly involved in structural shifts. The blue shading indicates units that were part of the Division of Student Affairs. The chart reflects the changes I had mentioned in my previous email in October, as well as a few additional structural realignments. These are the result of much thought and discussion, intended to facilitate collaboration and leverage our strengths. While the reporting structures for many of the units in the Org Chart have not changed, there will be opportunities for functional integration, with departments from Academic and Student Affairs working very closely.
One such example is the Child Development Center. While organization and reporting structure is not changing at this time, the partnership with the College of Education and Human Services is strengthening. Faculty from the college will be involved in searches and hiring of staff positions in the Child Development Center, and a strategic plan for expansion of the CDC, credentialing of CDC staff, and development of a lab school will be jointly created.
To provide even better service to our students, Student Health Services will become part of the Brooks College of Health. This realignment will leverage the knowledge and expertise in the College and create additional opportunities for faculty and staff. The close collaboration between SHS staff and BCH faculty will result in innovative, efficient, and exceptional quality care for our students. We are continuing to explore additional opportunities for synergy such as this to enhance all aspects of the health and wellness of the UNF community.
The Parents Association has played an important role in engaging the parents and families of our students, strengthening the support network that fosters student success. The Parent Orientation program in Enrollment Services has done so as well. To combine the strengths of the two initiatives, the Parents Association will move to and be administered by Enrollment Services. The result will be a strong unified effort to support and engage the parents and family members of our students.
Development of housing programs with academic components, such as Living Learning Communities, Bridge Programs, and Jumpstart or Accelerator Programs, will be a critically important component of student success. Close collaboration between academic units and Housing & Residence Life staff is essential for enhancing the programs that have already been established and for developing and growing new innovative programs. This programming will be overseen by Student Academic Success Services in Undergraduate Studies. SASS will oversee the development of these programs, integrating academic and auxiliary units.
The central Career Services office has already been working closely with Undergraduate Studies, and will now formally become a part of UGS. This will enhance the collaboration and synergy with advising, as well as with the academic colleges. I have been talking with college Career Center leaders and college deans about ways to enhance how we serve our students. These conversations are continuing, and an important component is how the central Career Services office synergizes with the college centers. The alignment of Career Services in UGS will present an array of new opportunities in this area. This and the other changes mentioned above will be effective January 2nd, 2019 if not before.
The integration of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs has involved some structural realignments such as the ones above and in my previous email. More importantly, however, the integration represents a change in the way we approach working together and serving our students. Greater communication and collaboration results in new ideas and opportunities for creating a world-class experience for our students. We will continue to pursue additional opportunities going forward. I want to thank everyone who provided valuable insight and ideas as Everett and I have worked through this integration. Thanks, as well, to all of you for your continued commitment as we work together to re-envision student success.
Best wishes,
Dan
Daniel C. Moon, PhD
Associate Vice President
University of North Florida
1 UNF Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32224-7699
904-620-2700