foundations of excellence presentation
TRANSCRIPT
Slide 1
What Comes NextThe Story of One Founding InstitutionJodi Koslow Martin, Assistant to the Provost/Director, Crouse Center for Student Success
Brynn Landwehr, First-Year Academic Advisor
Foundations of Excellence Winter Meeting 2008
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Who We AreAurora UniversityPrivate, independent university45 miles west of Chicago, ILApproximately 1800 undergraduate students350 students in the Fall 2007 first-year cohort
Foundations of Excellence process
Putting Leadership Back into Strategy
Strategy is a way of life for an organization.
Strategy defines value for an organization.
Great organizations make big and small changes continually to be strategic.
Montgomery, C.A. (2008, January). Putting leadership back into strategy. Harvard Business Review, 54-60.
Putting Leadership Back into Strategy
The Prevailing Approach: Strategy as a Set SolutionWhat is Missing: Strategy as a Dynamic ProcessA long-term sustainable competitive advantageGOALCreation of valueThe CEO and strategy consultantsLEADERSHIPCEO as chief strategist; the job cannot be outsourcedUnchanging plan that derives from an analytical, left-brained exerciseFORMOrganic process that is adaptive, holistic, and open-endedIntense period of formulation followed by prolonged period of implementationTIME FRAMEEveryday, continuous, unendingDefending an established strategy through timeONGOING ACTIVITYFostering competitive advantages and developing the company through time
Montgomery, C.A. (2008, January). Putting leadership back into strategy. Harvard Business Review, 54-60.
Where We Were
Former First-Year Advising Program
The Strategic Market Survey Report prepared by The Alford Group in November 2006 noted:
Students and parents brought forward concerns regarding academic advising
48.5% of students are somewhat satisfied; 12.1% are somewhat unsatisfied; 6.1% are completely unsatisfied with academic advising
Student and parent comments reflect perceptions that academic advisors do not know requirements well enough, do not track student academic progress enough, do not offer enough academic mentoring in students early years
Where We Are
1 Director6 Professional Advisors1 Administrative Assistant5 Student Assistants
How We Got HereAction PlanWhat Came Next Create Office of Academic Support consisting of the Dean of First-Year Students Office, Learning Center, Academic Advisement Office, Registrar, and two staff liaison positions linking recruitment and retention for minority studentsThe Crouse Center for Student SuccessCreate early connections for undecided studentsFirst-Year SeminarsFirst EncountersSTAR SeminarDetermine structure and responsibility for summer orientationAU4UStudent Life organizesAdvising is integratedAcclimate parents to college expectations of studentsAU4UPresidents PanelParent Handbook
ChallengesRedefining faculty involvement
First-year student engagement in social events
Aligning institutional identity with student identity
SuccessesHeightened attention to first-year efforts
First-year engagement in academic advising
Data gathering on first-year students
RecommendationsDont re-invent the wheel
Cast a wide communication net
Find momentum in unlikely places
Jodi Koslow [email protected] (AIM)
Brynn [email protected] (AIM)
Aurora University347 S. Gladstone AvenueAurora, IL 60506