Last spring semester, Jeremy Battjes, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, put out a call for applications from departments in the division for new and innovative projects that would help make progress towards strategic goals and objectives. The projects would be supported through an Innovation Fund, money received through private donations and set aside by the vice chancellor for this purpose.
“We have many great programs and services in the Division, but I wanted directors to think a bit outside the box on different ideas for which they might need extra funding,” Battjes said. “These are projects that will help propel our Advancing Student Affairs Strategic Plan forward and the division responded in a big way. We are funding 7 projects that will begin this school year.”
From a Career Readiness Badge to a Women’s Leadership Experience, the Division has allocated $30,000 to help fund these innovative ideas aligned with the Advancing Student Affairs Strategic Plan.
- Democracy Fellows - The Democracy Fellows are a burgeoning group of 5-10 student leaders dedicated to connecting students to all aspects of our democracy. The Democracy Fellows will share information about voting, first amendment rights, and other topics related to civic engagement in a peer-to-peer, discussion-based format. Democracy Fellows group formed last spring , but did not have much time to get fully engaged.
- Career Ready Badge - Campus-wide, collaborative Career Ready badge that provides a quantitative, normative assessment of students’ career readiness and a virtual map of opportunities offered by departments and student organizations to practice and develop 8 National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) career competencies. To complete the badge, students participate in at least 5 events tagged as each of the 8 NACE competencies (or reflect on competency-focused campus activities) and submit a final reflection of their overall experience. Badge completers who complete the First Destination Survey prior to graduation will receive a gold graduation cord and a LinkedIn badge signaling to employers they are Career Ready.
- UREC Development Pilot – The UREC Development Pilot will engage 65 student employees across the division in a year-long, career-readiness program that will require students to complete 10 hours of development training based on the NACE Career-Readiness Competencies. This program will utilize the Career Ready badge system to allow students freedom to discover their developmental growth points.
- Breaking Barriers: Paving a Way to MCAT Success - The Multicultural Center proposed a comprehensive solution aimed at supporting aspiring medical professionals from marginalized communities. This initiative addresses the financial constraints and lack of community support experienced by minority pre-med students, with the goal of creating a more inclusive and equitable pathway to success.
- Veteran Impact Program Pilot – Many of our veteran students are non-traditional and are coming to college from very different backgrounds and life experiences than the average student. Due to this they are often exempt from participating in the most valuable transitional programs. The Veteran Impact Program would be a small, cohort-style experience, meeting weekly throughout the fall semester. During these sessions, they will learn about campus resources, best practices for using their VA education benefits, build career-oriented skills and knowledge, and be paired with a faculty, staff, or returning student veteran on campus for mentorship.
- Women’s Leadership Experience - The Office of Student Involvement & Leadership is adding a Women’s Empowerment Experience into their program offerings, to include workshops, seminars, and mentoring. Initially, 50 students will be provided a targeted group facilitation experience centered around the new book Brave Women at Work. This program will include facilitated discussions, reflective journaling, and a monthly lecture series.
- Graduation Celebration Pilot - The University of Arkansas hosts many events welcoming the entering class, however there seems to be an absence of a general congratulations to our senior class (also graduate students) who will be leaving campus and starting their post college journey. This event would tie together the New Student Pep Rally that many graduating students would have attended as a first-year student, and then participating in a celebration in the same venue as they plan to graduate.
Many of these programs are kicking off this fall semester and we will continue to look at them in more detail in future issues of the Student Affairs Bulletin.