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On February 7, the SET team hosted another edition of our Ask SET Anything event series specifically for student services. Staff in this area were invited to learn more, ask questions, and share feedback about the vision for the future of student services at the university. We had another great turnout with approximately 120 staff joining us for the live Zoom meeting and another 125 watching the livestream. Thank you to everyone who joined the event.

Vice-President (University Services and Finance) and Chair of the Service Excellence Steering Committee, Todd Gilchrist, and I were joined by a panel of student services leadership and members of the SET team:

• Brooke Milne — Vice-Provost and Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies & Research
• Cen Huang — Vice-Provost & Associate Vice-President (International)
• Helen Vallianatos — Acting Vice-Provost & Dean of Students
• Melissa Padfield — Vice Provost & University Registrar, Administrative Sponsor & Initiative Lead of the Student Services workstream
• Barbara Billingsley — Dean, Faculty of Law & Academic Sponsor of the Student Services workstream
• Julie Naylor — College General Manager, College of Natural and Applied Sciences
• Rob Munro — Executive Lead, Service Excellence Transformation
• Brian Stewart — Program Director, Service Excellence Transformation

For those who were unable to attend the event, a recording is available for viewing:

Outlining the new vision

I want to start by acknowledging the hard work that student services and student support staff have done—and continue to do—during this challenging time. Developing this vision has been a massive undertaking and we could have not done it without your hard work and collaboration. The new vision that was shared in December is designed to prepare student services at the º£½ÇÉçÇø for growth—specifically a 25 per cent increase in enrollment over the next five years. Ultimately, by re-aligning the five Provost offices and their services, we will be able to improve the student experience with an enhanced service culture. Students will now be able to access services through easy access points like the Student Service Centre, lessening their burden to navigate services across the university.

What we heard

Consultation and engagement was conducted during the spring of 2021 to develop and inform this vision. Student services leaders and members of the SET team consulted with students, staff and senior leaders in 18 faculties and six central units* to gain a better understanding of how to bring this vision to life. Some of the key findings from this feedback include:

• Students prefer a centralized, one-stop service model or navigation point for most needs and to access services via email or in-person
• Students feel there is an unequal access to services and want a greater level of support in mental health and counseling support
• Faculty leaders support centralizing "administratively heavy" services (e.g. scheduling)
• Faculty leaders want to share best practices and support at the college level, such as EDI and Indigenization of programs
• Central units hope to move transactional activities to Shared Services and keep non-transactional activities in the faculties
• Central units would like to maintain a high level of involvement from colleges and faculties for centralized activities

*Central units consulted included the Registrar's Office, Dean of Students, º£½ÇÉçÇø International, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, Faculty of Extension, and Library and Museums.

Moving the vision towards implementation

To achieve our vision, a realignment of functions within the four central student service units is required. The vice-provost for each unit is currently leading a detailed design process in collaboration with the student services workstream to drive improved student experience across all programs at the university. You can learn more about the changes to these service areas in this recent article. To minimize the impact on students and staff, as well as fit within the annual cycle of student delivery, the team is committed to a staggered approach when implementing this vision, which will occur over four phases. Overall, transformation will take place over a period of approximately two years.

Once the time for recruitment comes, jobs will be added to the Position Opportunities Page (POP) and staff are encouraged to apply as postings are added to the . It's important to emphasize that implementation and hiring for new positions will occur in consultation with the vice-provosts in order to minimize disruption to both students and staff. The first positions available should be posted in April/May and will continue throughout the summer.

Student services web page

To keep you informed about ongoing changes and updates within the student services stream, a dedicated web page has been created. This web page tracks progress and provides updates as student services functions transition to the new operating model developed under the º£½ÇÉçÇø for Tomorrow initiative. Here you will find an overview of the stream's approach,