2019 UL Student Success Symposium

In a few weeks, UL Operations and Planning will launch its website. The site had to be easy to navigate, informative and accessible. The designers worked closely with ATI to make the site more accessible. Our first accessibility report showed a lot of work needed to be done. Henry Ford once said “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” While it may seem overwhelming, there are a few simple steps you can take to make the task easier.
 
In this session, you will learn why accessibility is important, review tips to help deliver inclusive design and discuss free tools to help identify and mitigate problem areas on your website. 

We have all heard rumblings of the Student Experience Redesign and may have different understandings of that process and the effort to re-imagine the New Student Experience. From the point of acceptance through the first-year of the Mason experience, there is a coordinated effort to intentionally support students throughout this pivotal stage of their journey, and provide necessary resources and programming at critical times. There have been a number of identified areas of focus through the Student Experience Redesign, including the expansion of the existing Preamble program and the creation of a new extended-orientation program, called Quill Camp. Come learn about key updates and initiatives related to the Student Experience Redesign Initiation sub-committee, as well as brainstorm new initiatives and opportunities to support students and families throughout the first year. 

Growing demand for mental health services and rising rates of suicidal risk in college students continue to be a challenge for universities.  Participants will be exposed to research on contributing factors, the ways in which mental health trends present differently in diverse groups of students, and the emerging best practice of taking a university-wide public health approach to the prevention of suicide and serious substance abuse.  We will present information about our grant-funded, four-year partnership with the Jed Foundation through the Jed Campus initiative that is designed to support our efforts in developing an effective public health approach to prevention at Mason.  Data from our recent administration to students of the Healthy Minds Study will be presented along with discussion of our current prevention-related programs, practices, and policies.  We will share the strategic plan recommendations we received from the JED Foundation for improving our university-wide prevention approach.  Participants will have the opportunity to engage in small group discussions and activities designed to both increase awareness and knowledge of the issues, and to identify opportunities for engagement in this new Mason initiative.

Do you have a process that faculty and staff often find confusing and laborious? By utilizing rubrics for processes, especially in assessment and reporting, you can see where knowledge gaps in faculty/staff exist as well as provide clear definitive ways towards continuous improvement. In this session, examples will be provided, best practices shared, as well as time for attendees to develop a rubric in groups to take back to their individual practices.

Title IX and Sexual Misconduct violations have been a large focus for the higher education community for years.  Incidents at specific institutions have also been covered in both higher education as well as the national and mainstream media.  Most recently, the Department of Education has offered several new proposals for institutions to consider when investigating and resolving Title IX cases.  But what occurs in the hearing?  What are the unique and specific nuances and complexities of Title IX cases?  This session will illustrate the behind the scenes rationale for our process, the complexities a Title IX referral, and the staff commitment to facilitating the resolution process.