WKU News

Colleagues,

I hope you have had an enjoyable first day of the semester so far.

Great colleges and universities frequently evaluate their processes, policies, resources and structures to ensure that operations maximize student support. Our Division of Enrollment and Student Experience (ESE) has served us well and enabled us to better support our students from high school recruitment through WKU graduation. However, as student enrollment dynamics increased in complexity, it became apparent during the last several years that we should explore alternate structures.

This spring, I asked Provost Fischer to study an organizational concept that would permit our enrollment staff to focus more heavily on shaping our first-year class and retaining current students while also allowing our staff in what have traditionally been student affairs areas to provide a student experience that cannot be found elsewhere. I charged Provost Fischer with gathering structures used by our peer groups and other institutions while, at the same time, engaging focus groups across campus to ascertain their thoughts on our ESE structure and function.

Provost Fischer provided the data he collected to the ESE Restructuring Committee, led by Dr. Jeff Budziak, for their analysis and feedback. Based on their recommendations, I am excited to announce the following changes, which will be implemented during this academic year:

1)    WKU’s Enrollment Management and Student Success functions will move into the Division of Academic Affairs and Office of the Provost. This includes our Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Office of Student Financial Assistance, Advising and Career Development Center, Adult Learner Services, Student Athlete Success Center and the Transfer Center. Assessments of organizational structures at benchmark institutions revealed several possible homes for enrollment and student success functions, but Academic Affairs is the most pragmatic of these choices for WKU. Our transition to responsibility-centered management (RCM) of resources makes budgets responsive to choices made by academic units as we recruit, retain and graduate students. It also means Academic Affairs and deans now play a more direct role than ever before in shaping our enrollment profile. Enrollment Management and Student Success units already work closely with the academic leadership team, and organizing all these functions within the same division creates opportunities to link each function directly to our colleges, while also retaining the centralized services that have been instrumental to our recent successes. Since the spring semester, John-Mark Francis has served as our Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management. Provost Fischer and I have asked John-Mark to continue these duties in an interim capacity as we complete the organizational shift during this academic year. 

2)    The Student Accessibility Resource Center (SARC) will report to the Office of Institutional Equity. SARC plays a key role in supporting our Hilltoppers with accessibility needs and the Office of Institutional Equity regularly reviews our policies and procedures to ensure we operate in compliance with applicable laws. As such, organizationally relocating SARC within the Office of Institutional Equity enables us to best support our students while also making sure our practices adhere to local, state and federal regulations.

3)    Finally, the Student Engagement and Student Life functions of the Division of Enrollment and Student Experience will remain under the direction and leadership of Dr. Martha Sales. This includes Student Activities, Organizations & Leadership Programs, Housing and Residence Life, Dining Services, Campus Recreation and Wellness, Institutional Opportunities, Esports, the Office of Sustainability, the Counseling Center, the ID Center, the Intercultural Student Engagement Center (ISEC), the Office of Student Conduct and TRIO Programs. In addition to her role as our Dean of Students, Dr. Martha Sales has provided leadership for the student life and engagement areas for several months as our interim Vice President of Student Experience. I am happy to announce that Dr. Sales has accepted a permanent appointment to that position, which will be retitled Vice President of Student Experience and Dean of Students. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Sales! 

I want to thank Provost Fischer and the ESE Restructuring Committee for their work studying best practices and helping to identify opportunities to maximize the effectiveness of our enrollment and student experience initiatives. I also want to thank the staff and leadership of all units focused on enrollment and student experience for their continued dedication to supporting our students and advancing our institution.  

Go Tops!

Best,

Timothy C. Caboni