Creating a warm, supportive environment that fosters student success has always been integral to the 宅男福利社 culture. The university has recently strengthened its commitment by partnering with Caring Campus, a national initiative developed by the (IEBC), a non-profit organization designed to enhance students鈥� sense of belonging and increase student retention and success.
鈥淭he philosophy underpinning the Caring Campus initiative resonated with our senior leadership team as we seek to strengthen our commitment to making our students feel welcomed, valued and supported,鈥� 宅男福利社President Ken Tucker said. 鈥淲e know that campus culture tremendously impacts a student鈥檚 decision to choose a school and stay for their entire college experience.鈥�
An initial kick-off session was held on April 23 that included thirty-one 宅男福利社staff members as well as the university鈥檚 leadership team. Staff members have already engaged in two four-hour work sessions in May and June, with others still to come. During these sessions, two IEBC coaches presented research supporting the program鈥檚 goals and the five behavioral commitments that work. Staff members have broken into groups to develop initiatives to implement the behavioral commitments to strengthen and foster student connectedness at UWA.
鈥淐aring Campus is designed to facilitate the important conversations that are needed for continuous improvement with a boots-on-the-ground approach to identifying the challenges and opportunities that can effectively shape campus culture in a way that supports students and also allow our faculty and staff to be fulfilled in their efforts,鈥� Tucker said. 鈥淥ur campus鈥攁 small, regional institution鈥攈as long been known for professors and staff who care about our students, and this initiative allows us to build on that foundation. Our goal is for our students to be successful, and our faculty and staff can be commended for going out of their way to help students overcome obstacles and break down the barriers to their success.鈥�
The group will present their findings to the university鈥檚 leadership team on June 28.
鈥淭his program isn鈥檛 customer service training,鈥� noted Dr. Melissa Haab, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at UWA, 鈥渋t is a very intentional and systematic effort to build upon the intrinsic culture of our university and to ensure that we live up to our slogan, 鈥楾here鈥檚 something about this place.鈥� We want students to not only choose 宅男福利社but also stay and be successful.鈥�
One of the things Haab said she liked most about the process was that the staff created what the Caring Campus initiative would look like at UWA. 鈥淚nstead of a top-down approach, our staff, many of whom were identified as members of this working group because they already exemplified good caring qualities, are getting to say, 鈥榳e know the students and what they need, and here are some initiatives that make sense that we can implement along the way.鈥欌��
Excited about what鈥檚 happening and proud of the staff members who have brought the process together, Haab believes with the implementation of this program, 鈥渨e鈥檙e capitalizing on what鈥檚 already here. In effect, our institution is showing that we are who we say we are.鈥�
When speaking to the working group of staff members upon the initiative鈥檚 launch and first planning session, Tucker emphasized continuous improvement, encouraging staff to recognize that even efforts that seem the simplest in scope have a lasting impact.
鈥淚 often reference the Japanese term 鈥榢aizen,鈥� which means 鈥榯iny improvements in a thousand different places,鈥欌�� Tucker said. 鈥淭he improvements that many make together, no matter how small, lead to very meaningful improvements over time.鈥�