Academic Affairs Director

Time Commitment: 10-20 hours

Organizational Role

The Academic Affairs Director is one of the executive cabinet members within ASPSU. The purpose of the position is to ensure that when policy is being crafted by the administration of Portland State University, local legislature, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, and all other relevant higher education bodies internally and overseeing us, that the student voice is not forgotten in these discussions. In institutions of higher education, policy is regularly crafted by the administration of the institution to create common processes and practices in order to measure the successes of students, remediate the struggles and academic deficiencies of students, and provide general standards for academic programs. As such the area of Academic Affairs shall endeavor to ensure appropriate representation in the generation of all policies affecting the academic life of students. This includes, but is not limited to, keeping track of academic resources available to students, changes in overall academic requirements for students, staying up-to-date with open educational resources available to students , and sitting on designated AUCS related to the academic success of students or delegating students within the Academic Affairs committee to do so.

We would like to acknowledge that in order for students to achieve academic success they must be able to have the tools to be able to do so, of which affordability and mental health resources are extremely pertinent. Tuition increases are not the only barrier for students in achieving their goals at Portland State University. HB 2871, 2729, and, most recently 2213, which requires community colleges and public universities to establish a textbook affordability plan have been passed since 2015. However, textbook and supplies costs have not been reported to go down since 2016 at PSU ($1,263), according to the Higher Education Coordinating Committee’s budgets (received from universities).

Within the scope of Academic Affairs, ASPSU, the voice of the Portland State University student body, is in full support of implementing Open Educational Resources (OERs), including but not limited to, the Office of Academic Innovation’s initiatives, and aiding them in their efforts to promote and implement OERs within the staff and faculty on behalf of the students. As a committee, we aim to bridge the gap between academic success and the daily lives of students here at Portland State by acknowledging the uniqueness of our student body which is largely non-traditional. This is something we will acknowledge in how we accomplish our regular duties as the Academic Affairs committee and within the director role respectively.

Duties and Responsibilities

First Month

- Get to know and introduce yourself to the senators within your committee.
- Help educate your senators of basic Robert's Rules of Order and expectations for participation during senate, trainings, town halls, and committee meetings.
- Be aware of when interns will be entering the organization and consider tasks that may be best delegated to and applicable to your interns. Work with them to determine what their goals are within the position and provide clarity on the general functioning of ASPSU and where they fit within this structure.
- Make sure you have relevant and reliable contact information for senators within your committee through slack, a phone number, and/or an email address. Ask them how they prefer to be reached.
- Set up a 1-on-1 with the student government advisor and the ASPSU president and/or vice president to discuss your goals, any questions you may have, and to get to know those who can help assist you in your job duties.
- Get to know your fellow directors and all members of the leadership core.
- Reach out to the points of contact listed below and introduce yourself as the new director as well as any relevant information you can share with them, ideas for collaboration, and general thoughts.
- Review previous minutes and agendas of previous meetings from past years to garner a feeling of how the committee has been run in the past and then build from there given your individual goals, the new administration's goals, and most importantly, your constituents, the student body.
- Include the input of senators on committee goals for the monthly, term, and annual goals.
- Include the input of interns on committee goals for the term goals as is relevant and as there is the ability to do so.

Termly

Summer Quarter

Attend the Summer retreat with Leadership Core, senators, and other directors so that the organization can plan for the year
Plan ahead for Fall Quarter by establishing goals and expectations for senators
Create Folders for minutes, agendas, and discussion items in the ASPSU google drive. These need to be duplicated within the public and shared drives for transparency.
Make sure you are connected to slack and all relevant channels
Submit information as related to your ELSA and Leadership Fellows when prompted to do so
Stay in contact with leadership core and directors
Connect with academically-focused student organizations to think about potential orientation, welcome week, or SALP party in the park collaborative efforts

Fall Quarter

Establish and publish your goals and objectives as a committee by the first Fall meeting of the Student Senate
Survey Committee members and find a regular day to meet for fall term.
Create "get to know you" activities for first few committee meetings.
Be aware of when interns will be entering your committee by staying in touch with the student government advisor and make plans for how to introduce and include them in the work of your committee
Create end of term memo highlighting accomplishments, ongoing work, and plans for next term and present memo to Senate at last meeting of term during director reports. If applicable send to the Student Life Director to be published within the newsletter.
Establish and publish goals and objectives of position by the first Fall meeting of the Student Senate.
At the end of fall term, establish whether you will continue at the same day and time or whether a new committee meeting time needs to be selected.

Winter Quarter

Establish goals for the term
Make sure your mission statement is up to date
Hold events within your directors budget that work to help foster student academic success

Spring Quarter

Establish goals for the term
Hold events within your directors budget that work to help foster student academic success

Ongoing

Ongoing.

- Read and respond to ASPSU related emails within 48 business hours
- Be able to understand the relevant information as it pertains to Robert’s Rules of Order, budget maintenance, and any necessary preparations for meetings
- Attend executive meetings on a weekly basis
- Attend bi-weekly senate meetings
- Chair committee meetings
- Sit on designated AUCs or delegate senators to sit on designated AUCs
- Work with the Oregon Student Association to advocate for issues as related to Higher Education and students' academic success in collaboration with the Legislative Affairs Director
- Collaborate with other directors to determine inter-sectional needs of different student groups and concerns which are all tied to a students' academic success at Portland State
- Weekly office hours or dedicated office time
- Work on campaigns as directed by the President and Vice President
- Outreach to relevant contacts

Weekly.

Send meeting agenda/minutes from last meeting, and meeting details to STU-public list serve at least 24 hours before committee meetings.
Upload minutes, agenda, and attendance to public and shared drive weekly.
Meet with the executive chief of staff on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Determine this designation at the beginning of each term based on the needs of your committee.

Monthly.

- Set monthly goals in correlation to quarterly and yearly goals, initiatives, and relevant student needs and concerns

Quarterly.

- Send out calendar invite for committee members at the beginning of each term when a committee meeting time is established.
- If relevant, send out a zoom link for the entire term attached to this calendar invite that will remain the same for the entire term.
- Establish committee meeting times for the next terms during the last 2 meetings of the prior term.
- Be in contact with leadership core to determine additional training relevant to your director position and committee which you could lead or you could bring in an on-campus or off-campus resource to share information and keep ASPSU members better informed of resources available to them and the student body at large

As needed.

- Collaborate with other directors and find ways to share advice, resources, work on events, etc.
- Meet with the student government advisor for guidance

Points of Contact

Student Activities and Leadership Programs
- Become familiar with Connect which will have a full updated list of student organizations, many with a specific academic or career focus.
Student Health & Counseling (SHAC)
SHAC Wellness & Health Action Team (WHAT)
Office of Academic Innovation
Portland State University Library
Advising & Career Services
TRIO Student Support
The Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program at Portland State University (PSU)
Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program at Portland State University
Multicultural Retention Services
The Office of Information Technology
Student Financial Services - Financial Wellness Center
The Learning Center
The Portland State Writing Center
IELP Tutoring Program for ELL/ESL
Transfer & Returning Student Resource Center
The Office of Student Success
Disability Resource Center
Portland State University Studies Office
University Success: In-Hall After Hours Academic Support for Residents of PSU On-campus housing
University Honors College
Office of the Registrar
Relevant AUCs
- The Academic Appeals Board: advisory committee to the Provost
- Speakers’ Board
- Academic Auxiliary Activities Committee
- Honors’ Council
- Scholastic Standards Committee
- Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
- Academic Advising Committee
- Advisory Committee on Academic Information Technology Points of Contact

Words of Wisdom

(This section, except for Senators as there would be too many to fit on a page, would be a good place to put in our reflections at the end of the year to pass them on to the next organization. The one on the page can cycle every year, but we can store all the reflections themselves in a Google Doc for posterity and less clutter.)

This should be about 3-4 paragraphs at least, and should contain information about people you have reached out to, not just offices, initiatives you have furthered, and things you learned in the position that would have been better to know beforehand. Will help to inform the next section and overall planning the following years.

Academic Affairs Director | Reflection

I would say my biggest words of wisdom within this position are to remember that academics is an area which is about so much more than grades, testing, and areas of study. Academics is something that is ever changing and closely tied to so many other aspects of a student's experience. Often a student's other interests whether that is community involvement, leadership positions within a student club or Greek life, or taking part in an artistic performance there are usually plenty of outside influences which blend into a student's academic and career interests. I stepped into this role at the end of winter term of this year not knowing exactly what I wanted to do step-by-step but I did know that I wanted to become more informed about the academic resources available to students and consider how mental health and well-being plays into academic success. Prior to my involvement as a director I had been in touch with Student Health and Counseling and more specifically Dr. Marcy Hunt, Ph.D. who is the Director of Counseling Services at the Center for Student Health and Counseling and student members of the SHAC Wellnes Health and Action Team (WHAT). As a director, I've reached back out to these parties as well as reached out to resource centers and academic resources on campus and am currently in touch with the library to hopefully plan an event for this spring term.

I would say as far as initiatives the primary ones I have worked on within spring term have been acting as a member of the financial relief ad-hoc committee and co-writing the commencement resolution with our Equal Rights Advocacy Director, Ernesto Dominguez. I have also worked on documents to get students involved virtually with bonding within ASPSU and getting to know our peers as well as virtual and limited in-person volunteer activities to help assist our communities during COVID-19.

I would say as far as things I would have wanted to know beforehand, I think organization is still something being worked on and worked out within ASPSU and this is something that's been difficult to get a handle on. The google drive is something I wish I had more knowledge of navigating beforehand and a better idea of the wiki and what it's intention was for. I initially as a senator, thought that this wiki and the website were intended to be interchangeable when the wiki is meant to be more of an internal document. I'm still working on understanding that but hopefully that's something that will be more clear as the new PSU website makes items more clear as well. I also would have wanted more of a detailed rundown on how best to administer minutes and how to motivate senators. I've found especially with a smaller committee and with introverted senators it's difficult to strike a balance and have a meeting which is effective. I think that's also been me working on my own leadership style and delegating in know what to do within this role and how.

Ultimately, the last thought I'd like to leave you with is that this position is what you make of it. It is about internally and externally helping students succeed academically and in how to intersect this with other aspects of health and wellbeing. Learning doesn't stop outside of the classroom and this role is one that can continue to be molded to best fit the needs of students here at PSU.

Refresh Contacts

Student Activities and Leadership Programs
The Portland State University Library
Portland State University Studies Office
Disability Resource Center
Student Health and Counseling Services
SHAC Wellness Health and Action Team
Office of Academic Innovation
Financial Wellness Center
Veterans' Resource Center

Onboarding. This Information will be used for the onboarding checklist, and supplement the checklist for this position. It might not be on this page. Fill these sections with your thoughts about what onboarding should look like for your position so I don't have to send out 2 links for y'all :)

Starting in Summer

I think starting in summer the most beneficial training and on-boarding would be establishing relationships with fellow ASPSU members virtually or in-person in an informal way. I think the training done at the retreat could perhaps be more thorough and there could be planning done by students themselves as well so that there is input with awareness of past retreats and training and what has and hasn't been effective. I think becoming aware of past resolutions and initiatives and getting a grasp on our social media and media presence is also something beneficial to consider. I was also confused entering my senator position on expectations of 1-on-1s so I think clarity here and with the ELSA and future trainings would be very helpful too.

Mid-Year

I think mid-year would be a good time to re-visit community agreements as ASPSU and within ASPSU exective more specifically to know if people feel comfortable, heard, and valued within these spaces. I think reflecting on past progress, determining initiatives, and working on one larger-scale event or multiple smaller events or tabling opportunities would be a good way to go as well. I would also suggest there be more emphasis on class-wraps earlier on and in collaboration with interns as opposed to only when it's elections season. I think it would help people be more familiar with ASPSU and their significance and role in campus decisions. I also think a check-in and re-evaluation of the job description earlier on would be beneficial prior to constitutional revision so that there can be more collaboration and discussion of what is and isn't accurate or maybe what should be occuring within a role that wasn't clear. I think looking at if that person is interested in getting more familiarity with other roles or committees would also be beneficial and if they plan on continuing with ASPSU. Overall, gathering more information and insight.

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