Designing the Future of Undergraduate Advising at UC Santa Cruz 

Undergraduate advising touches nearly every student, every year. The Undergraduate Advising Transformation Workgroup is charged with designing and recommending a single, coherent, student-centered advising system that provides clear points of contact, accountable case ownership, and continuity from entry through graduation. Our goal is to strengthen belonging, equity, and timely degree completion for all undergraduates. 

This site shares the purpose of the work, the timeline and process, and ways for students, advisors, departmental & college staff, and faculty to engage with and stay informed about our collective work. 

Our Goals for Transforming Undergraduate Advising 

A more coherent experience for students
Right now, students often navigate multiple advising offices with different structures and practices. The workgroup is designing an integrated advising structure that brings college and major advising together so that students experience clear pathways, fewer confusing handoffs, and consistent support from entry through graduation.

Clear points of contact and case ownership
Students should always know who to go to for help. The new model aims to clarify roles, so that advisors can focus on student support and academic planning, while administrative and program tasks are handled through the right channels. Defined handoffs and feedback loops will support continuity when students change majors, face difficulty, or pursue interdisciplinary options.

Stronger connection to disciplines and faculty
Advising is most powerful when it is closely connected to curriculum, research, and experiential opportunities. The workgroup will recommend structured, recurring partnerships among advisors, departments, and faculty, so that students receive accurate, timely guidance and earlier connection to their majors and fields of interest.

Aligned oversight and shared standards
The structure will be discipline-aligned under the functional oversight of the Office of Campus Advising Coordination (OCAC), which will oversee training, standards, goals, metrics, accountability, and advising personnel decisions.  Academic divisions will be stewarding budgets and partnering in two-way discipline-based feedback.

Commitment to equity, belonging, and timely graduation
Throughout this work, the group will keep student retention and time to degree at the center, with attention to proactive outreach, streamlined student processes that remove barriers, and clear curricular pathways supported by degree-progress tools.

Listening, Learning, and Co-Creating 

This work is grounded in listening to the people who know advising best: the students who navigate it, the advisors who provide it, and the staff and faculty who partner in it. Throughout the process, the Transformation Workgroup will host outreach and listening sessions, invite participation in focus groups, and offer online feedback forms for those who prefer to share in writing or asynchronously. Input from these conversations will help us understand the strengths of our current system, where students and staff experience gaps or confusion, and what changes feel most important from different vantage points. Themes from this feedback will shape the recommendations that move forward.