Core Team Membership (Updated April 7, 2026)

YUNNY YIP (Co-Chair)

Assistant Vice Provost Undergraduate Advising & Success, Undergraduate Education

CARRIE HÄBER (Co-Chair)

Assistant Dean for Academic Planning & Chief of Staff, Physical and Biological Sciences Division

DEJON BARBER

Assistant Manager and Program Coordinator, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Department

DANI BARKER

Special Adviser to the Vice Chancellor, Division of Student Affairs and Success

DANIEL BARNHART

Assistant Director of Colleges Advising; Crown & Merrill Colleges

VERONICA FORRETTE

Project Manager, CP/EVC Office

NICOL HAMMOND

Associate Professor of Music, Arts Division; Committee on Educational Policy Representative

SUSAN LEACH

Department Manager, Economics Department

VERONICA LÓPEZ-DURÁN

Assistant Director for Programs Advising, Undergraduate Education

AMANDA RYSLING

Associate Professor of Linguistics; Chair, Committee on Courses of Instruction Representative

KAYSON TANG

Student Union Assembly

JIM WHITEHEAD

Associate Dean for Undergraduate Experience, Baskin School of Engineering

ELANI ZISSIMOPOULOS

Assistant Vice Provost and Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Education & Global Engagement

Subject: 2025-2026 Undergraduate Academic Advising Transformation Workgroup

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for agreeing to serve on the Undergraduate Academic Advising Transformation Workgroup. The goal of the working group will be to design and recommend a single, coherent, student-centered advising system that provides clear points of contact, accountable case ownership, and continuity from entry through graduation that will strengthen belonging, equity, and timely degree completion. The structure should be discipline-aligned under Office of Campus Advising Coordination (OCAC) functional oversight to ensure campus-wide consistency and disciplinary accuracy.

We have asked you to serve because of your thorough knowledge of our campus and of its undergraduate advising ecosystem.

The charge of this working group includes these essential design commitments:

● Integrated Structure: Bring college and major advising into one integrated structure that creates clear, student-centered pathways and continuity.

● Clear Roles: Distinguish administrative/program coordination from advising; ensure advisors focus on student support under advising-experienced supervision with defined handoffs and feedback loops.

● Disciplinary Connection: Embed structured connections to academic disciplines and divisional faculty to deepen belonging and provide accurate, timely guidance.

● Aligned Governance: Establish OCAC functional oversight for training, standards, goals, metrics, accountability, and advising personnel decisions, with academic divisions stewarding budgets and partnering in two-way discipline-based feedback.

The group should adhere to supporting Student Retention and Time to Degree, advanced by proactive outreach, streamlined student processes that remove barriers to progression, and clear curricular pathways supported by degree-progress tools. In doing so, the group should also consider how technology, including emerging AI-enabled tools, can reduce routine tasks and create more space for meaningful, student-centered advising conversations that help students reflect, plan, and navigate academic opportunities and challenges.

This working group should strive to meet the following timeline for its work:

● Frame & Assign (January 2026)

● Discover & Consult (February - March 2026)

● Integrate & Decide (March - April 2026)

● Recommend & Ready Implementation (April - May 2026)

This working group will consist of a Core Implementation Team to steer the overall design, align work to the design commitments, integrate inputs across the themes, and issue final recommendations. AVP Undergraduate Advising & Success Yunny Yip and PBSci Assistant Dean for Academic Planning & Chief of Staff Carrie Häber will serve as co-chairs.

Thank you for your willingness to engage in this critically important and challenging work on behalf of UC Santa Cruz.

Sincerely,

Paul Koch

Interim Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

Richard Hughey

Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education & Global Engagement