Students

The UW Tacoma experience empowers students to achieve their dreams.

Educating learners is why we exist. Our alumni’s accomplishments in their lives, their careers and their service to our communities are the ultimate measures of our university’s success. Achieving this takes the whole university, the foundation of which is excellent teaching. The range and depth of our support for students and the quality of experiences available to them outside the classroom completes this commitment.

Dressel Scholars Program

We will create a world-class scholars program that engages students with their community to create connections and grow opportunities. This program will build community both for and with our students and their teams of mentors to honor the legacy of leadership that Melanie Dressel embodied.

Learn more about the Dressel Scholarship Program

Develop E-Learning Plan 2.0

To reduce wait lists for online courses and increase classroom utilization capacity, we will develop an E-Learning plan that educates, incentivizes and supports faculty in the creation of new online and hybrid courses.

Support Revision of First Year Core

We will redesign the First Year Core curriculum to support exploration, guide students to majors, and support holistic learning outcomes. We will engage faculty to create courses and curriculum that support student success and improve the continuity and quality of the learning experience.

Learn more about Supporting Revision of First Year Core

Launching Maker Space

We will open a Maker Space that is an intentionally designed, impactful, informal learning space that enables innovation, creativity, hands-on learning, and a maker mindset. The space will evolve to meet the developing needs of this campus.

Leverage Data Analytics - Student Scheduling & Curriculum

To reduce curriculum bottlenecks and identify success pathways for students, we will develop our capacity to use analytic tools to provide information to academic programs for scheduling and curriculum improvement initiatives. Real-time planning will promote more efficient use of resources and student success.

Evaluate Programs in Academic Plan

Faculty have proposed twelve new degree programs and identified numerous opportunities to further develop existing degrees. Faculty and administrators will work together to draft an academic plan that will guide academic and resource investments through 2022.

Develop Integrated Honors

A template for creating integrated global honors pathways within each academic unit has been created and vetted by academic unit administrators and advisors, as well as admissions, enrollment, and registrar staff. Multiple academic units will begin offerings new Integrated Honors options in 2018-2019.

Learn more about Developing Integrated Honors

UW Tacoma Husky Experience

SAES will partner with Academic Affairs and student leaders to define the UW Tacoma Husky Experience - a roadmap for our diverse students to plan a meaningful and highly integrated student experience that helps them to develop intellectually, socially, professionally and civically.

Offer Inclusive Pedagogy Training for Faculty

We will develop training for all faculty that supports their efforts to create learning environments that are inclusive and equitable. To accomplish this, we will identify and engage those at UW Tacoma, in the UW system, and throughout higher education who have experience and expertise in inclusive pedagogy.

Assess Student Academic Support Systems

We will create an assessment mechanism that works across the systems that contribute to student academic success (Advising, TLC, Library, Int’l Student Services and other) in order to better understand how they work together to support and enhance student success.

Expand Study Abroad Opportunities and Engagement

We will continue to expand opportunities for and access to study abroad programs for UW Tacoma students. This includes a focus on maintaining equitable access for all students, and supporting faculty in the development and delivery of innovative and immersive programs.

Learn more about Expanding Study Abroad Opportunities and Engagement

Global Innovation and Design Lab

After a Summer 2018 visit to the Stanford Design School by key external partners and campus leadership, the Institute for Global Engagement was asked to lead an initiative on Innovation and Design at UW Tacoma. A design-thinking framework will guide curriculum and partnerships to further promote UW Tacoma's urban serving mission.

Learn more about Global Innovation and Design Lab

Evaluate and Enhance Strategic Student Communications

With an eye toward student retention and success, we will create a cross-divisional team to assess and coordinate student communications to reduce redundancy, inconsistency and gaps in those efforts. We will create a coordinated approach to “nudging” students toward success.

Post-graduate Pathways and Perspectives on the UW Experience

Alumni accomplishments are an important indicator of an educational institution’s success. We will use available data sources to analyze student post-graduation outcomes in order to inform our efforts toward curriculum planning, student academic success, and student support services.

Scholarship Support

SAES will assess the use and impact of unrestricted merit and need-based scholarship support to increase the amount allocated to students and to refine the fundraising case for financial support.

Learn more about Scholarship Support

Contact Students Initiatives Co-Champions

Associate Vice Chancellor, Student Services & Administration

Associate Dean for Student Support and Success and Associate Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences