Cal Poly Humboldt departments and divisions continue to reimagine their systems and structures to better support student enrollment and success, an important part of the journey towards our polytechnic transformation. This message shares important information about changes related to the Career Center, Admissions and Registrar offices, and Student Communication.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

The alignment of Career Development under the division of Enrollment Management & Student Success (EMSS), effective July 1, is one example of this work. The services currently offered by career counselors and an employer specialist will continue, though they will now report through Stephen St. Onge, executive director of student engagement and enterprise services. Previously, career services were embedded alongside academic advising as part of Academic Affairs. This realignment is the first step in building an expanded Career Development Center that strongly connects Humboldt students with the skills they need to find internships and jobs during college that allow them to develop within their intended field, as well as to land a good-paying job after graduation.

“I’m excited about the progress our campus has made in supporting the success of our students through advising. This move to elevate and expand the excellent work of our career advisors with the creation of a career center under dedicated leadership in Enrollment Management aligns well with our commitment to graduating career-ready students,” said Jenn Capps, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“Outcomes matter to students as part of both their college-going decisions and continued enrollment, and finding a job that leverages their degree and allows them to better support themselves and their families is the outcome many of our students are most interested in,” said Chrissy Holliday, vice president of enrollment management and student success. “I am excited about the future of career services on our campus, and our plan is to expand partnerships within the greater Humboldt area to better support these efforts.”

This realignment will allow deeper integration of campus offices and support for student success, ranging from career learning opportunities embedded in residential learning programs to support from across EMSS for career fairs and other events. Eventually, the intent is to establish a new site for Humboldt career development in a location that provides enhanced visibility and encourages collaboration with the community. For now, students will continue to schedule appointments through the ACAC service center; web and location updates will be provided at a later time.

The addition of career services is not the only change within the EMSS division this summer. Two other structure changes are effective July 1: a realignment of duties between Admissions and the Registrar’s Office and the development of a Strategic Student Communications unit via a merger of existing departments.

ADMISSIONS and REGISTRAR

A significant increase in interest regarding Cal Poly Humboldt is driving a realignment of work in support of admissions and enrollment services. Applications for Fall 2023 grew by more than 70% this year, increasing work demands and straining the campus’ ability to provide the level of individualized service that is a hallmark of the Humboldt experience. Recognizing the need to enhance our response times and processes, we are reorganizing these two units to allow these teams to build on their abundant strengths.

Effective July 1, the Office of Admissions will concentrate on outreach, recruitment. and the campus visit experience, including: early outreach, recruitment, and yield events, the prospect and applicant experience (systems, workflows, services, and support), and related document imaging (inbound transcripts) to support increased application volume. A summer refresh of the Slate customer relationship management system facilitates this shared services model and will allow us to serve students in a more personalized manner while engaging other campus stakeholders in our recruitment efforts.

As part of this shift, Muranda Kozlowicz, formerly of the ITS Project Office, joined the Admissions team June 15 in an interim role as the coordinator of systems for recruitment & retention, in which she will focus on operating and maintaining Slate and other systems, in coordination with other members of EMSS teams. We are actively searching for a permanent director of Admissions to oversee the realigned portfolio, and hope to have a hire in place by the end of summer.

The Office of the Registrar will consolidate support to manage student enrollment services for all students, from their first registration through graduation. This shift towards a functional one-stop concept includes centralizing the evaluation process for applicants (first-year, transfer, and credential) under one department instead of two, establishing a central call center unit, and enhancing our service model for students, separating calls/services from behind the scenes processing. Evaluations (undergraduate admissions, residency, etc.) will shift to the Office of the Registrar with the exception of graduate admissions which, due to its unique connection to the technology systems, will remain in Admissions.

STRATEGIC STUDENT COMMUNICATION

Another organizational shift comes in recognizing that the way we communicate with our prospective and current students is integral to Cal Poly Humboldt’s success in achieving our enrollment goals. Two teams who have significant experience in this arena are uniting, effective July 1, to form the Strategic Student Communications unit. Until now, the Enrollment Management Comms and Student Marketing teams have each communicated with students at various points along their college journey, with limited coordination. Now, the newly-formed Strategic Student Communications team, co-led by Chelsea Mooney, associate director of strategic student communications, and Mona Pargee, student marketing coordinator, will report directly to VP Holliday and collaborate in developing communications that bolster affinity for the institution and an understanding of support available along the way. Chelsea will continue spearheading efforts related to new student communications, while Mona focuses on those targeted to current students, but with plans that consider the entire student lifecycle, and how content developed for one audience can inform communications for another.

“It is a busy summer for the EMSS division as we undertake these operational shifts,” said Holliday. “But all of these changes are laser focused on ensuring we leverage our resources and current strengths in a way that best allows us to recruit, enroll, and retain students at Cal Poly Humboldt. As interest in our campus grows, we have to adapt to changes in demand and ensure students know who we are, the benefits of attending our institution, and the steps along the way to that enrollment. If we do that well, in partnership with our colleagues across campus, we will successfully reshape the institution in the ways we promised in our Polytechnic Prospectus.”