Author: Dustin Grabsch

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Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Success & Retention University Testing Center

Undergraduate Education and Academic Success publishes 2024-2025 Annual Report: On the Move!

Undergraduate Education and Academic Success is an area within the Office of the Provost’s Division of Student Academic Engagement and Success, which oversees a wide range of academic support and engagement offices, including:

The annual report showcases how UEAS is “On the Move!” with bold, integrated, and optimistic progress. A copy of the annual report is now available for download. Take a look at how our movement is impacting SMU.

Questions, comments, and feedback can be directed to Dr. Dustin Grabsch (dgrabsch@smu.edu).

Categories
Student Academic Engagement & Success University Advising Center

Welcoming Brandi Primm as Our New SAES Degree Counselor

We are excited to announce that Brandi Primm transitioned to the Division of Student Academic Engagement and Success (SAES) as our new Degree Counselor on June 2.

Brandi brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to student support. Most recently, Brandi has been serving as an Academic Advisor at SMU, and she brings more than two decades of experience as a counselor and educator in both K–12 and higher education settings. Her background includes extensive work with early college high school programs, student support services, and academic advising. Brandi holds a Master of Science in School Counseling from Texas A&M Commerce and a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies from Stephen F. Austin State University.

In her new role, Brandi will serve as a key academic resource for both pre-major students and declared majors in the Simmons School of Education and Human Development. She will be responsible for maintaining student academic records, assisting with degree certification, evaluating transfer work, and supporting students and advisors through the completion of general education requirements and timely graduation. The SAES Degree Counselor plays a critical role in ensuring a smooth and successful academic journey for our students, and we are thrilled to welcome Brandi into this important position.

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Brandi Primm to her new role!

Categories
Student Academic Engagement & Success

Office of General Education seeks faculty grader for Engage Dallas

Engage Dallas is seeking to hire one faculty grader to assume responsibility for managing weekly grading of the Engage Dallas Canvas Courses. Grading is estimated to take 2-3 hours weekly.

About Engage Dallas

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative.

Engage Dallas learning modules are facilitated via Canvas Learning Management System. All students are automatically enrolled in the Engage Dallas Canvas Course in order to complete the required modules for participating in service events. Students who intend to use Engage Dallas to earn the Community Engagement and/or the Civic and Individual Ethics Proficiency & Experience for the Common Curriculum will be enrolled in a 2nd Canvas Course to track their progress. Grading occurs in both courses.

The following strategic goals guide the work of the Engage Dallas initiative:

  1. Build capacity for social change in our local community
  2. Engage SMU students, staff, and faculty to serve, learn, and lead through the Residential Commons
  3. Advance the field of community engagement in higher education

Position Description

Engage Dallas grading centers the “4 Cs” learning outcomes originally developed by Mesa Community College. The four Cs include (1) communication, (2) civic engagement, (3) critical thinking, and (4) cultural and global engagement. Engage Dallas student reflections should address one of the four Cs.

  • Communication: Purposeful development, expression, or reception of a message through oral, written, or non-verbal means.
  • Civic Engagement: Encompasses actions to promote the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.
  • Critical Thinking: The mental process of effectively identifying, determining, gathering, evaluating, and utilizing resources to innovate and/or to accomplish a specific task.
  • Cultural and Global Engagement: Encompasses the awareness of cultural systems, events, and creations and an ability to apply this cultural and global awareness to human interaction and expression.

Modules that prompt student reflection include, but are not limited to:

  • Engage Dallas Groundworks pre-reflection
  • Engage Dallas post reflection
  • Systems of Oppression
  • Community Building & Community Impact
  • Active Listening & Active Citizenship

Note, some reflections are submitted in essay style, while others may be submitted in a creative format such as art reflections, interviews, or letters.

Major Position Responsibilities

  • Evaluate student learning by creating and applying course competencies and accurately evaluating student progress
  • Maintain accurate records of students’ academic standing; promptly input grades, attendance, and other information as required by administration
  • Respect the confidentiality of student information; refrain from discussing or releasing such information except within recognized limits
  • Evaluate students based solely on their academic performance and to respond promptly to student grade questions and/or appeals
  • Review and approve students CEPE requirements including but not limited to individual tracking forms and final reflection submissions
  • Suggest feedback periodically to co-initiative managers on opportunities to improve student learning
  • Highlight substantial student reflection to co-initiative managers
  • Send communication to students of final reflection submission dates for grading prior to end of the semester

Grading Schedule

  • 2-3 hours/weekly
  • A consistent day for grading should be selected—open to grader’s discretion

Position Requirements

  • Experience with student learning in the co-curricular (study abroad, internships, etc.)
  • Ability to grade online coursework 2-3 hours/week
  • Serve as the faculty grader from August 2025 – July 2026

Compensation Structure

Graders for Engage Dallas are paid a stipend of $3,500 divided into installments. The Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education and Academic Success will not request or require a time sheet to document actual hours worked, but instead will take the weekly gradebook export as an indication of the work agreement.

It is the responsibility of the grader to notify the Co-Initiative Manager and Assistant Provost if the job responsibilities cannot be completed.

To apply, please send a letter of interest and your CV to Dr. Dustin Grabsch (dgrabsch@smu.edu) by 5pm on Monday, June 30, 2025. Interviews and selection will be completed by July 31, 2025, with a start date of August 1. 

Categories
Student Success & Retention

Now hiring for the Student Success Professional position within the Office of Student Success and Retention

SMU Student Academic Engagement & Success (SAES) is excited to share that the Office of Student Success and Retention is hiring a full-time Student Success Professional.

Please consider sharing this with your colleagues and posting it within your professional networks.

Student Success Professional, Student Success and Retention: As part of the Office of Student Success & Retention, the Student Success Professional will help undergraduate students navigate campus resources and resolve issues as part of a coordinated effort to improve students’ experience & persist to graduation. The Success Professional will practice data-driven outreach and proactive resource referral to meet the needs of students. This position will help with a range of initiatives focused on students’ academic success, including first-years, transfers, those on academic probation, those returning from leave, and others identified as at-risk. The position will generate data and reports to help identify barriers to student satisfaction, academic progression, & retention. The Success Professional will provide mentorship and daily academic counseling to students to support their academic pursuits. They will also assist with many efforts in partnership with student affairs, academic affairs, and other campus areas.

  • Priority Deadline: June 18, 2025
  • Final Deadline: June 25, 2025
  • Hiring Contact: Lisa Miller, Director of Student Success and Retention (lamiller@smu.edu; 214-768-6824)

Submit an application within the SMU Staff Career Portal.

A search committee comprised of SAES and SMU staff members will review applications, conduct virtual and in-person campus interviews, and make a recommendation for hire.

Categories
Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Success & Retention University Testing Center

Undergraduate Education and Academic Success units closed Wednesday, May 21 for staff retreat

The Undergraduate Education and Academic Success area within the Division of Student Academic Engagement and Success will close on Wednesday, May 21, for a staff retreat.

We encourage our constituents to use our websites or office self-service portals during this time for answers to common questions and requests.

Units include:

We will reopen during standard operating hours on Thursday, May 22.

Categories
Office of General Education

The Call for Proposals deadline has been extended for the Place-based Community Engagement Symposium

Once again, we are excited to extend you and your colleagues an invitation to the 4th Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium hosted by Engage Dallas, in collaboration with Residence Life & Student Housing, the Office of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement, the Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and the Center for Teaching Excellence. This year’s theme is Thriving Together: A Place-Based Approach to Combating Isolation through Connected Communities.

Our theme explores how intentional, place-based community engagement fosters meaningful connections and a sense of belonging. By centering relationships, collaboration, and local contexts, we aim to address social isolation and strengthen the ties between campus, city, organizations, and community. Through shared learning and action, we seek to build more engaging, resilient, and connected communities where everyone can thrive through community engagement.

This two-day event will occur on November 5th, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm (Bishop Arts Theater Center) and November 6th, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm (SMU Campus)

RSVP Today!
***New for 2025*** Call for Proposals  |  Deadline Extended!

We welcome session proposals from community leaders, nonprofit professionals, Faculty, and students interested in sharing innovative place-based engagement strategies. Our symposium will consist of the following session types:

  • Breakouts 
    • Breakout sessions provide an opportunity for smaller, in-depth discussions, fostering learning and discussion. Sessions last 50 minutes and feature a 40-minute presentation and a 10-minute question-and-answer period.
  • Champion Talks
    • Champion Talks are quick, impactful, fast-paced stories intended to educate, uplift, and inspire our audience. Sessions last 20 minutes and feature a 10-minute presentation and a 10-minute question-and-answer period.
  • Posters

Poster sessions will feature visual presentations on both research and sharing topics. Student posters are highly encouraged.

Focus Areas

Our focus areas are designed to provide a structured yet flexible framework for presenters to begin thinking of possible presentations and our attendees to map a curated symposium experience. This year, our focus areas are:

  1. Campus-Community Connections: Fostering Meaningful Partnerships 
    1. Focus: Strategies for building sustainable, reciprocal relationships between higher education institutions and local communities to combat isolation.
    2. Example Topics: Service-learning initiatives, community-based participatory research, university-community resource sharing, and cross-sector collaborations.
  2. Improving Connection: Building Belonging on Campus and Beyond
    1. Focus: Creating physical, digital, and social environments that cultivate connection and reduce loneliness.
    2. Example Topics: Engaging pedagogy, student-led engagement initiatives, the role of campus design in fostering belonging, and digital communities for remote/hybrid learners.
  3. Personal and Collective Well-being: Strengthening Social Resilience 
    1. Focus: Approaches to enhancing individual and collective well-being through community engagement.
    2. Example Topics: Mental health initiatives, intergenerational engagement, the impact of storytelling on social connection, and grassroots efforts for social support.
  4. Reflective and Experiential Sessions
    1. Focus: Sharing experiences of loneliness, overcoming organizational and interpersonal isolation, and community building.
    2. Example: Interactive Workshops, activities that model community-building practices, guided reflection circles, embodied connection activities, creative expression for connection, civic reflection discussions.

Proposal Deadline

The new proposal submission deadline is May 11, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Acceptance decisions will be sent by May 16, 2025.

Categories
Cox BBA Academic Advising & Records Lyle Office of Undergraduate Advising & Student Records Meadows Student Academic Services Professional Advising SMU in Four Student Academic Engagement & Success University Advising Center University Advising Center

Transition to Professional Academic Advising at SMU

The following message was sent to all faculty and staff on April 22, 2025 regarding SMU’s transition to professional advising. 

—-

Dear Faculty and Staff,

As part of our ongoing commitment to student success, SMU is transitioning to a professional academic advising model for all undergraduate students. This shift, recommended in SMU in Four, our Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), was outlined in the Year-Three Progress Report (2023–2024) as a key strategy to enhance retention and timely degree completion.

The professional advising experience will be phased in based on a student’s major declaration date or term of matriculation to SMU:

  • Continuing undergraduate students who declared their major before June 1, 2025 will experience no changes in their academic advising through graduation.
  • Undergraduate students declaring a major after June 1, 2025, and all students admitted for Fall 2025 and beyond will transition to the new professional advising structure. Both pre- and declared majors will be advised by:

More school-specific details on this transition will be shared with school faculty and staff in late April. We will also launch a new landing page at smu.edu/advising to direct students, faculty, and staff to the correct professional advising unit. Remember, undergraduate students can look up their assigned advisor on their my.SMU Student Dashboard. We appreciate your partnership in ensuring a smooth implementation that benefits both students and the SMU community.

Thank you for your continued dedication to student success.

Best,

Dustin K. Grabsch, Ph.D.
Co-Director, SMU in Four

Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education & Academic Success

 

 

Categories
Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Reminder: Engage Dallas’ Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium Call for Proposals are now open

Greetings,

We are excited to extend an invitation to the 4th Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium hosted by Engage Dallas, in collaboration with Residence Life & Student Housing, the Office of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement, the Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and the Center for Teaching Excellence. This year’s theme is Thriving Together: A Place-Based Approach to Combating Isolation through Connected Communities.

Our theme explores how intentional, place-based community engagement fosters meaningful connections and a sense of belonging. By centering relationships, collaboration, and local contexts, we aim to address social isolation and strengthen the ties between campus, city, organizations, and community. Through shared learning and action, we seek to build more engaging, resilient, and connected communities where everyone can thrive through community engagement.

This two-day event will occur on November 5th, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm (Bishop Arts Theater Center) and November 6th, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm (SMU Campus)

RSVP Today

Call for Proposals 

We welcome session proposals from community leaders, nonprofit professionals, Faculty, and students interested in sharing innovative place-based engagement strategies. Our symposium will consist of the following session types:

  • Breakouts 
    • Breakout sessions provide an opportunity for smaller, in-depth discussions, fostering learning and discussion. Sessions last 50 minutes and feature a 40-minute presentation and a 10-minute question-and-answer period.
  • Champion Talks
    • Champion Talks are quick, impactful, fast-paced stories intended to educate, uplift, and inspire our audience. Sessions last 20 minutes and feature a 10-minute presentation and a 10-minute question-and-answer period.
  • Posters

Poster sessions will feature visual presentations on both research and sharing topics. Student posters are highly encouraged.

Focus Areas

Our focus areas are designed to provide a structured yet flexible framework for presenters to begin thinking of possible presentations and our attendees to map a curated symposium experience. This year, our focus areas are:

  1. Campus-Community Connections: Fostering Meaningful Partnerships 
    1. Focus: Strategies for building sustainable, reciprocal relationships between higher education institutions and local communities to combat isolation.
    2. Example Topics: Service-learning initiatives, community-based participatory research, university-community resource sharing, and cross-sector collaborations.
  2. Improving Connection: Building Belonging on Campus and Beyond
    1. Focus: Creating physical, digital, and social environments that cultivate connection and reduce loneliness.
    2. Example Topics: Engaging pedagogy, student-led engagement initiatives, the role of campus design in fostering belonging, and digital communities for remote/hybrid learners.
  3. Personal and Collective Well-being: Strengthening Social Resilience 
    1. Focus: Approaches to enhancing individual and collective well-being through community engagement.
    2. Example Topics: Mental health initiatives, intergenerational engagement, the impact of storytelling on social connection, and grassroots efforts for social support.
  4. Reflective and Experiential Sessions
    1. Focus: Sharing experiences of loneliness, overcoming organizational and interpersonal isolation, and community building.
    2. Example: Interactive Workshops, activities that model community-building practices, guided reflection circles, embodied connection activities, creative expression for connection, civic reflection discussions.
Proposal Deadline

The proposal submission deadline is April 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Acceptance decisions will be sent by May 5, 2025.

Submit Your Proposal

About the Place-Based Community Engagement (PBCE) Symposium
The PBCE Symposium is a gathering of thought leaders, academics, community leaders, and nonprofit professionals from SMU and the DFW area. This event is designed to explore the transformative potential of community engagement within specific geographic contexts. Our goal is to delve into the strategies and innovations that have the power to catalyze positive change within communities, with emphasis on campus and community collaboration and sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships.

About the SMU Engage Dallas Program 
Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative. This symposium allows us to share, expand and further develop the work of Engage Dallas, as well as invite other SMU faculty and staff to consider new and innovative ways to support community engagement efforts in Dallas.

Categories
Office of General Education Student Success & Retention University Foundations

SMU awarded $10,000 Civic Pluralism in the Core Curriculum Grant from Interfaith America

SMU display

SMU expands Common Curriculum offerings with new courses on civic pluralism 

Southern Methodist University is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $10,000 Civic Pluralism in the Core Curriculum Grant from Interfaith America for the 2025–2026 academic year. This grant will support the development of two new courses, Societies, Communities, & People and The Ethics of Service, which will be integrated into SMU’s Common Curriculum Civic and Individual Ethics (CIE) and Community Engagement (CE) proficiency and experience requirements for all undergraduate students. 

The grant, awarded to a collaborative team from the Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility, and the Department of University Foundations, underscores SMU’s ongoing commitment to cultivating leaders who engage with diversity, promote ethical reflection, and navigate societal challenges with empathy and insight. 

Societies, Communities, & People will explore the intersections of community, society, and ethical engagement, while The Ethics of Service will critically examine ethical dimensions of community engagement and service work via Engage Dallas. Both Department of University Foundations courses will equip students with the knowledge and skills to engage in meaningful dialogue across differences and contribute to civic life. 

The courses will also incorporate resources from Interfaith America’s Learning and Action Bridge (LAB), including the Pluralism Texts Bibliography and Story Circles Activity, ensuring that students engage with diverse perspectives through readings, reflection, and real-world applications. 

Faculty development and course design will begin in Spring 2025, with the courses launching by Spring 2026. This initiative aligns with SMU’s strategic goal of preparing ethical, globally minded leaders who can navigate an increasingly pluralistic world. 

Categories
Office of General Education

Engage Dallas’ Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium Call for Proposals are now open

Greetings,

We are excited to extend an invitation to the 4th Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium hosted by Engage Dallas, in collaboration with Residence Life & Student Housing, the Office of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement, the Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and the Center for Teaching Excellence. This year’s theme is Thriving Together: A Place-Based Approach to Combating Isolation through Connected Communities.

Our theme explores how intentional, place-based community engagement fosters meaningful connections and a sense of belonging. By centering relationships, collaboration, and local contexts, we aim to address social isolation and strengthen the ties between campus, city, organizations, and community. Through shared learning and action, we seek to build more engaging, resilient, and connected communities where everyone can thrive through community engagement.

This two-day event will occur on November 5th, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm (Bishop Arts Theater Center) and November 6th, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm (SMU Campus)

RSVP Today

Call for Proposals 

We welcome session proposals from community leaders, nonprofit professionals, Faculty, and students interested in sharing innovative place-based engagement strategies. Our symposium will consist of the following session types:

  • Breakouts 
    • Breakout sessions provide an opportunity for smaller, in-depth discussions, fostering learning and discussion. Sessions last 50 minutes and feature a 40-minute presentation and a 10-minute question-and-answer period.
  • Champion Talks
    • Champion Talks are quick, impactful, fast-paced stories intended to educate, uplift, and inspire our audience. Sessions last 20 minutes and feature a 10-minute presentation and a 10-minute question-and-answer period.
  • Posters

Poster sessions will feature visual presentations on both research and sharing topics. Student posters are highly encouraged.

Focus Areas

Our focus areas are designed to provide a structured yet flexible framework for presenters to begin thinking of possible presentations and our attendees to map a curated symposium experience. This year, our focus areas are:

  1. Campus-Community Connections: Fostering Meaningful Partnerships 
    1. Focus: Strategies for building sustainable, reciprocal relationships between higher education institutions and local communities to combat isolation.
    2. Example Topics: Service-learning initiatives, community-based participatory research, university-community resource sharing, and cross-sector collaborations.
  2. Improving Connection: Building Belonging on Campus and Beyond
    1. Focus: Creating physical, digital, and social environments that cultivate connection and reduce loneliness.
    2. Example Topics: Engaging pedagogy, student-led engagement initiatives, the role of campus design in fostering belonging, and digital communities for remote/hybrid learners.
  3. Personal and Collective Well-being: Strengthening Social Resilience 
    1. Focus: Approaches to enhancing individual and collective well-being through community engagement.
    2. Example Topics: Mental health initiatives, intergenerational engagement, the impact of storytelling on social connection, and grassroots efforts for social support.
  4. Reflective and Experiential Sessions
    1. Focus: Sharing experiences of loneliness, overcoming organizational and interpersonal isolation, and community building.
    2. Example: Interactive Workshops, activities that model community-building practices, guided reflection circles, embodied connection activities, creative expression for connection, civic reflection discussions.
Proposal Deadline

The proposal submission deadline is April 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Acceptance decisions will be sent by May 5, 2025.

Submit Your Proposal

About the Place-Based Community Engagement (PBCE) Symposium
The PBCE Symposium is a gathering of thought leaders, academics, community leaders, and nonprofit professionals from SMU and the DFW area. This event is designed to explore the transformative potential of community engagement within specific geographic contexts. Our goal is to delve into the strategies and innovations that have the power to catalyze positive change within communities, with emphasis on campus and community collaboration and sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships.

About the SMU Engage Dallas Program 
Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative. This symposium allows us to share, expand and further develop the work of Engage Dallas, as well as invite other SMU faculty and staff to consider new and innovative ways to support community engagement efforts in Dallas.