Academic Advising Team

The Academic Advising team coordinates tools and resources to support effective advising and strong partnerships across campus. The team is responsible for events to support advisor learning and development, and creating a space where innovation and programming can be scaled. This includes large scale quarterly meetings, a campus wide Advising Forum, facilitation of an Advising Certificate Program, and other professional development activities. The Advising team takes a proactive and responsive approach by anticipating needs of the advising community, as well as pivoting to respond to challenges as they arise. Examples include streamlining tasks involved in key milestones such as timely major declaration, academic standing and supporting students on probation, and implementing a colleges-wide advising survey. The team is integrated into the advising community as active participants on multiple Advising Council subcommittees, coordinators of Department and College leadership teams, and other campus wide committees. The primary goal of our work is to offer support that allows academic advisors to focus on transformational advising interactions. Team members include: 

• Verónica López-Duran (she/hers/ella), Assistant Director for Programs 
• Danielle Mello (she/her), Associate Director of Academic Advising 
• Hayden Ryan (he/him), Cross College Advisor 
• Tony Soottinanchai (he/him), Data and Process Analyst 

Honors & Research Team

The Honors and Research team works to provide and encourage academic engagement opportunities to enrich the undergraduate experience. Toward this end, they manage various undergraduate research award opportunities such as the Koret Research Scholarship and Deans’, Chancellors’, and Steck Awards; coordinate and manage the College Scholars Honors Program; coordinate the Pister Leadership Opportunity Award program; recognize students named to the quarterly Dean’s Honors List; assist the UCSC Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa; and help coordinate honors recognitions at commencement. Team members include:

• Don Bard, Coordinator of Undergraduate Honors and Research Opportunities
• College Scholars Program Coordinator [Vacant]
• Patricia Zapata, Grants Implementation Manager
• Amanda Smith, Faculty Director of Honors

Strategic Advising Initiatives Team

The Strategic Advising Initiatives team takes a data driven approach to implementing advising interventions that aim to advance student success and improve retention and graduation rates. Examples of advising initiatives include proactive outreach to continuing students who did not pass their summer orientation course and to first year students who withdrew from one or two courses in their first quarter at the University. The team also works with returning students who missed their enrollment appointment, with former students who took time off from the University but may be close to meeting their graduation requirements, and works collaboratively with the academic advising team on the three-year pathway program for students who are interested in accelerating their time to degree.  Our team also offers workshops to support students who may be exploring or changing their majors. Team members include:

• Winnie Tang, Assistant Director for Strategic Initiatives and Assessment
• Erica Bellis, Retention and Graduation Specialist
• Sean Malone, Retention and Graduation Specialist