Welcome to the inaugural issue of the newsletter of the Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement (DAESA). We’re the undergraduate academic support and policy people and units within the Provost’s area of Academic Affairs, comprised of the former Office of Undergraduate Education and the Office of Academic Engagement.

We are excited to share stories of accomplishment, innovation, and resilience among our students, staff, and faculty, and to share timely information that you can use. We also want to introduce our talented staff to the larger WSU community, and highlight our programs' many events that appear on our online calendars.

We chose “Star” as our title for its many evocative resonances: light, brilliance, direction, guiding, distinction; and as an acronym for problem-solving and storytelling methods. It is, as well, a traditional name for a newspaper (Evening Star, Morning Star).  Galileo’s ground-breaking work was The Starry Messenger. We hope the DAESA STAR illuminates the distinctions of our students, staff, and faculty; provides light and guidance where needed; and points toward solutions to problems and barriers. Ultimately we want this collective work to support a more just and equitable student experience and institutional structure.

—Mary Wack, Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement

Creating change to meet COVID-19 challenges

When face-to-face teaching and learning activities were abruptly halted mid-March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DAESA’s people and programs switched gears immediately to continue to serve the needs of students with as little disruption as possible throughout spring and summer and now into fall. We transitioned to offering online classes, services, communication, and workshops. We responded immediately to pressing financial needs of students anxious to continue their education. We are offering Zoom- and YouTube-based presentations and workshops on many topics to varied audiences. And, we even helped WSU professors engage undergraduates from across the nation in virtual, NSF-sponsored summer research.

The Office of Academic Engagement, for example, rapidly processed applications from hundreds of low-income students so as to distribute a half million dollars in aid in just over a month.  The Writing Program’s Writing Center reached out to provide summer school students with convenient appointments for online peer tutoring. International students enrolled in the freshman seminar class (UNIV 104) did teamwork and lessons completely over the internet. DAESA’s Academic Success and Career Center switched to online academic and career counseling, and launched employer signups to have a place at WSU’s first virtual career fair in October.  Several DAESA units recorded videos and staffed discussion sessions as part of the university’s virtual Alive! summer orientation program for thousands of incoming new students. The Common Reading Program delivered virtual expert guest lectures related to topics from the 2019-20 shared book, and continues to line up speakers and events for 2020-21 readers of the new book, Born a Crime, by TV personality Trevor Noah.

Plans and lively discussions have continued as DAESA staff and programs prepared for fall semester. Be sure to visit our DAESA website and those of our programs and units, as well as our Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook posts. You'll find a wealth of information.

Meet Our People

Calendar/Events

Be sure to check the DAESA.wsu.edu calendar page for upcoming events and programming!

• The Common Reading Program hosts and partners on dozens of fall events tied to programming around this year's book, Born a Crime, by TV host and comedian Trevor Noah. Of special note: the Oct. 27 presentation is by WSU alumnus Ted Trempur, who worked on the Noah's Daily Show on Comedy Central!
• Employer and student sign-ups successfully led to WSU's first virtual fall Career Expo on Oct. 5, 6, and 7. Also, check out the new professional experience series offered by Academic Success and Career Center—Cougar Career Community—that offers tips and insights from pros.
• The Office of Academic Engagement is host to a two-day FAFSA Fest, with volunteers helping students navigate complicated processes related to financial aid.

News Briefs

• $4M DOE grant boosts teacher, veterans, and STEM programming through Office of Academic Engagement
• UCORE (general education) course renewals suspended for one year
• Writing Program rolls out updated University Writing Portfolio requirements that impact virtually all undergraduates at WSU
• Two NSF-sponsored summer undergraduate research programs move ahead in virtual environment
• Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness/ACE (formerly the Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning) and University Common Requirements/UCORE (general education) launched revised websites
• More than $50K awarded to undergraduate researchers from all majors thanks to Auvil, Carson, and anonymous donors
• Common Reading book for 2020-21 is Born a Crime, by TV comedian Trevor Noah
• President’s Teaching Academy welcomes 27 new faculty members
• WSU's first Marshall Scholar, Truman, and Schwarzman finalists among the year's distinguished scholarship recipients
• UCORE and Transfer Clearinghouse lead WSU to new WICHE Interstate Passport program membership
• Office of Academic Engagement's Crimson Community Grants program distributes more than $500,000 to students facing COVID-19 hardships

Support Our Needs