Engaging Students Brochure

Guidelines for Engaging with Student Leadership at SLCC SLCC’s Values on Collaboration At Salt Lake Community College, we have deep-rooted beliefs in our values of collaboration and inclusivity. We believe that we are better when we work together and that the student voice is a valuable one. This document was created in partnership with the Faculty Senate Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) committee and the Thayne Center for Student Life, Leadership and Community Engagement to help guide faculty on best practices of engaging with student leadership, collaborating with students on committee work, and collecting student feedback through the structure of student leadership.

Rationale for Building this Model As of Spring 2023 term, best practices for engaging with student leadership are not defined or practiced. Some challenges SLCC Student Association currently faces in engaging with faculty-led spaces (i.e., Faculty Senate, Faculty Senate Subcommittees): Faculty-led initiatives, coming from Faculty Senate and Subcommittees ask for student feedback but do not actually collaborate with students.

Various Senate subcommittees are interested in gaining insight from students on structural and academic processes such as enrollment, registration, and the college-wide ePortfolio Signature Assignment. Without a streamlined process for collecting student feedback, a burden is placed on student leaders who are balancing academic responsibilities with assigned student leader responsibilities.

SLCC Student Association (SLCCSA) representation on Faculty Senate can be ill-defined and overwhelming due to the nature of Faculty Senate meetings. The student representative is given a brief time on the meeting agenda amid faculty-centered conversations.

Compartmentalizing conversations between faculty leaders and student leaders where student feedback is directly required and relevant to the topic at hand will allow students to cultivate the communication and project-building skills their positions are designed for.

Guidelines for Faculty Senators, Committee Chairs, Faculty Leaders, and Event Coordinators Contacting Student Leadership: When beginning the process of requesting engagement from the student voice, please use the Student Participation Request Form to request assistance with events, committees, project review, or student input. The form will be sent to various departments with student leaders including the Office of Diversity & Multicultural Affairs (ODMA), Orientation & Student Success (OSS), Thayne Center, and TRIO. Due to the nature of turnover in student leadership, the staff advisors will be able to connect you and the students in a way that ensures the correct student representative will be included.

Thinking About Timeline and Impact on Student Body: If you are assembling a faculty committee early in the academic year and want student representation on this committee, contact the staff advisors early in the process. Do your best to give the staff advisors an idea of how the timing of student involvement will affect the process. Is this a policy that will span the entirety of an academic year? Or is this an event you are organizing that will culminate in its execution within a shorter period? This will allow the staff advisors to guide student leadership in deciding what level of engagement they will have in the process and what is feasible.

Proper Etiquette for Requesting Student Involvement: Please refer to the How-To Guide below that will help you understand the best ways to go about uplifting the student voice in a responsible and respectful manner.

DOs

Yes, students want to be involved in processes, policies, and decisions that directly affect their experiences at SLCC. If you believe your project would benefit from including the student voice, DO submit this form.

DO be clear if you want feedback vs. endorsement. If your initiative is stronger with a student body endorsement, make sure to involve students throughout the process so that your team may understand more detail about why the students do or do not endorse your initiative.

DO attend student-led events. Engaging with student clubs and leadership in their spaces demonstrates your willingness and commitment to understand the student experience at SLCC and in the community at large.

DO collaborate with student organizations when using logos BEFORE placing them on event advertisements.

DO define the purpose of involving the student voice. Why is a student asked to sit on a committee?

What do you want the student to do? Should the student be prepared to speak? Should they prepare materials? Give clear instructions on the expectations of the student during a committee meeting.

DON’Ts

DON’T ask for student endorsements at the end of the process. This signals that student feedback, support, and input are simply performative.

DON’T use student organization logos for faculty-led, or individually led events. Unless student organizations are invested and involved in an event, please do not use their logos to advertise your event.

DON’T assume students know how to interact with faculty in faculty-led spaces. It is imperative to define the student representative’s role in every meeting. Is the student an expert on the subject? If so, tell them so that they have a clear understanding of how they can best prepare to contribute to the conversation.

DON’T assume students have context for ongoing conversations. In many faculty-led settings, students do not have any understanding of jargon, acronyms, and processes unless they are clearly explained.

DON’T assume that a student representative is nervous or disengaged—they probably don’t know what is going on.

Student Participation Request Looking to have SLCC students attend an upcoming event? Join your committee? Review a project and provide input? By submitting this form (requires sign in), your request will be reviewed by multiple entities across the Division of Student Affairs. This form has approximately 15 questions and will take about 20 minutes.

Goals of a centralized process:

• To support students in a well-rounded education that includes cocurricular experience and personal growth. Please consider how this opportunity will positively impact students in their leadership development or growth in areas such as teamwork, interpersonal communication, etc.

• To assist SLCC with promoting college excellence through interactions with alumni, community members, donors, and leaders of various organizations. Exposing individuals who support the college to current students is a great way to demonstrate the quality of our institution, our faculty and staff, and the diversity of our students

Things to consider before applying:

Students often have complicated lives and schedules. We recommend at least three weeks’ advance notice for student participation as many students work on and off campus, have family responsibilities, and are engaged in academic and cocurricular activities. We are committed to fair compensation for student time and participation, so please include any information on food at/for the event, perks associated with the role or activity, etc. in addition to the benefits of learning and college promotion Participating offices: • Office of Diversity & Multicultural Affairs (ODMA) • Orientation & Student Success (OSS) • Thayne Center • TRIO

AA/EO Institution • Rev. 9.19.23