Overview

The SCC’s work began by examining challenges identified through the National Institute for Student Success (NISS) report, the Academic Innovation + Intelligence (A.I.I.) Lab Student Communications Mapping Report and Listening Lab Report, benchmark research, and discussions with faculty and staff across campus.

Early conversations focused on issues such as communication volume, survey fatigue, message prioritization and communication standards. As research progressed, it became clear that these challenges were connected to broader questions about how student communications are governed, coordinated and supported across the institution.

As a result, the SCC’s work has evolved from addressing individual communication challenges to developing a long-term approach for student communications governance, platform strategy, workflows and organizational support.

Current Focus Areas

The SCC is currently focused on four interconnected areas that together will help shape the future of student communications at the university.

01. Student Communications Governance
Developing a framework that helps define:

• who can access student contact data.
• who can communicate with students and under what circumstances.
• how audiences are defined and managed.

02. Platform Strategy
Developing a clearer approach to how communication tools and systems should work together by:

• documenting current communication tools and practices.
• evaluating communication needs across the institution.
• identifying opportunities to improve coordination while supporting diverse use cases.

03. Workflows and Coordination Practices
Exploring how communications should be coordinated across units by:

• documenting current communication practices.
• identifying opportunities to improve visibility and reduce duplication.
• defining future processes for prioritization and coordination.

04. Organizational Structure
Determining how this work should be staffed and supported by:

• identifying organizational capabilities and gaps.
• clarifying roles and responsibilities.
• defining who is responsible for governance, platform administration and communication operations.

Our Approach

The SCC is taking a phased approach to this work.

The current phase focuses on understanding how student communications operate across the university today, including who is communicating with students, why communications are being sent, what tools are being used and what communication needs exist across different units. This discovery work will help ensure that future decisions are grounded in the realities of how student communications function across the institution.

At the same time, SCC is working with campus stakeholders to define the roadmap that will guide future work related to governance, platform strategy, workflows and organizational structure. As that roadmap is finalized, it will be shared on this webpage and updated regularly as the work progresses.

While the specific sequencing of future phases is still being developed, the SCC expects this effort to include the design and testing of proposed approaches before broader implementation. The current goal is to launch a pilot with a limited number of units in Spring 2027, use that pilot to gather feedback and refine the approach, and then expand participation over time. Broader implementation will occur in phases and is expected to extend beyond 2027.

Measuring Success

The SCC’s success will ultimately be measured by whether students are more likely to receive and act on important information that supports their success. Indicators of success may include:

• improved completion of key student actions such as registration, advising and financial aid processes.
• more effective audience targeting and communication relevance.
• reduced duplication and conflicting messages.
• improved coordination across communication channels and units.