Ohio State units merge to form new Office of Student Academic Success

The Ohio State University has realigned existing units to establish a new, comprehensive office designed to provide students with the tools and opportunities they need to thrive and succeed academically from the first point of contact with the university through graduation.

Under the new structure, the units dedicated to enrollment services and undergraduate education were merged to form the Office of Student Academic Success (OSAS).

The new office is led by Beth Hume, vice provost of student academic success and dean of undergraduate education, who has overseen the consolidation since the Office of Academic Affairs announced the merger in June.

“Under Beth Hume’s direction, this new unit will further our progress in improving affordability, raising retention and graduation rates, and enhancing the academic success of all students,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron, who asked Hume to manage the merger.

OSAS is the result of months of strategic planning and engagement with colleges, the offices of Student Life and Diversity and Inclusion, and other university stakeholders to create a collaborative and intentional system to strengthen the recruiting and academic success of a highly qualified, diverse student body, Hume said.

“We worked with an organizational design expert and focused on streamlining the reporting structure, enhancing alignment with the university’s strategic goals and leveraging synergies to better serve students, faculty and staff,” she said. “The guiding principle has been to first do what’s right for the student, then make it work for Ohio State.”

OSAS leaders anticipate collaborating with partners across the university to remove obstacles to student academic success and support students throughout their academic journey.

“Just because we are called the Office of Student Academic Success doesn’t mean we assume we are the only ones responsible for it. Student success falls to all of us at the university, and depends on collaborations among us all to achieve the mission,” Hume told University Senate in late November.

Under this new structure, OSAS aims to:

• increase the representation and academic success of underserved populations.
• improve overall retention and graduation rates, including those of campus-change and transfer students.
• enrich the academic experience of all undergraduate students.
• increase affordability and reduce debt upon graduation.
• deliver consistent, reliable resources and high-quality tools that support the academic success of undergraduate, graduate and professional students.

Hume is a longtime Ohio State linguistics faculty member who chaired the Department of Linguistics from 2006-2011. She spent six years as a dean, professor and school director at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, before returning to Ohio State in October 2017 to lead undergraduate education.

The merger has led to the consolidation of 21 offices into 10 units:

• Strategic Enrollment Planning
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • Graduate and Professional Admissions and Imaging
  • Analysis and Reporting
  • Student Financial Aid
  • Buckeye Link
• Transition and Academic Growth
  • Academic Advising
  • First Year Experience (FYE)
  • University Exploration
• Academic Enrichment
  • Honors & Scholars
  • Service Learning
  • Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry
  • Second-year Transformational Experience Program (jointly administered by OSAS and the Office of Student Life)
• Research and Program Assessment
• Undergraduate Education
• Military and Veterans Services, ROTC
• Student Athletic Support Services Office (SASSO)
• University Registrar
• OSAS Administrative Services
• OSAS Marketing and Strategic Communications

For more information about OSAS, visit osas.osu.edu.