By Katie Brown, AVP for Student Success & University Registrar at Aspen University
"Field Notes" is a regular Connect column covering practical and philosophical issues facing admissions and registrar professionals. The columns are authored by various AACRAO members. If you have an idea for a column and would like to contribute, please send an email to the editor at communications@aacrao.org.
What is the role of the Registrar’s Office? When asking that question, you will get a variety of answers, usually pertaining to maintaining the integrity of student records or system and policy implementation. Less frequently, if at all, you may hear a secondary statement about student success.
Does the Registrar’s Office have a direct impact on student success? Can the Registrar’s Office impact student success even when not working directly with students? I would argue that if you design your office and its practices intentionally, you can directly impact success, even from behind the scenes. There are a lot of small changes that you can make within your office to improve your impact on student success. Here are some things to consider:
Who You Are- Do your students know what the registrar’s office is? Do they know where you’re located or how to contact you? It may seem basic, but the answer might be “no.” Think about when you were attending college. Could you have answered those questions? I wouldn’t have been able to. Focus on becoming more present for your students, whether that’s being a part of new student orientations, transfer fairs, creating a public-facing departmental website, or sending encouraging messages to students at the end of the term or mid-way through their program.
Availability- How are you available for your students? Are you only available on campus or do you have a digital presence? Is your team available by appointment only, do you take walk-ins, or do you have phone coverage? Think about how to meet your students where they are at; it may mean adjusting your hours of availability or your methods of communication. But just being available can go a long way toward promoting an environment of belonging for your students.
Communication- What is the overall tone of your departmental communication? Sometimes, when explaining complex information to students, we can come off very dry and direct. While you’re getting to the point, you’re also not conveying that the registrar’s office is a welcoming resource for students. Using phrases like “We’ll see you at a future graduation ceremony!”, ensuring students that the entire university team is there to support their educational journey, and focusing on the positive, even when sending hard news, can go a long way to showing support.
Forms- Are your forms easily accessible? Are they easy to read? How long are they? Forms can be a barrier for students. If students can’t easily find your forms, whether they’re buried on your website or only available in person, students may get discouraged and give up on their search. If your forms are confusing, convoluted, or long, students might be discouraged from completing the form and getting the services they need.
Policies- Take time to read through your university policies regularly and assess whether they are serving a real purpose or if there are unnecessary, systemic barriers present that could be removed. Also, be mindful of the language used in your policies. Do you need to already have an advanced degree or work in higher education to understand the vocabulary used? Make sure your policies are written for the average reader (about an 8th-grade level) and that you’re explaining terms, even if they seem like common knowledge within higher ed.
At my own institution, we’re currently in the process of reworking our registrar’s office email communications to balance being both supportive and informative. After changing the emails that we were sending to inactive students to be more supportive in tone (“Sometimes people take breaks, and that’s ok! Let’s talk about how to get you back on track to graduate!”), we’ve already seen an impact on our re-enrollment rates. The policy itself didn’t change, but the tone used to deliver the information did, and our students are responding accordingly.
If you’re not sure where to start, reach out to your colleagues across the university to start a conversation about student pain points, student support, and belonging. Take a look at the policies or communications that have questions most commonly come up and start your review there. Start small and set realistic expectations for your progress. With some mindful updates, you can become a key player in the university’s student success initiatives.