New AVP to transform student services at the University of Saskatchewan

Posted April 26, 2002


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 26, 2002 2002-04-19-OTHER

New AVP to transform student services at the
University of Saskatchewan

The University of Saskatchewan's new Associate Vice-President of Student
Affairs, David Hannah, arrived on campus this week, prepared to transform
the way this university meets the non-academic needs of students.

His first order of business will be to oversee the creation of one division
responsible for a continuum of services over the lifecycle of the student.
Dubbed the ROSS project, the process to bring together the Registrar's
Office and Student Affairs and Services began in September 2001 with
extensive research and consultation.

"Universities haven't had a particularly good record of service from the
point of view of students," said Hannah. "The old system of service had
evolved such that students were required to serve the processes of the
university as opposed to having processes that serve students. This
university is taking serious steps to reverse that trend and ensure students
have the most positive experience possible."

Much of the groundwork has already been laid. The eight-member project team
that spent the last seven months looking at how to merge and realign the
many functions of the Registrar's and Student Services Offices did a
tremendous amount of consultation and information gathering with a broad
range of campus stakeholders, and also looked outside the University to find
ideas and initiatives that have been successfully implemented elsewhere.

The work done so far has identified a number of student needs:
* Accurate, timely, and easy to use information
* Quick turnaround time
* Informed help in decision-making
* Service available on-line
* "One-stop shopping"

"With the new model that is emerging, there is no question that once fully
implemented, the University of Saskatchewan will be at the forefront of best
practices in the area of student services, while still maintaining a strong
commitment to high academic standards."

David Hannah was appointed as the Associate Vice-President of Student
Affairs in February 2002 after a national search. He holds a B.Ed in
Secondary Education from the University of Calgary; an M.Ed in Counselling
Psychology from the University of Alberta; and a Ph.D. in Educational
Administration and Supervision from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Prior to coming to the University of Saskatchewan, he was working as the
founding Director, Registrarial Services and Registrar at the Technical
University of British Columbia.

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For more information, please contact:

Dr. David Hannah
AVP Student Services
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-8710
david.hannah@usask.ca