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Academic & Student Affairs

Academic initiatives & accreditation

Academic & Student Affairs (ASA) oversees the UW’s accreditation process and directs a portfolio of academic initiatives and special projects, establishing partnerships and developing teams with diverse groups to ensure results. ASA also works with campus partners to find solutions to complex problems that cut across units, piloting and launching new efforts and contributing to efforts led by peers.

This work involves:

  1. Academic initiatives and efforts
  2. Accreditation of the UW
  3. Internal consulting and problem-solving
  4. Representing UW to external groups

Academic initiatives & efforts

ASA leaders work with the provost to define the scope of a project or initiative, identify key campus partners, provide organizational support, and work with the relevant partners to realize key recommendations that emerge from the work.

Contact: Marisa Nickle, Sr. Director, Strategy & Academic Initiatives

Current efforts include:

Accessible Accordion

The mismatch between student interest in high-demand majors and the space available in those majors continues to be a significant issue that directly impacts the student experience. Enrollment Management has a significant role to play in this work, helping to identify the factors limiting capacity and also managing enrollments to better match demand with capacity.  The UW is in the early stages of this work, with closer collaboration between Enrollment Management and academic units being a key factor for success in this effort.

Partners: Academic units, University Data and Analysis, Undergraduate Academic Affairs

The Future of Teaching & Learning (FOTL) initiative (2022-present) convenes tri-campus faculty and leaders to propose and develop ways to best inspire, support and ensure equitable access to programs, courses and quality instruction. Efforts are currently underway to:

  • Work with faculty governance to incorporate the new definition of effective teaching into existing practices
  • Develop a robust, coherent approach to instructional support at UW that supports the Future of Teaching and Learning initiative outcomes, builds on the tri-campus collaboration fostered through Teaching@UW and the Tri-campus Digital Learning Alliance, and responds to emerging instructional needs
  • Build capacity for instructional design, universal design, and multimedia support to academic units

Partners: Faculty Senate, Faculty Council on Teaching & Learning, Student Life, Disability Resources for Students, Accessible Technology Services

ASA serves a convening role in both the faculty advisory council for Disability Resources for Students and an ongoing effort to improve the accessibility of online course materials, made more urgent by Department of Justice ADA guidelines that now require all materials to be accessible by Spring 2026.

Partners: Office of the ADA Coordinator, UW-IT, Disability Resources for Students

The UW’s current Student Database system is reaching the end of its lifecycle. ASA is critical to the business process identification and redesign that is an essential part of its replacement. The eventual replacement of this system is an opportunity to first modernize business processes, then identify the technology to support those processes.

Partners: UW-IT

ASA leads efforts focused on student success that cut across units and campuses.

Currently efforts include:

  • 5 for Flourishing pilot promotes student connection and wellbeing in class through the adoption of five, simple interventions faculty can employ to help students grow, thrive and connect with peers in large undergraduate classrooms.
  • Facilitating external funding to support scaling successful but small student success efforts by working with partners to develop generic proposals that enable UW to more quickly tailor them to future grant and donor opportunities.
  • Supporting pilots of new curricular and credentialing models
  • Partnering in the design and implementation of informal student learning spaces

Partners: Center for Teaching and Learning, UW Resilience Lab, University Data and Analysis, Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, Student Life, Advancement

Accreditation of the UW

On behalf of the provost, ASA oversees the UW’s accreditation process, the means by which the institution is recognized for its performance, integrity and quality as a whole – thus earning the confidence of the educational community and the public. The UW is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).

Learn more about accreditation.

Contact: Patricia Moy, Associate Vice Provost for Academic and Student Affairs, Christy Cressey Professor of Communication and Adjunct Professor of Political Science

Internal consulting and problem-solving

Members of ASA provide ad hoc consulting, problem-solving, project management and organizational change management to UW units and colleagues wrestling with complex, often cross-unit issues or projects that impact academics and students.

Contacts: Marisa Nickle, Sr. Director of Strategy & Academic Initiatives and Marcus Hirsch, Director of Information Systems

Representing UW to external groups

ASA leadership represents the UW in regional and national consortia when the work focuses on post-secondary enrollment and student success. This work involves cross-team collaboration and coalition building to ensure internal groups are making progress and accountable to the goals of the consortia. ASA leaders represent the UW in the following bodies:

Contact Marisa Nickle to learn more about UW representation in these groups.