Student Success

metal abstract sculpture, located in front of the Engineering Building

Student Lifecycle Communications

Project Status: Discovery

Portland State University has launched a comprehensive, university-wide Student Communications Review in partnership with Carnegie. This initiative is designed to strengthen student success, strengthen operational effectiveness and alignment, and implement recommendations for strategic institutional student-facing communications. The absence of a unified, campus-wide strategy for timely, actionable information negatively impacts  the student experience and contributes to elevated attrition. The objective is to develop a coordinated communication strategy that reduces friction, supports student success, and improves retention and graduation outcomes for first-year and transfer students from admission through graduation, spanning the student lifecycle.

Accomplished

  • Completed virtual interviews and provided discovery materials from VPSS, Enrollment Management, Student Affairs units, University Communications, and Student Financial Services.
  • Completed the campus visit on January 13/14.
  • A draft of the Phase 1 Report: Audit and Evaluation has been dispersed to the Project team for review
  • The Project Team has continually provided feedback to the vendor throughout Phase 1 and made attempts to remain aligned.

In Progress

  • Reviewing the Phase 1 Report and providing feedback to Carnegie.
  • Receiving a final Process Map from the vendor, overviewing a workflow of student communications.
  • Mapping out Phase 2 deliverables and working with the vendor to better understand their expectations on campus partner involvement for later phases.
  • Conversing with Project Sponsors on executive commitments needed to define dependencies and advance the project.

Project Health

  • The project timeline relies on the vendor’s prompt review of PSU materials and clear communication of upcoming deliverables. Persistent vendor delays have caused missed deadlines. To improve alignment, Project Leads, in addition to monthly meetings with the Director of Client Success, have engaged executive leadership to ensure clarity on project outcomes. Project management styles will be regularly reassessed to better meet project needs.
  • The conclusion of Phase 1 has been extended due to vendor delays in producing a final product and challenges in understanding Phase 2 deliverables.

Project Team

Sponsors: Sheila Martin, Myla Edmonds
Leads: Julie Smith, Andrea Garrity
Project Manager: Brenna Whitton
Project Team: Anna Ruby, Luke Norman, Francisco Valdez, Chloe Hays, Nathanial Garrod