Student Success

metal abstract sculpture, located in front of the Engineering Building

Student Lifecycle Communications

Project Status: Discovery/Implementation

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.

Accomplished

  • Concluded Phase 1: Audit and Evaluation. The vendor provided a report, in which the project team provided feedback.
  • Project leads and OIT brought a joint proposal, seeking commitments from the President's Cabinet on key vendor recommendations for effective and optimal implementation of project objectives
  • A Slate for Student Success implementation timeline was drafted by OIT
  • A Project Charter for Phase 2 through 4 was created and approved by project leads.
  • The project timeline was adjusted due to vendor delays in Phase 1 and internal PSU transitions.
  • Phase 2: Communication Plan Build is underway, with 5 workshops consisting of over 50 campus partners mapping existing communications and discussing a preferred state of communications, leveraging Slate for Student Success.
  • Project Leads presented at PSU’s Town Hall in May, introducing this project  to a broader audience and seeking initial feedback
  • Karenna Wait has joined the project team.
  • Christina Williams has replaced Julie Smith as a Project Lead.

In Progress

  • Phase 2 workshops are underway; Workshop leads have been identified to act as liaisons between the vendor and various PSU units to ensure a comprehensive communication plan is built by the vendor.
  • Gaining clarity from the President’s Cabinet and our Executive Sponsor on commitments for the project team to advance upon
  • Drafting a Strategic Communications Policy in consultation with our vendor, OIT, UCOMM, and the project team.
  • Proposing the new Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs to join the project as an additional executive sponsor, replacing Myla Edmond.
  • Gaining clarity on budget approval processes to inform next steps for key project initiatives that require long-term resourcing.
  • Reviewing Town Hall feedback to determine next steps on sharing out to the campus community
  • Building a RACI matrix to better track ownership of deliverables and completion.
  • Conversations with OIT are scheduled to map out project dependencies for Slate for Student Success implementation, pending BOT meeting.

Project Health

  • The vendor will need to adhere to timely and proactive communication of what additional information is needed to collect from PSU to inform the final product for Phase 2.
  • The deadline for Phase 2 completion has been extended to July 2026 to account for internal transitions and vendor scheduling issues that caused delays. 
  • The Board of Trustees budget review will have a great impact on a timely completion of this project, as sustained resourcing is required for the longevity of intended project outcomes.

Project Team

Sponsor: Sheila Martin
Leads: Andrea Garrity, Christina Williams
Project Manager: Brenna Whitton
Project Team: Anna Ruby, Luke Norman, Nathanial Garrod, Karenna Wait, Aimee Shattuck, Becki Ingersoll