Student, Academic Affairs merging

In an effort to retain students until graduation while offering a more productive university experience, Southern University’s Division of Academic Affairs has been merged with the Division of Student Affairs to provide a complete service to students while at college.
“Academics and Student Affairs go hand-and-hand,” Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Mwalimu J. Shujaa said. “Students are here to complete an academic program and you don’t separate learning between the two. Learning is not limited to what takes place in the classroom,”
The merger is designed to give the students what officials call a “better learning environment”.  It is set to enhance personal experiences at the university by catering to students’ academic interest and private affairs concerns.
Many student concerns that might otherwise be considered student affair issues affect their academic life.
“For example, a student comes here and says they have a problem with their meal plan, is that just a student affairs problem, or is that a problem with that student’s life?” Shujaa explains,  “(Their problem) is going to affect their studying; if they can’t get this problem resolved, it’s going to impact how well they do in the classroom as well,” Shujaa said.
One program the Division of Academic and Student Affairs has already implemented, “Living Learning Communities,” has been endowed to assist in learning outside of the classroom.  The program builds teacher-student relationships, provides peer mentoring, and offers an opportunity for students to interact and foster university relationships.
“This division has always worked in concert with Academic Affairs,” Interim Vice Chancellor of the Division of Student Affairs Julie Wessinger said.
On the newly formed strategic partnership,  “So far so good,” said Wessinger.
In addition to the Department of Academic and Student Affairs’ merger, The School of Architecture and Department of Visual Arts (currently housed within The College of Arts and Humanities) has submitted a proposal, establishing a new entity called “The School of Architecture and Design”.
“It would add some versatility and vitality to both programs. We really like the idea,” Shujaa said.
Adam Smith, a junior business management major from Baton Rouge, believes that these projects could be suc-cessful if and only if Student and Academic Affairs merg. If the administration is planning to merge any other academic departments they “should verify a reason with the students.”
Due to the economic decline, having a background in both design and architecture would make graduates more “creative and diverse in their preparation, linking them to a wide range of options professionally,” Shujaa said.
“I think students understood that we (are) doing the best that we (can). The budget cuts were not our doing; they were mandated and imposed upon us and we had to respond to them,” Shujaa said. “I am complementing the students (needs) because we know it was difficult to make the number of adjustments that had to be made while we were getting the staffing and scheduling straight,” he said.