A&S Student Services Wins Sam S. May Award

From the October 2020 Desktop News | The College of Arts and Sciences Office of Student Services was awarded the Sam S. May Award for Outstanding Customer Service for their innovative and creative approaches to serving students throughout 2020.

The advisors, registrars, and administrative staff helped prospective and current students navigate their academic and co-curricular experiences throughout the spring, summer, and fall semesters, answering thousands of questions and emails. Their commitment to students remained their first priority, addressing pressing concerns, helping students remain academically on track, and providing constant communication throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the summer, the Student Services team restructured their Bama Bound advising into a “cohort” structure, where each student received a personal contact for questions and concerns regarding their first year at UA. They also used data to identify potentially “at-risk” students within the College, who they ensured received all of the support they needed to have a successful first semester.

In addition, the team put their skills to the test to create safe, socially distant processes for students to meet with their advisors once they returned to campus. During the start of the semester, the Student Services connected with students via the “Advising in the Woods” event, where students could receive the same amount of support they’ve received in years past in a social-distanced, outdoor setting. Students can now make appointments for advising sessions online at any time, including the option to sign up for virtual office hours with on-call advisors for those pressing questions or concerns.

Because of their commitment to providing students with the best service, the Student Services team received the Sam S. May Award. The team includes Rebecca Page Adams, Hannah Berman, Kayla Boucher, Cindy Channell, Matt Chenault, Marian Denham, Pamela Derrick, Victoria Dixon-Smith, Catherine Elliott, Royce Garrison, Lanna Johnson, Brandi Kizziah, Persio Logos, Eve Machado, Wendy McMillian, Undré Phillips, Latandra Smith, Ashley Thomas, Tabitha Tuten, Rebecca Whitley, and John Wingard.