Dear colleagues,

Two key priorities for the Office of Academic Affairs this spring semester are the reorganization of the Enrollment and Student Engagement Office and the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). I would like to share some updates on both of these initiatives.

We now have consolidated several departments to create a unified and synergistic approach to enrollment management. Both the enrollment management and student success teams now work together under the leadership of Associate Vice President Dr. Tony Marin. This organizational structure brings together Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid and Scholarship Services, Student Records, Aggie One Stop, and Aggie Welcome and Orientation. Working alongside these units are the Campus Tutoring Services, the Center for Academic Advising and Student Support, the Office of Experiential Learning, the Student Success Center, and grant programs focused on student success. This consolidated organization is responsible for partnering with college units, system campuses, and the Graduate School to enhance recruitment, retention, graduation, and career success for all our Aggies.

One initiative currently in the planning stages involves collaborating with our Cooperative Extension Service across New Mexico to expand our undergraduate recruitment efforts. Another initiative focuses on strengthening the partnership between the central office of Student Success and Enrollment Management and academic units by creating recruitment and retention specialists at the college level. In addition, enhancing pathways from our two-year system campuses to the Las Cruces and Global campuses is a renewed focus, which will require coordination among multiple offices.

Deputy Provost James McAteer is working closely with staff from ISSS immigration services, Education Abroad, and the Passport Office to integrate their functions and improve service coordination. We plan to add staff positions to support administrative functions, export control compliance, international travel, scholarship services, and international student mentoring and retention. We expect to complete the integration and hiring process within a few months; in the meantime, Dr. McAteer will provide leadership and supervision to the staff.

Both of these updates involve hard-working staff willing to come together to be more impactful and better coordinated. We believe in facilitating synergy and bringing people together. We Are NMSU.

Sincerely,
Lakshmi N. Reddi
Interim Provost
New Mexico State University