Road trip solidifies student-administration relationship

A trip to Western University last week helped UWindsor staff and leaders of student government learn about other ways to deliver services.

It’s the second year for the “dean’s trip,” said Clayton Smith, vice-provost, students and international.

“It gives my staff to engage with the leaders of each of the student governments so we can build a good working relationship,” he said. “We’re taking it from a formal institutional relationship to gaining understanding of each person’s perspective.”

This year’s trip explored Western’s student success centre, and involved meeting with students leaders and administrators there to discuss the benefits and challenges of its development.

“We want to go where the students have an opportunity to learn about other models,” said Smith. “The choice of location is driven by what they are interested in.”

He said the leadership of all three student governments—the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance, the Graduate Student Society, and the Organization of Part-time University Students—have expressed interest in the consolidation of student services.

“Both members or my staff and the students can get some other perspectives on how things are done elsewhere,” Smith said. “This annual trip is definitely a keeper. I would like to make it just a regular part of how we work with student leaders.”