Megan Sauls Wilson
Student support comes in many forms, with MU Connect being the catalyst connecting students, faculty and staff. The 2022 MU Connect Champions Award recipients model the importance of, and efficiency in, using MU Connect as part of the Mizzou’s commitment to student success.
As a student, Elise Buchert found MU Connect convenient to use. During her senior year, as an intern in the Transfer Center, Buchert found MU Connect to be a valuable way to connect students with resources on campus. “I didn’t really understand the kind of depth the platform offered, and how much it actually helps staff and faculty gather information about a student and what they might need,” she said.
Buchert’s MU Connect experience as an intern built a solid foundation for her current role as an Academic Advisor in Biological Sciences. “The thing that stuck out to me the most were the flags raised through intake forms. I feel like a lot of students don’t realize the impact intake forms have when providing faculty and staff information through MU Connect. It determines who reaches out to them, and who pays attention to what they need,” Buchert said.
“Students are grateful and really sweet, and just really excited to have someone actually reaching out to follow up!”
In Buchert’s advising role, MU Connect helps her bring campus resources together for students. “Students are grateful and really sweet, and just really excited to have someone actually reaching out to follow up!”
Leveraging campus resources is a benefit of MU Connect that Lauren Pike, Academic Advisor in the School of Journalism, also appreciates. “I went to school here, including time working in the Writing Center, so I had experience using MU Connect as a student to make appointments. I really didn’t know much about the back end of the platform prior to becoming an advisor,” she said.
Pike finds a personal connection with students is the first place to start. “I always say, let’s initiate the process by giving students a call directly and letting them know someone in their success network is concerned and wants to help them succeed.”
Flags allow Pike to see what a student is experiencing. “To see a snapshot from concerned professors is such a useful way to connect with students. From the advising perspective, I gather insight about what’s going on the classroom.”
Having the information in one spot is a feature of MU Connect that Pike depends on. “I want to get to know what my student population is experiencing. MU Connect makes that possible, even with the number of students I work with.”
Lindsey Hagglund, Senior Academic Advisor, has been active in some capacity with MU Connect from the beginning, “I’ve always liked getting to work with a lot of the different resources, like the Learning Center and CASE. MU Connect gives me the ability to share this opportunity with students; and it’s expanded to provide networking information for students to now easily reach out to support centers.”
In her advising role in the School of Health Professions, Hagglund gets excited about her ability to customize the MU Connect filters, shaping course schedules around the many athletes she works with. “I love, I really love, the data filters!” Hagglund uses filters in creative ways to engage with students on a more personal level. Last softball season, when the team was playing well, she made sure softball students in SHP felt some love. “Filtering our list of softball students was a fun way to see MU Connect in action. I was able to give a list to our communications team to let them know about the team members in our school.” The students then received personal kudos.
“I’ve just made a habit of it, truthfully. Every Monday morning, first thing on my to do list is to check in with MU Connect to see what flags are still outstanding, and to see what’s going on with my students.”
Making MU Connect a habit helps Laura Johnston, Associate Professor, Professional Practice in the School of Journalism, tailor her messages to students. “I’ve just made a habit of it, truthfully. Every Monday morning, first thing on my to do list is to check in with MU Connect to see what flags are still outstanding, and to see what’s going on with my students.”
Johnston also finds value in taking time to tailor messages, whether it’s a kudos or concern. “Something different about how I use MU Connect, is that I try to tailor the messages to the students, this includes the kudos. It’s a nice way to do it without singling them out in class, but to be able to say to the student ‘thanks for helping carry the conversation in our discussion today,’ or ‘thank you for the effort that you’ve been putting in for your work.’ So, we use the kudos in the Journalism School regularly.”
Setting an example for the roughly 20 adjunct instructors she manages gives Johnston plenty of opportunities to remind instructors about the many ways to utilize MU Connect, “I really encourage adjunct instructors to use MU Connect as a way to alert students that they’re seeing a problem, or they have a concern about something going on in the classroom.” Yet again, Johnston is encouraging MU Connect to become a habit.
Christopher “Chip” Gubera, Associate Professional Practice Professor, Director of IT Undergraduate Studies, regularly connects with students to set an example for his team. “I use MU Connect how it’s meant to be used. It gives us chances, as teachers, to look at our grade books and communicate with our students.”
This consistency provides Gubera the opportunity not just to raise flags, but to give student kudos. “I’ve had students write me an email in response to a kudos that I’ve sent them. Students have said things such as, ‘Wow, I was having a bad day, and this really cheered me up. Thank you. I love your class!’ That student will then participate even more in the class going forward.”
MU Connect succeeds in reaching students with a system Gubera advocates for. “I am a real fan of MU Connect! I really think it’s a great system. I tell my faculty to use MU Connect all the time; that this is a good service the university provides.”
“I like seeing how the student is feeling, in case I can send them other resources, like suggesting the CARE Team.”
Checking in with students is a priority for Tristan Halper, Senior Student Support Specialist II with the College of Education & Human Development. “I like seeing how the student is feeling, in case I can send them other resources, like suggesting the CARE Team.”
Halper says, “Students start to realize ‘Hey, she really does care!’”
Faculty raising flags and kudos helps students with accountability. “MU Connect means I can work closer with instructors, making it clearer what our office helped students with once the flags have been raised. This is a tool I know helps students.”
Students, faculty, and staff find value in the productivity and support the MU Connect platform offers Mizzou. Congratulations to the 2022 MU Connect Champions Award recipients!