The Office of Undergraduate Education this summer changed its title to the Office of Academic Advising and Undergraduate Studies, prompted by a desire to alleviate confusion about the changing role of the office and present a more accessible front to students.
The newly rechristened office underwent structural changes and now encompasses the Associate Deans of Undergraduate Education, the Academic Resource Center and professional advising staff, according to Dean of Student Services Paul Stanton.
Most other offices that have traditionally served both graduates and undergraduates, including Stanton's own department, have remained unchanged.
"So far, there haven't been many substantive changes in student services," Stanton said. "The changes have taken place laterally, in the offices of Student Affairs and Dean Lowe's office."
The restructuring process began last year when James Glaser vacated his post as dean of Undergraduate Education to assume the role of dean of Academic Affairs, and when Joanne Berger−Sweeney became dean of Arts and Sciences.
Upon her arrival, Berger−Sweeney decided to hire an outside consultant to gauge perceptions of the office's name and role in the Tufts community, said Interim Dean of Academic Advising and Undergraduate Studies Carmen Lowe.
"There was an outside consultant brought in to speak with everybody in Dowling Hall to get faculty, staff and student perceptions about Dowling Hall and Student Services," Lowe said. "Based on the consultant's feedback, they decided to do some restructuring."
The name change of the office was prompted by the findings of the outside consultant that many graduate students were unaware that the Office of Undergraduate Education could serve their needs, too.
In order to clarify this misperception, the office's name was changed to Office of Academic Advising and Undergraduate Studies, according to Lowe.
Along with a new title for the office, the university changed the name of Glaser's former position, dean of Undergraduate Education, to dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies. This change was prompted by a desire to seem accessible to undergraduate and graduate students, according to Dean of Engineering Linda Abriola.
The university is currently searching for a new dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies, a position that currently lacks a permanent hire.
Glaser, during his time as dean of Undergraduate Education, technically occupied two positions: his titled post and a position called "Dean X," which involved responsibilities such as overseeing the Office of Undergraduate Education, Student Services, the Office of Student Affairs, athletics and sports, according to Lowe.
The restructuring process redistributed some of Glaser's former responsibilities as "Dean X" to Lowe and sparked a search for a dean who would work under the deans of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, according to Stanton.
"Before, Glaser's title was dean of Undergraduate Education," Abriola said. "We felt like that was a misnomer.
The titles of other deanships were also changed this summer in order to better reflect the deans' role, Abriola said.
"In coming up with different names for things, they wanted to emphasize all the academic support services that are available for all services in Arts, Sciences and Engineering," Lowe said.
