Author: Brett Bruner

Academic, specialized and faculty advisors are invited to attend a session on appreciative advising from 9 to 9:45 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11 in 262 Rhatigan Student Center, Herrman Room. The session is presented by Sara Gallo Baltazar, TRIO McNair Scholars Program, and Raven Garrison and Elia Ortega, OneStop Student Services.

Appreciative Advising is the intentional collaborative practice of asking generative, open-ended questions that help students optimize their educational experiences and achieve their dreams, goals and potentials. This session will explore how the six phases of appreciative advising (disarm, discover, dream, design, deliver and don’t settle) can be used in academic, specialized and faculty advising.

Email Brett Petersen-Bruner, associate vice provost for Student Success & Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu to RSVP to attend this session.

The Shocker Teaching Community of Practice is currently recruiting participants for the fall 2026 cohort. The Shocker Teaching Community of Practice is available for all who teach at WSU (tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty, adjunct faculty, GTAs, etc.).

The Shocker Teaching Community of Practice, rooted in the Student Experience Project hosted by the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities and the Coalition of Urban-Serving Universities, provides a monthly gathering space for community members to learn about, implement and reflect on the core components of syllabus revision, policy review, establishing a growth mindset culture and wise feedback. The fall 2026 Shocker Teaching Community of Practice cohort will gather from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. on the last Monday of the month.

The Shocker Teaching Community of Practice aligns with WSU’s Strategic Enrollment Goal 3 (to increase persistence rates of degree seeking student populations) – Strategy 3.5 (to provide best practices for student success…fostering a success-oriented mindset and sense of belonging).

For questions or more information about the Shocker Teaching Community of Practice, contact Brett Petersen-Bruner, associate vice provost for Student Success & Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.

After the success of launching the inaugural four Advising Communities of Practice (CoPs) during the 2025-26 academic year, the Office of Academic Programs is excited to launch four new Advising CoPs as opt-in opportunities in the 2026-27 academic year for all who advise (academic advisors, specialized advisors and faculty advisors) to foster collaboration, shared learning and innovation in advising practices in a specific topic.

For the 2026-27 academic year, the following Advising CoPs will be offered:

• The AI and Advising Community of Practice will provide a space for advisors to explore the evolving role of artificial intelligence in advising, share innovative practices, and consider ethical and effective ways to enhance student support. This CoP will gather on the first Friday of each month from 9:30-10:15 a.m. in the Rhatigan Student Center.
• The Advising Military-Connected Students Community of Practice will provide a space for advisors to deepen their understanding of military-connected students, exchange strategies and build community around supporting their unique experiences and needs. This CoP will gather on the second Friday of each month from 11-11:45 a.m. in the Rhatigan Student Center.
• The Advising & Student Wellbeing Community of Practice will provide a space for advisors to share approaches, resources and practices that promote student wellbeing and foster holistic support for student success. This CoP will gather on the third Thursday of each month from 1-1:45 p.m. in the Rhatigan Student Center.
• The Advising & Strategic Enrollment Management Community of Practice will provide a space for advisors to explore the connection between advising and enrollment goals, share data-informed strategies and collaborate on efforts that support recruitment, retention and completion. This CoP will gather on the fourth Friday of each month from 2:30-3:15 p.m. in the Rhatigan Student Center.

Indicate your interest in joining any of the 2026-27 Advising CoPs by filling out the Qualtrics form. For questions or more information, contact Brett Petersen-Bruner, associate vice provost for Student Success & Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.

Applications are currently open for the 2026-27 First-Generation Fellows. The First-Generation Fellows support SEM Goal 3 to “Increase persistence rates of degree seeking student populations.” Each First-Generation Fellow leads a working group of the F1RST Generation Coordinating Council.

Applications are due by the end of May 8. For questions or more information, contact Brett Petersen-Bruner, associate vice provost for Student Success & Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.

Applications are currently open for the 2026-27 Retention Faculty Fellows. Retention Faculty Fellows support SEM Goal 3 to “Increase persistence rates of degree seeking student populations.” The university identifies faculty who are interested in becoming more engaged in retaining students and promoting student success and persistence through excellent and creative pedagogy. These faculty will share best practices and create opportunities for other faculty members to be in dialogue about quality instructional design and student engagement.

Applications are due by the end of Friday, May 1. For questions or more information, contact Brett Petersen-Bruner, associate vice provost for Student Success and Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.

The WSU F1RST Generation Coordinating Council invites all to come together for National First-Generation Celebration Week Nov. 3-7. First-generation college students — or students who are the first in their family to attend college — account for 47.5% of Wichita State’s enrollment.

The F1RST Generation Coordinating Council is proud to promote initiatives for first-generation college students to ensure their success and build a culture of awareness and celebration for first-generation college students at Wichita State University. Visit the F1RST Gen Shockers events page for the complete schedule of events for National F1RST Generation College Celebration Week.

Wichita State will host the 10th annual Ad Astra Conference for First-Generation College Students Jan. 30 in Woolsey Hall and Wichita State Connect. The annual conference brings together first-generation college students from higher education institutions across the state for a transformational day-long experience with educational workshops supporting the academic and social capital for first-generation college students.

Organizers are currently curating educational session workshop presenters for that day. Workshop sessions will take place 9:30-10:15 a.m., 10:30-11:15 a.m., 12:30-1:15 p.m., 1:30-2:15 p.m. and 2:30-3:15 p.m. If you have interest in presenting a breakout session workshop for the first-generation college student attendees on this day, contact Brett Petersen-Bruner, associate vice provost for Student Success & Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.

The First-Year Seminars (FYS) program will host an informational session at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16 in 256 RSC, Edmiston Room. The session will describe the process on how to create and teach an FYS class for first-year students.

Teaching an FYS is an excellent opportunity to support the academic transition of first-year students to Wichita State and support student success and persistence. For more information, contact Brett Bruner, assistant vice president for Student Success & Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.

Four opt-in Advising Communities of Practice (CoP) will be launched for 2025-26 on several topics that have previously been presented at workshops and webinars by the Advising Network Team. These four advising CoPs will be opportunities for all who advise (academic advisors, specialized advisors and faculty advisors) to foster collaboration, shared learning and innovation in advising practice.

Each CoP is grounded in three essential components:

• Domain: a shared area of interest in advising that brings community members together.
• Community: a group of advisors who engage in discussions and knowledge-sharing.
• Practice: resources, experiences and tools that community members share, develop and refine together.

All CoPs will gather monthly in September, October, November, January, February, March and April as follows:

• The Advising First-Generation Students Community of Practice will provide a space for advisors to explore strategies, share resources and build community around supporting the needs and strengths of first-generation college students. This CoP will gather on the first Friday of each month from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m.
• The Advising Transfer Students Community of Practice will provide a space focused on the advising experience and success of transfer students through shared practices. This CoP will gather on the second Friday of each month from 9 to 9:45 a.m.
• The Assessment of Advising Community of Practice will provide a space dedicated to developing, implementing and refining meaningful assessment practices that improve effectiveness and student learning outcomes in advising. This CoP will gather on the third Thursday of each month from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.
• The Career Advising Community of Practice will provide a space for advisors to exchange ideas, tools and approaches that integrate career development into advising conversations and planning. This CoP will gather on the fourth Friday of each month from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m.

Individuals interested in joining an Advising Community of Practice can indicate their interest using the form. Calendar invitations will be sent out for those interested in joining an Advising CoP.

For more information, contact Brett Bruner, assistant vice president for Student Success & Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.

The Shocker Teaching Community of Practice is available for all who teach at WSU (tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty, adjunct faculty, GTAs, etc.). The Shocker Teaching Community of Practice, rooted in the Student Experience Project created by the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities and the Coalition of Urban-Serving Universities, provides a monthly gathering space for community members to learn about, implement and reflect on the core components of student success that can be implemented in teaching practices. The Shocker Teaching Community of Practice will gather on the last Wednesday of the month at 2 p.m.

For questions or more information about the Shocker Teaching Community of Practice, contact Brett Bruner, assistant vice president for Student Success & Persistence, at brett.bruner@wichita.edu.