Today's Update: Thursday, November 16, 2023

November 16, 2023

Dear Student Life team, 

We have a lot of student employees in Student Life, roughly 4,600. We know the paychecks they get are important, but perhaps just as important is the knowledge they are getting on the job that will help them land, and succeed, in the workforce.  

Student Life’s Student Employment Experience program, or SEE, was developed to recognize that everything a student does on campus should be intentional and focused on learning, and that includes work. SEE encourages supervisors to help their student employees identify their transferable skills and engage in real-world learning opportunities. 

That concept is crucial to helping student employees engage, learn and thrive through their on-campus jobs. It’s why I spent time this week, joined by Associate Vice President Dr. Anne McDaniel and Isabel Biasella, a student assistant in my office, talking about this program with the university Board of Trustees.  

We shared information on SEE at last week’s Scarlet and Great Gathering, so I won’t go into detail here. If you missed the presentation, you can watch a replay of the morning Gathering session online.  

All Student Life student employees are in SEE, and we are hoping to expand it further so more students around the university can receive the benefits of this important program. 

Also on the Board of Trustees agenda today was an update to the Code of Student Conduct. The Code is thoroughly reviewed every five years under the purview of the Council on Student Affairs, a subcommittee of University Senate, to ensure the language, and intent, are clear.  

The revised version of the Code approved by the Trustees today includes an updated definition of academic misconduct, including the addition of unauthorized use of generative artificial intelligence system or similar technologies. It also adds “harm to animals” under prohibited conduct and provides greater clarity regarding the violation of other university rules or federal, state or local laws. 

Changes to the Code also include putting the university’s shared values in the introduction and purpose, a statement directing students to the ADA Coordinator’s office for assistance with accommodations during the Student Conduct process and a suggested Buckeye Honor Pledge for instructors to consider using at their discretion in examinations, papers and other assignments. 

The updated Code will be posted on the Board of Trustees website, https://trustees.osu.edu/.  and is effective January 1, 2024. 

I want to give High Fives to Anne Schira of the Office of Legal Affairs for her phenomenal input during this review, and to Peter Carrera, chair of the Council on Student Affairs, for all his efforts throughout the process. The Code of Student Conduct is fundamentally important to the student experience at Ohio State, and I am Scarlet and Grateful for the work and leadership of Anne and Peter during this process.   

  

Melissa S. Shivers, PhD  
  
Senior Vice President for Student Life   
The Ohio State University