ELJAZZAR: Expand institutional knowledge to empower students – The Cavalier Daily

Student engagement at the university and across the country augmentedparticularly in the form of student-led activism and the presence of a growing number of student groups. This has created a new generation of pioneers of change who should be celebrated for their deep engagement with the spaces in which they live. However, while this increased participation is laudable, it is indirectly unsustainable. Student-led groups and activism have long faced a major hurdle when thinking long-term; their group’s institutional memory will never exceed four years, reducing their ability to acquire, develop and maintain institutional knowledge of the University.

In this article, institutional information about the University, means A student organization’s understanding of the University, particularly insights into the tangible structure and unwritten cultural nuances. The university has a highly complex and ever-changing hierarchy of offices, departments, and administrative positions created to facilitate student engagement and provide resources to groups and individuals. Often, student groups not only seek out these resources to further their own causes, but also work to connect their members to them. However, unfortunately, this complex structure, which offers a wide range of resources from student affairs to health services, is difficult to manage and use fully.

Currently the University does little to equip student groups with institutional knowledge. Instead, groups are expected to navigate and interact on this highly complex system on their own; This cannot ensure that they are both knowledgeable and able to use the resources at their disposal. This is, in many ways, at odds with an institution that aims to do so. place Student self-management is at the heart of its mission. The university claims to be a space that enables student groups to become active participants in the hope of inculcating future global leadership. But this rhetorical empowerment means little if it is not backed by concrete support and transparent structures. Without a framework for educating such students, this important but complex knowledge is difficult to transfer and sustain.

Maintaining this institutional knowledge as permanent and clear, rather than temporary and transparent, is important for encouraging productive discourse among student groups and administrators. Recently, student groups seeking to change institutional policies have criticized the lack of visibility of University structures, arguing that this makes it difficult to engage in good faith dialogue with administrators. Consider University Investment Management Company, a mutual firm. aim Criticisms of Grounds-wide student purge attempts. Student groups like DivestUVA worked Pressuring the university to divest from its investments in fossil fuel and weapons manufacturing companies.

However, their efforts are complicated by the complete lack of transparency with which UVIMCO operates; This deficiency is one that the University can hide behind while ignoring the concerns of student groups. Through this example, it becomes clear that institutional knowledge is essential not only for the ability of student groups to access resources, but also for their ability to engage in good faith conversations with administrators – these are only possible with a deep understanding of the intricacies of the structures. of this institution.

The university should take steps to provide students with the tools to easily navigate the institution’s resources, offices, and structures. Commitments to facilitate this information can take the form of: modules Students must complete it before enrolling at the University. Or it could mean more comprehensive flowcharts of the University’s hierarchy and clearly defined definitions of what each office does. Student groups at Grounds can neither accurately criticize nor adequately praise this institution unless they understand its layout and functions.

Although much of this information is targeted at student groups, it will inevitably reach individuals as well, allowing for better dissemination of information about programs and resources. In this way, the application of institutional knowledge also serves to serve individual students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, by equipping them with knowledge that is not readily available or not conveyed to them. Given a complex organizational structure, first-generation students and students from immigrant families without a legacy in American higher education face further disadvantages if the University fails to educate the student body on the functions of the system that serves them.

When a university does not take responsibility for educating students about the structures of its institution, it does not equip its students or groups of students with the knowledge and resources to be fully successful. Understanding one’s organization is critical in developing future leaders and change models. In this way, institutional knowledge is not only a resource but also a vital foundation for meaningful leadership and activism; It is necessary to promote student self-management and equip students to drive change. Disclosure of institutional knowledge to students is an imperative that the University must fully embrace to fulfill its mission of educating tomorrow’s leaders.

Farah Eljazzar is a columnist for The Cavalier Daily who writes about identity and culture. He can be reached at: [email protected].

The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the opinions of the authors only.