Student Advisory Council Projects

Our group has taken on three primary topics—neuroscience of learning, the efficacy of language courses, and the applications that BYU uses to facilitate education, specifically Learning Suite and Canvas. For each of these three topics, we have done a great deal public outreach via emails to university higher-ups, meetings with general faculty members, and correspondence with everyday students who have experiences relative to our categories of oversight. In the meantime, we have compiled extensive research on every topic of note, and we have all of our (rather extensive) work located in a shared Google Drive folder.

For our project, one option we are exploring is getting more employees hired in the University Accessibility Center. We were thinking of having a new position in the UAC where undergrads, graduate students, or anyone qualified can act as a mentor for students with disabilities. These mentors would help students set up meetings with professors and work with them to create a plan tailored to the students to help them succeed in the class. Mentors can also act as advisors responsible for communicating the UAC updates to students.

Our group focused on Inclusion and Belonging desire to create a campaign which will include short videos entitled, "We are BYU." The purpose is to acknowledge the diversity of students (first generation, student parents, students with disabilities, racially diverse students, and students of different faith) attending BYU.

We are researching a project that would provide resources for LGBTQ+ members of the BYU community. We are looking to provide them with support that can help them feel welcomed and accepted on campus. This can include a centralized page of resources, counselling, and staff members that can provide the necessary belonging to members of their community.

This group is committed to making the student employment experience the best possible at BYU. They were able to successfully hold focus groups, heard from diverse perspectives, and collected over 300 survey responses. Moving forward, they are looking at implementing an annual "Student Job Fair" at BYU and looking at ways to make on-campus employment easier for married students and students who are parents.

The Student Wellness team is working on improving students' outlook and access to resources that can improve all aspects of wellness. We are specifically looking into improving mental aid options as well as improving students' physical wellness by investigating options for physical exercise available to students on campus.