External Projects Overview
The Office of the Student Advocate (OSA) at UCSB is dedicated to enhancing equity and support for all students by bridging the gap between campus resources and student needs. By identifying and addressing recurring challenges observed in our interactions with students, OSA actively works to drive impactful change that benefits the entire student body. Our approach integrates both direct support and policy advocacy, ensuring that students receive assistance while systemic improvements are pursued.
Highlighted below are examples of the policy projects our team have worked on.
Inform
GoGaucho is an app and website maintained under the sub-technology committee of OSA, under the leadership of James Fu. GoGaucho is a website and app designed to support UCSB students by providing essential academic and campus resources. GoGaucho offers features such as course planning tools, an interactive calendar, real-time building capacity updates, dining hall menu information, and pass time notifications to help students navigate their schedules efficiently. OSA ensures the platform remains updated, user-friendly, and responsive to student needs, performing regular maintenance, incorporating feedback, and optimizing features to enhance accessibility and usability.
In response to the amendments introduced by AB 1575, the Office of the Student Advocate (OSA) is partnering with the Title IX Office at UCSB to provide students with access to advisors during student conduct adjudication processes. This initiative ensures that students are aware of their rights and have the necessary support when navigating conduct proceedings.
Through ongoing communication and collaboration with the Housing Conduct Office, the Office of the Student Advocate (OSA) is now officially recognized as a resource in the Housing Conduct Letter. This update ensures that students facing conduct issues are informed of OSA’s counseling and advisory services, providing them with critical support and guidance throughout the conduct process. By working closely with Housing Conduct, OSA has reinforced its commitment to student advocacy, transparency, and due process, ensuring that students are aware of their rights and have access to free, confidential assistance when navigating housing-related conduct proceedings.
In collaboration with the Isla Vista Tenants Union (IVTU), the Office of the Student Advocate (OSA) launched a Housing Awareness survey to address critical housing issues and provide resources to help students navigate the transition from on-campus to off-campus living. This project aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools needed to secure safe, affordable housing in Isla Vista and beyond.
As the year of 2024-2025, the Office of the Student Advocate expanded its case intake language options to 9 languages: English, Mandarin, Spanish, French, Armenian, Punjabi, Hindi, Hebrew, and Farsi (Persian). This project reflects our ongoing commitment to inclusivity and accessibility, ensuring that our services are accessible to all campus communities. We remain dedicated to expanding our linguistic support to meet the diverse needs of our students to the best of our ability.
Connect
To strengthen student engagement and raise awareness of its services, the Office of the Student Advocate (OSA) conducted quarterly tabling sessions throughout the academic year. These outreach efforts provided students with direct access to free, confidential support on academic, conduct, housing, and other student-related issues.
Over the summers, the Office of the Student Advocate led a proactive outreach initiative to establish and strengthen relationships with key campus departments, including the Office of Student Conduct, Title IX, the Registrar, Financial Aid, and others. The goal of this project was to build a collaborative bridge between the student body and campus administration, ensuring smooth communication and support for students.
The External Office at the Office of the Student Advocate (OSA) is undertaking a comprehensive redesign of our digital presence and media outreach to enhance engagement with students and build stronger ties with campus partners. This Public Relations 2024-2025 Project aims to modernize OSA’s Instagram, website, and collaborative outreach to reflect a more accessible presence on campus in order to better provide resources for our student body.
Advocate
In collaboration with the Isla Vista Tenants Union (IVTU), the Office of the Student Advocate (OSA) launched a Housing Awareness survey to address critical housing issues and provide resources to help students navigate the transition from on-campus to off-campus living. This project aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools needed to secure safe, affordable housing in Isla Vista and beyond.
The Office of the Student Advocate (OSA) led the INTW Course Revision Initiative to address concerns about the mandatory course adding to first-year students’ unit loads and the effectiveness of its resources. OSA met with school officials to discuss potential revisions, including alternative formats and resource improvements, ensuring the course better supports students without overwhelming their academic workload.
The Office of the Student Advocate (OSA) hosted a panel discussion featuring professors and experts from the UCSB Office of Teaching and Learning and the Office of Student Conduct to explore both the opportunities and risks AI presents in an academic setting. This event provided clarity on responsible AI use, the potential consequences of misuse, and the evolving academic policies surrounding AI tools.