3 Things You Should Know About UK’s New Connection Tool
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 29, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Involvement Advising team recently launched a new program aimed to help students get more involved on campus called Wildcat Connect. An expansion on the university’s requirements to keep the community safe, the Daily 4.0, Wildcat Connect strives to help students find their niche, whether that be a specific organization on campus, certain campus events or resources that fit their needs.
To learn more about this program, we asked Dominick Williams, assistant vice president of strategy and assessment in the Office of the Vice President for Student Success, a few questions.
UKNow: How is Wildcat Connect designed to help students?
Williams: Wildcat Connect is the expansion of our efforts in Student Success to help students find a direct relationship at UK. Wildcat Connect takes a system we know works to help students find student organizations and expand on that to better address and meet students’ needs to find relationships and resources on campus.
UKNow: Is Wildcat Connect available to all students? What does the process look like for students who choose to use Wildcat Connect?
Williams: Wildcat Connect is for all students looking to get connected. For any student at UK, they can go to our Wildcat Connect: Involvement Advising request form (http://go.uky.edu/wildcatconnect) through BBNvovled and request assistance. An involvement advisor, who is a peer student trained to help other students get connected, will reach out to talk about what a student is looking for and how best to find the involvement they need.
UKNow: Why is it important for students to utilize this new tool?
Williams: Finding people with common interests to have fun with and to check-in on each other helps create a memorable and supportive residential experience. There are many different ways to find these opportunities to connect to other students, from student organizations and events to class study groups. Being involved helps students obtain the relationships, skills and experiences to be successful. Our goal is to help students navigate these many options throughout their academic journey at UK.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.