SLEC Announcement

ASCIT Board of Directors Announces New Student Life and Experience Conference (SLEC) alongside 2025 Student Faculty Conference (SFC)

The Associated Students of the California Institute of Technology (ASCIT) Board of Directors (BoD) has announced that, for the first time, both the Student Faculty Conference (SFC) and the newly established Student Life and Experience Conference (SLEC) will take place in April 2025. These two conferences, scheduled back-to-back on April 10 and April 11, 2025, in Ramo Auditorium, aim to engage students, faculty, and administrative staff in critical discussions about improving both the academic and non-academic aspects of the Caltech student experience.

Student Faculty Conference (SFC)

The Student Faculty Conference (SFC), a longstanding tradition at Caltech, will continue its role in fostering academic dialogue between students and faculty. Organized by the ASCIT Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chair of the Academics and Research Committee (ARC), Jeb Brysacz (CS ‘25, Page), the SFC will focus on issues related to Caltech’s curriculum, course structures, and academic policies. Through this conference, students will have the opportunity to present their ideas and collaborate with faculty to shape the future of academic programs at Caltech. This collaborative platform has been essential in maintaining Caltech’s academic rigor while ensuring alignment with student needs.

Student Life and Experience Conference (SLEC)

In response to growing concerns over non-academic aspects of student life, as highlighted in the 2022 Caltech Co-Curricular Group (C3) Final Report, the ASCIT BoD passed a resolution in July 2024 establishing the Student Life and Experience Conference (SLEC). The Board of Directors has appointed ASCIT Treasurer and Senior Class Co-President Jonathan Booker (Ph/CS ‘25, Ricketts) as the chair of the SLEC, which will focus on enhancing student well-being, athletics, diversity, mental health services, and other key aspects of campus life.

The C3 Report revealed significant gaps in student support services, noting that many students felt under-supported in areas such as mental health resources and transitioning to industry careers. Additionally, the report identified disparities in experiences among women and trans-spectrum students, underscoring the need for a more inclusive and supportive environment. The SLEC is designed to address these issues head-on by fostering collaboration between students, faculty, and administrative staff.

Conference Structure and Committees

Both the SFC and SLEC will feature the same committee structure. This conference structure will feature two special topic committees and multiple standing committees. The standing committees within the SFC will still be dedicated to each academic option; meanwhile, the standing committees will be dedicated to ongoing aspects within the student experience. These standing committees include topics such as the First-Year Experience Committee, which aims to enhance the transition for incoming students; the Housing & Residential Life Committee, which will assess and reform housing policies; and the Health & Wellness Committee, which will evaluate the mental and physical health services available on campus. Other standing committees include the Clubs Committee, the Events Committee, and the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, each focusing on improving key areas of student life and engagement. Both SFC and SLEC will feature 2 special topic committees each. The special topic committees within the SFC are chosen to be broad and all-encompassing, but are limited to topics pertaining exclusively to academics. This year, the SFC special topics are “Prerequisites” and “The Honor Code“. The special topics committees within the SLEC are also chosen to be broad and all-encompassing, but will focus on topics within the student experience that cannot normally be covered by the SFC special topics such as topics that are not academic. This year, the SLEC special topics are “Extracurriculars” and “Campus Relations”. For more information on this year’s special topics, please visit the SFC and SLEC websites included below.

Data-Driven Recommendations

Both the SFC and SLEC will rely heavily on data to inform their recommendations. Each committee will conduct surveys, focus groups, and interviews with members of the Caltech community. These surveys, developed in collaboration with the Institutional Research Office and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), will be distributed early in 2025. The results will be used to draft comprehensive reports and presentations, which will be shared during the conferences. The final reports will be publicly released to ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation of recommendations.

Conference Schedule and Key Dates

The preparation process for both conferences has been underway since April 2024. Each conference organizer has been meeting with relevant administrators throughout this past summer. Currently, co-Chairs for all SFC and SLEC committees are being finalized and the joint SFC and SLEC committee application form will be sent out to undergraduates on October 7th, 2024 and will be open for at least the next week. A joint Board of Directors and Interhouse Committee (IHC) will confirm all SLEC committee appointments while the ARC will confirm all SFC committee appointments. Towards the end of October, there will be a training and a workshop where all committee co-chairs will be required to participate. Discussions to present both conferences to the faculty board are currently in progress. The purpose of the training and workshop will be to prepare all committee co-chairs to lead each committee so that it is not only productive, but to also produce recommendations that are feasible to implement. During the workshop, committee co-chairs will plan out the course that each committee will follow leading up to the conference. Before each conference committees will be required to write a final report and make a presentation to be given at either the SFC or SLEC. As mentioned before, the SFC, which will take place on April 10, 2025, will focus on academic issues, while the SLEC, scheduled for April 11, 2025, will address mostly non-academic concerns. Both conferences will include presentations from each committee, followed by Q&A sessions and community discussions.

The SLEC will close with a community dinner on the Olive Walk, providing an opportunity to celebrate the collaborative efforts made toward improving the holistic student experience at Caltech.

Get Involved

ASCIT encourages all members of the Caltech community to participate in these important initiatives. Whether you’re interested in serving on a committee or contributing your feedback through surveys, your input will help shape the future of student life and academics at Caltech.

For more information or to get involved, visit the SFC website: sfc.caltech.edu or the SLEC website: slec.caltech.edu. Additionally, feel free to reach out to Jeb Brysacz at jbrysacz@caltech.edu, Jonathan Booker at jbooker@caltech.edu, or Sophie Elam, ASCIT President, at selam@caltech.edu as well. We are looking forward to working with everyone throughout this next year!