Supporting Undergraduate Students' Success
Academic Innovation & Student Success (AISS) was created to align academic strategies and oversee the coordination and execution of the UAlbany Student Success Model.
Dedicated to advancing transformative, campus-wide student success efforts, AISS is a unique model designed to maximize resources and impact. The UAlbany Student Success Model focuses on holistic and comprehensive student support in six key areas:
- Academic support
- Academic momentum
- Well-being
- Purpose and belonging
- Campus collaboration
- Financial support
Initiatives within these areas work together to address critical issues that impact retention, persistence and graduation. Please read the Five-year Report: Academic Momentum, Academic Support & Campus Collaboration for more information.
AISS Units
AISS oversees various offices that support the success of undergraduate students at UAlbany. Please visit the following UAlbany websites for more information on our work:
units
AISS Leadership
- Vice Provost & Dean of Undergraduate Education JoAnne Malatesta
Vice Dean for Academic Innovation & Student Success Diana Mancini
Director for Innovative Project Systems Jayme Wood
- Director for Online Education Meghan Forcier
Interim Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education Glyne Griffith
Interim Director of the Writing & Critical Inquiry Program Allison V. Craig
Director of the Honors College David Goldsmith
Assistant Vice Provost of Academic Support Center and Advising Kristen Swaney
Assistant Dean for Academic Progression and Success Karen A. McNeill
Interim Assistant Dean for Learning Commons Sarah Pickett
Director of the Educational Opportunity Program Melissa Cedeño
Assistant Dean of the Minerva Center for High-Impact Practices Dafney Amilcar-Rodriguez
Latest News on UAlbany's Undergraduate Students
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UAlbany Joins SUNY Chancellor, Capital Region Colleges to Celebrate Expansion of Student Success Programs
UAlbany joined SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr., SUNY Board of Trustees Chair Merryl H. Tisch and higher education partners from across the Capital Region to celebrate the expansion of ACE and Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP), two programs designed to help more SUNY students stay on track and graduate on time.
AISS Newsletter: September 2026
Read the latest updates from Academic Innovation & Student Success, including information on the Finish in Four program, the Fall 2026 Progress Reporting Cycle, Provost's Award for Excellence in Academic Advising, UAlbany's new director of Online Education and Connection Day for Living-learning Communities.
U.S. News Ranks UAlbany Among the Country’s Best Public Universities
The University at Albany earned national recognition for its educational value and success in advancing student social mobility in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings released today.
UAlbany Expands ACE Program to Help More Students Graduate on Time
The University at Albany announced the expansion of Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE), building on the program’s successful launch at UAlbany last fall. The expansion will give 150 additional Great Danes access to academic, financial and personal support designed to help them stay on track, overcome barriers and graduate on time.
RISE Program Helps UAlbany Innovators Turn Ideas Into Impact
In just over a year, four groups of UAlbany researchers, students and Capital Region startups have moved through the Research & Innovators Startup Exchange (RISE), exploring what it takes to bring ideas beyond the lab and into the marketplace.