Smriti Kansal Patwardhan helps George Mason University engineering students navigate the sometimes-complicated path from their first classes to graduation, a role she has enjoyed for nearly a decade. She now has an opportunity to make that path smoother for students across the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC).
Smriti recently became the college’s director of undergraduate academic affairs, a new position created along with CEC’s enrollment growth and the changing complexity of managing its undergraduate programs. The role complements the college’s existing efforts in advising and recruitment, with an eye toward a goal of helping students succeed and stay on track.
Smriti brings to the position an unusual combination of perspectives. She is an engineer, researcher, teacher, George Mason alum, and longtime academic advisor. Most recently, she served as associate director of undergraduate studies and advising in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
“I don't have a background in higher ed per se, but as an engineer advising engineers, I thought that was always very fascinating,” she said. “I can, hopefully, relate to the students in a different way.”
Her experience at George Mason began as a student. After earning an undergraduate engineering degree in India and working for three years in automobile manufacturing, including work with robots on the shop floor, she came to the U.S. and enrolled at George Mason.
“I had a deal with my now-husband, who is in computer engineering,” she said, recalling that he was looking for a way to come to the U.S. and he suggested she apply to schools first, and that he’d then find a job. “I got two good offers, but they weren't giving me aid. So I said, ‘How about you find a job, and I'll go to a school there?’ He got a job, and I applied to UMBC and George Mason. Mason just seemed like such a nice school, and I never regretted the decision to come here.”
She earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering, conducting research on landmine detection, and later worked at George Mason as research faculty. After stepping away from full-time work following the birth of her daughter, she remained connected to the university through teaching assistant and accreditation-related work. In 2012, she returned full time in advising.
Over the years, that job expanded as she took on curriculum and other responsibilities. Smriti saw firsthand how policies affected students and advisors and wanted to bring that perspective to the people administering them.
“People who make policies rarely are the ones implementing them, and so they don't necessarily know what's happening on the ground,” she said. “I thought with my advising background I could help figure out what policies make sense and how to implement them with the correct intentions.”
Initially, much of her new job will involve learning. Smriti plans to examine processes rather than immediately overhaul them, looking for small changes that can eliminate unnecessary work and make policies more consistent across the college. For example, she is reviewing the large number of substitutions and waivers processed for degree requirements to determine whether changes to catalog language or procedures could make some routine exceptions unnecessary.
Longer term, student retention could become a significant part of the position. Smriti hopes the college can use its data to better understand where students struggle and determine whether additional first-year support could help them succeed. And when students do need to change direction, she wants the process to be more intentional and humane.
Her years advising students will remain central to that work. “My hope is to be able to spend a little bit more time and bring that advising a human touch,” she said.