Kim LaFever

Kim LaFever serves as the Director of Operations Success Operations within Academic Success Affairs. Kim is a member of the Success Initiatives Leadership team and leads the Academic Success Operations Team and a suite of critical functions that support all units of Academic Success. Other Success Initiatives units include the Success Navigators, the Military-Affiliated Student Center, and Equity and Success Initiatives. Kim and her team are responsible for implementing services and strategies for superior student communications, unit use of KU technologies, and coordinated support for core unit functions across Academic Success. Kim leads the strategic use and functional management of all technical systems used by Academic Success personnel including student service and academic advising systems, career advising systems, and related third-party applications. She leads the unit-side strategy for comprehensive services to all Academic Success including graphic design support, event promotion, and effective student communication strategies. In this role, Kim continues to lead student success technology efforts and is responsible for maintaining partnerships with KU IT and SIS. Kim continues to expand on the continued success of the Student Navigator program focusing on personalized outreach and support for students.

Previously, Kim served the Vice Provost for Academic Success and the Executive Director for Success Initiatives as the Technologies Manager within the Success Initiatives team in the division of Academic Success.  Kim focused on the strategic implementation, management, and rollout of Jayhawk GPS, an EAB student success management system designed to establish an online connection between a student and their academic support network which includes their academic advisors, faculty and other support staff. Kim developed a student service model employing Student Navigators to provide personalized outreach in response to faculty course feedback using technology provided through Jayhawk GPS. This effort focused on reducing percentage rates of DFW grades in predominately high DFW courses.

Kim earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Kansas. Kim has over 30 years of experience at KU in the areas of curriculum management, academic and data governance, advising, student information systems processes, website development and data analysis. Prior to joining the Academic Success team, Kim served as a Functional Systems Analyst within Student Information Systems where she assisted with the creation and implementation of KU’s Online Advising Tool while also assisting in the conversion from KU’s home-grown Academic Requirements Tracking System (ARTS) to Degree Progress Reports (DPRs). Kim has also served in roles in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) and the School of Business.