Student Affairs Statements
Assessment
Student Affairs is committed to utilizing available resources in a responsible manner in order to achieve desired goals. By using assessment as a tool to gauge the effectiveness of programs and services, we strive to be good stewards of divisional and institutional assets.
Moreover, including assessment practice into the operation of Student Affairs serves to ensure and demonstrate how we contribute to student learning and development in support of the mission of the University.
Furthermore, by incorporating assessment into daily practice and strategic planning, we seek to monitor progress towards divisional and unit level goals. Lastly, we are also committed to integrating assessment as a means to guide decision making, communicate progress, and understand the impact of Student Affairs on the student experience. In the process informing changes that might better meet their diverse needs.
Professional Development
The mission of the professional learning program within Student Affairs at UNC -Chapel Hill is to improve and sustain professional and personal growth of division employees through learning opportunities that support the division’s strategic goals. We do this by focusing on knowledge and skills that ultimately improve service to students, student learning, and student success.
Goals of the Student Affairs Professional Learning Program
- To provide targeted opportunities for professional learning to strengthen employee skill set/knowledge base/career path.
- To strengthen efforts in the areas of employee morale, health wellness, retention, and recruitment.
- To have the professional learning program support the strategic goals of Student Affairs.
- To utilize existing meeting venues/structures/connections to engage in professional learning activities.
- To encourage the use of professional learning plans.
- To engage the broad leadership of the Student Affairs in the professional learning program.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Fundamental to the Carolina experience is an understanding and appreciation of diversity. To further this mission, Student Affairs must provide opportunities to learn about diversity in its many forms through our programs and services. By identifying the diversity issues, we may begin to better understand their impact on the Carolina experience, along with how those issues shape perceptions and interactions among members of the Carolina community. We also need to understand how institutional diversity initiatives relate to our work in our departments and how we can support an overall inclusive campus climate.
Strategic Planning
Student Affairs uses strategic planning as the basis for systematic and in-depth discussion of priorities, to determine approaches to deal with critical issues, and to develop initiatives that tie together the diverse operations of the unit. Formal, published plans become the basis for ensuring that the entire Student Affairs team knows not only what needs to be done but also why. Plans become the basis for Student Affairs employees at all levels to solve the day-to-day problems in ways consistent with the intent and direction of the unit as a whole. Planning allows the separate organizational units within Student Affairs to align their directions and plans, and for the Student Affairs to align its plans with the University’s mission.
Strategic Priorities
The following Strategic Priorities are based on the committee’s interpretation of data collected during Phase Three of the planning process. To address the priorities herein, Student Affairs will leverage technology and advance evidence-based strategies and assessment. See Appendix C for focal points identified in the data characterizing each priority. Promote and Advocate: Student Affairs will promote and advocate for the needs of students and for the collective impact of the work embedded in each of our departments.
- Center Student Learning: Student Affairs will draw on student development frameworks in prioritizing learning across co-curricular opportunities.
- Embody Safe and Inclusive Communities: Student Affairs will increase measures to minimize harm and support underserved populations.
- Develop Synergy across Student Affairs: Student Affairs will strengthen unified approaches to enhance student and staff experiences.
- Maximize Operational Efficiencies: Student Affairs will streamline and clarify administrative processes to strategically capitalize on resources