Strategic Plan for the Division of Student Life

The Division of Student Life actively supports the mission of Texas Woman's University and it's learning environment by:

Providing intentional educational opportunities beyond the classroom to empower and affirm the full development of students, primarily women
Enhancing progress and welfare of students
Encouraging students to develop and employ a variety of intellectual, humanitarian and leadership skills, which will provide a foundation for lifelong learning and service
Recognizing, supporting and responding to the needs of diverse populations.

Learn

We commit to greater purpose through teaching and learning

TWU will educate individuals through a student-centered education for all of our students, focusing on the teaching and learning of the whole person for empowerment and success. The Division of Student Life will seek to ensure that the TWU student life experience will develop the whole person and reflect a transformative learning process.

Intentionally invite students to bring their life experiences into the learning process to encourage reflection on their own and others’ perspectives. This reflective process is intended to provide opportunities for students to expand their worldview and apply new understandings to their own lives.
Enhance knowledge of scholarship on resiliency, developing a common framework and language, and extending skills for engaging in educational dialogues for division staff.
Identify key marketable skills that students gain toward personal enrichment and pre-professional development.
Create opportunities for experiential learning; peer instruction; and structured group experiences that foster active learning, decision-making, and create a culture reflecting coherent values and ethical standards.

Performance Indicators

All applicable Student Life experiential learning programs include a facilitated reflection activity and/or assessment for student participants.

Incorporate reflection exercises in all digital badges as a criteria for awarding the specific badge.

The division will adapt “Belonging” as the framework for “resiliency”, develop or adopt a common definition, and host a staff training for the division.
95% of the student employment positions within Student Life will have identified marketable skills (as per NACE Career Readiness Competencies) by Fall 2022.
Each applicable Student Life department will be able to identify or create one impactful experiential learning; peer instruction; and/or structured group experience within their department whose impact has been confirmed through assessment.

The Division of Student Life will seek and promote greater collaboration with academics in enhancing student learning, will facilitate student retention and academic progress by removing barriers for student success, and will provide a developmental, educational and co-curricular learning environment to prepare students to work and live in a global world.

Fortify campus support systems with a focus on student degree completion in conjunction with Academic Affairs (E.g., early alert, student mapping, four years at a glance, and experiential scholars).
Develop a co-curricular record of experiences focusing on outside-the-classroom activities.
In conjunction with Academic Affairs and Enrollment Management, develop intentional and targeted programmatic offerings and intervention strategies for students at different stages of their TWU journey, giving consideration to the different campuses. (E.g., sophomore year, first year ambassadors, first year experience, transfer center, online student experience, graduate student experiences)
Share how Student Life can assist in developing an institutional focus on retention and student success. One key way in helping to build an institutional focus is in developing and providing available support toward student success by working alongside and with faculty.
Leverage data to promote access, inclusion, and positive student success outcomes.

Performance Indicators

Student Life departments (where applicable) will be able to identify one impactful student degree completion initiative within their department whose impact has been confirmed through assessment.
Student Life will develop a co-curricular transcript using Pioneers Engage.
Student Life departments (where applicable) will be able to identify one impactful intentional and targeted programmatic offering and/or intervention strategy for students at different stages of their TWU journey within their department whose impact has been confirmed through assessment.
Student Life (or each department) will compile semester GPA, 1st-2nd year retention rate, and graduation rates for students involved in their Student Life program, service, or department and publish/distribute as part of end-of-the-year reports.

The Division of Student Life will deliver programs and services to facilitate a culture of health, safety, and wellbeing amongst students.

Intentionally create opportunities and experiences focusing on student engagement across differences, understanding and appreciation of diversity, and intercultural connectedness.
Encourage student development, interest and build students’ capacity to promote their own physical, mental, and emotional health and wellbeing.
Expand our capacity to provide timely, responsive, appropriate support for students in crisis or experiencing distress.

Performance Indicators

Each applicable Student Life department will be able to identify or create one impactful opportunity and/or experience focusing on student engagement across differences, understanding and appreciation of diversity, and intercultural connectedness.within their department whose impact has been confirmed through assessment.
Student Life (or each department) will compile race and ethnicity demographics of paraprofessional students involved in their Student Life program, service, or department.
Each applicable Student Life department will be able to identify or create one impactful opportunity and/or experience encouraging student development, interest and build students’ capacity to promote their own physical, mental, and emotional health and wellbeing within their department whose impact has been confirmed through assessment.
Student Life will analyze and report the findings of timely, responsive, appropriate support for students in crisis or experiencing distress for the applicable Student Life departments.

Lead

We lead in multifaceted ways by applying our individual and collective expertise

TWU will provide systematic and meaningful opportunities for students, staff and faculty to celebrate the value of diversity in leadership and to acquire skills that empower them to lead with distinction, intentionality and purpose. The Division of Student Life will lead in the creation of a unified vision of leadership across the institution that guides student development opportunities. As a part of this initiative we will identify a leadership model to streamline language and communication and direct tactics and assessment.

The Division of Student Life will develop a leadership framework model which addresses skills related to multicultural competency.
Student leadership development practices will be infused throughout the division as we all engage with students in different ways through a variety of enriching programs, retreats and workshops designed specifically to enhance the leadership capabilities and marketable skills in every student.
The Division of Student Life will focus on the ongoing development of student-led organizations, student-led initiatives, student employees and teams across campus as leadership laboratories where marketable skills may be developed.

Performance Indicators

The Division of Student Life will develop a leadership framework model and share with appropriate campus colleagues.
Each applicable Student Life department will be able to identify or create one impactful opportunity and/or experience encouraging student leadership development within their department whose impact has been confirmed through assessment.
The number of student organizations will increase by 10% from 2018- Fall 2023.
The number of students in Greek organizations will increase by 10% from 2018- Fall 2023.
Student Life will implement a student organization audit system and a Greek Standards program by Spring 2021.

The Division of Student Life will create a culture that fosters tackling challenges head on, embraces the process of ongoing trial and error, supports the value of innovation and creativity, and encourages calculated, educated, risk-taking.

The Division of Student Life will identify and develop practices in order to help students recognize, face, and manage or overcome problems and challenges and to see failure as an opportunity to be strengthened, rather than defeated. (E.g., student organization advising, student governance, student conduct)

Performance Indicators

Each applicable Student Life department will be able to identify or create one impactful opportunity and/or experience and/or practice to help students recognize, face, and manage or overcome problems and challenges within their department whose impact has been confirmed through assessment.
An Acts of Intolerance/Bias Response process will be implemented by Fall 2019.

The Division of Student Life will empower students to have a voice/platform regarding larger social issues by formalizing processes and opportunities for students.

The Division of Student Life will create programs allowing students the opportunity to have a voice in social issues.
The Division of Student Life will foster an inclusive campus community that embraces social justice and facilitates learning across identities and affinities, creating a shared sense of connection, belonging, and social responsibility.

Performance Indicators

Each applicable Student Life department will be able to identify or create one impactful opportunity and/or experience and/or practice to help students find their voice within their department whose impact has been confirmed through assessment.
Student Life will conduct a student campus climate survey to assess institutional culture.

Serve

We transform lives through inclusive networks and purposeful partnerships

TWU will express its ethic of service through engagement with our local, state, national and international communities as a means to empower the lives of the server as well as those they serve. The Division will ensure that service and civic engagement are central to our programs and activities.

As a “Campus with a Heart”, create campus traditions and service opportunities that advance civic engagement as our community ethos for the purpose of fostering an inclusive campus community that creates a shared sense of connection, belonging, and social responsibility.

Performance Indicators

A mechanism to collect student service hours will be implemented by Fall 2021.
A goal of 10,000 student service hours will be logged per year by Fall 2023.
Each applicable Student Life department will be able to identify the number of collaborations and/or projects generated from divisional partnerships and their value (economic, social, cultural, or otherwise) to include on their end-of-the-year reports..

Discover

We seek new ways to improve our world through research and creative expression.

TWU will grow its contributions to discovery by empowering the institution and its community in the doing and teaching of the discovery process. The Division of Student Life should be involved in design and implementation of campus wide efforts to assess student learning and personal development and use the results to improve the quality of the student experience.

Create a divisional infrastructure that supports assessment and research.
Develop a division-wide partnership with Institutional Research to support “big data analytics” related to Student Life.

Performance Indicators

Student Life will implement the Baseline/Planning assessment management software.
Student Life will develop a division-wide assessment plan, an Assessment Council, and identify resource needs related to division-wide assessment.

Invest:

We commit to excellence within people and sustainable and safe university environments.

Building on the accounting framework known as the triple bottom line—people, profits, and planet—TWU will invest in its people, its campuses, its community and its financial well-being to ensure its future. The Division of Student Life will capitalize on our culture of caring and hire individuals consistent with those values.

The Division of Student Life will engage in professional development and other activities that routinely highlight our mission-driven, student-centered approach to our work across the division.
The Division of Student Life strives to be intentional in our efforts to value our staff. (E.g., by recognizing their work, acknowledging their strengths, and supporting their well-being)

Performance Indicators

Student Life will plan or promote one professional development opportunity for all professional staff.
Student Life will develop new leadership professional development program to benefit 5% of staff annually.

The Student Life Division will strive to foster a safe and sustainable environment for our students, faculty, and staff.

The Division of Student Life will participate and support the university’s master plan initiative to include issues related to both safety and sustainability.
The Division of Student Life will develop and support plans to address deferred maintenance and equipment replacement needs.

Performance Indicators

Maintain Facilities at or below 6% of the Facilities Condition Index (which is the deferred maintenance of said facility divided by the current replacement value).
Maintain facility usage rates at 85%.

The Division of Student Life will explore alternative revenue streams to support the prosperity of the university and to benefit students.

The Division of Student Life will seek opportunities to partner with or offer services to external constituencies as a means of generating revenue and extending our resources.

Performance Indicators

Each applicable Student Life area will create and report on at least one business means of generating revenue for that area
Student Life will compile information regarding the number of grant proposal submissions and awarded grant funding annually.

Page last updated 3:57 PM, August 3, 2021