Student Affairs expanded the Office of the Dean of Students
To streamline student support and accountability processes, the University of Utah’s - Student Affairs expanded the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS), centralizing processes to improve efficiency.
Since 2018, ODOS and Housing & Residential Education (HRE) have been focused on revising and streamlining procedures and training their teams. In 2022, an external audit found that the accountability and care process was bifurcated and that students could have a different experience.
“We had the opportunity to reassess Student Affairs offices and improve the student experience,” said Lori McDonald, vice president for Student Affairs. “This new approach emphasizes our commitment to make students aware of available resources and prove efficient support to help them navigate challenges in their personal and academic lives.”
Starting this fall, ODOS will take over university policy violations directly, absorbing staff members from HRE, ensuring a consistent student experience. The University of Utah will now coordinate cases at the same level within an identical system , consolidating the processes and making sure everyone is receiving the exact same level of care and timeliness.
“In the past, we had HRE-designated staff looking at accountability and care reports in housing, and ODOS staff looking at all other cases,” explained Jason Ramirez, associate vice president and dean of students. “However, in many cases, the intersectionality between those makes it a global campus situation; and if the communication is not solid between those two people, you could have people assuming that another person is handling something, while the other person makes the same assumption.”
The new accountability process will have one member of ODOS looking at all reports, including those generated at housing. This centralization will allow Housing & Residential Education staff members to focus their efforts on the support and education system, managing only housing community standard violations, while the Office of the Dean of Students will manage all university policies violations.
“This centralized model prevents students from having to meet with an HRE person and then get transferred to us and have to retell their story,” said Ramirez. “ODOS has access to more support mechanisms at the University including but not limited to the right to petition for exceptions to policies; with this new process, Students would find their way directly to any adjustment they need, and they will get all the assistance and resources they need in one stop.”
New organization and training
The structural changes are focused on filling both HRE and ODOS needs. The collaborative partnership between both departments continues in perpetuity, with a close connection to Housing and Residential Education for both the support and accountability units.
HRE and ODOS continue their ongoing training sessions on different topics with the Office of Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action (OEO), specific software training to submit and work on cases, risk assessments, and training with the University of Utah Department of Public Safety.
Added benefits
The new centralized process brings several benefits for students and student leaders. This new approach supplies more resources to students within HRE, including more care and case managers. Now, ODOS staff members are included in the on-call housing rotation so that HRE staff will be less burdened at night and on the weekend shifts.
“This change supplies more resources to our student leaders and staff within housing,” said Sean Grube, associate vice president of Housing & Residential Education. “This new approach gives our staff more time and resources to provide support, helping students to navigate challenges in their personal and academic lives.”
The expansion of the ODOS will also create pathways for professional development. Students looking for work opportunities beyond HRE can find a path in the Office of the Dean of Students and Student Affairs.