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Office of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management

The Division of Student Affairs at SDSU enriches the students' overall educational experiences through the delivery of quality services and programs as well as providing intentional learning experiences in diversity, global awareness, leadership and social responsibility. In partnership with the academic community, the division seeks to measurably impact success by effectively recruiting, retaining and graduating students.

Our Mission

The division champions student success by effectively recruiting, retaining and graduating students through innovative programs, intentional experiences and exceptional services and facilities to enrich student development and learning in an inclusive community.  

Our Vision

The division aspires to be national leaders in enrollment management and student success. 

Our Core Values

Goals and Strategies

Student Affairs professionals will increase and promote diversity, inclusivity, equity and access in students, employees and social and educational programming.

  1. Implement required programming that educates first-year and transfer students regarding the division's and university's commitment to a climate of respect, civility and free exchange of ideas.
  2. Embed diversity and inclusion as a cross- curricular skill in all programs offered by the Division of Student Affairs and assess effectiveness of efforts to promote diversity and inclusion.
  3. Institute a division-wide Diversity Award Program to recognize, share and promote staff-sponsored and student-sponsored successes in diversity and inclusivity programming. 
  4. Improve access to SDSU by developing and implementing a financial wellness program.
  5. Include professional competency of diversity, inclusion, equity and access in all Student Affairs position descriptions to demonstrate the division's commitment and embed this competency into annual evaluations to hold staff accountable. 

Student Affairs professionals will demonstrate innovative stewardship of human, financial, facility and technological resources and form collaborative partnerships to benefit the university. 

  1. Utilize the Campus Labs Engage module to offer a co-curricular transcript to track and understand student involvement and help develop a database of future potential donors connected to their college experiences. 
  2. Design a centralized onboarding program to foster a shared understanding of university values and traditions and to help new Student Affairs employees prepare, orient, integrate and excel in their new roles. 
  3. Partner with academic colleges comprising the leadership of SDSU Health to create a culture of health and wellness on campus.

Student Affairs professionals will establish an environment that fosters employee well-being as a way to create a healthy work environment and a strategy for providing the best service to students and the university.

  1. Collaborate with campus and community partners to explore development of an affordable, educational and state-licensed on-campus childcare center for students and employees.
  2. Engage with Human Resources to develop a flexible work arrangement guidebook that aligns with SDSU and South Dakota Board of Regents policies to educate staff and supervisors on available options and procedures.
  3. Develop and host a Student Affairs event to celebrate and recognize the successes of Student Affairs professionals.
  4. Study non-financial compensation, benefits and other practices to promote employee job satisfaction.

Student Affairs professionals will embrace a culture of accountability and service that challenges individuals to act in the best interest of students, student success and the university.

  1. Implement consistent customer service standards across the division to ensure any individual interacting with any unit within the division is treated in a welcoming and positive manner. 
  2. Provide extended hours at selected service centers to better accommodate students' schedules.
  3. Conduct audit of division-wide policies and processes to identify and revise/eliminate those that might create unnecessary barriers to student success.
  4. Develop and implement with campus partners strategies to address student food insecurity. 
  5. Collaborate with campus partners to develop and launch a parent information portal with content relevant to this important stakeholder group.
  6. Analyze Student Affairs data to identify at-risk students to engage them earlier in retention efforts. Develop model interventions and assessment platform.

Student Affairs professionals will provide social and educational programming that nurtures individual development, encourages persistence to graduation and prepares students for life and career after college.

  1. Implements a comprehensive and systematic assessment plan to gather data from students who withdraw and who graduate to better inform student success endeavors.
  2. Develop infrastructure/mechanism to achieve Carnegie Community Engagement Classification to demonstrate university's comprehensive commitment to community engagement.
  3. Ensure all departments within the division have a comprehensive assessment plan to measure and report outcomes, establish fiscal priorities and inform future directions of the department for continuous improvement. 

Student Affairs professionals will engage in innovative recruitment efforts that align with the university's Imagine 2023 goals for diversity and overall enrollment levels. 

  1. Implement a comprehensive recruitment and marketing plan to help increase new student enrollment at SDSU.
  2. Prioritize and implement the recommendations of the scholarship task force to increase competitiveness of the university's scholarship program to help achieve enrollment goals.
  3. Articulate concise process for transfer students to create a simple pathway for admission and credit evaluation (e.g., a degree from an accredited institution means all credits within this degree will automatically count at SDSU).
  4. Complete a cost-comparison study of tuition, room and board with selected peer institutions and enrollment competitors and use data to develop recommended rates. 

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YourLocalSecurity.com 2021 safest campus map

YourLocalSecurity.com ranks SDSU No. 1 for third-straight year

For the third-straight year, South Dakota State University has been ranked the safest college campus in South Dakota by YourLocalSecurity.com, an ADT authorized provider and partner of SafeStreets.