The Division of Student Affairs helps support the University of Virginia’s primary purpose of enriching the minds and lives of its students. The division helps promote the intellectual, cultural, personal, and social development of students while enhancing their physical and psychological well-being and accomplishes this mission by:
- Supporting a University environment that promotes students’ intellectual inquiry and responsible decision-making.
- Providing programs and services that support students as they clarify personal values, develop personal identity, grow intellectually, build sound interpersonal relationships, and explore career directions.
- Providing assistance and services to promote diversity, cultural richness, and the full membership of all students within the University community.
- Responding to the different needs of students at their varying stages of intellectual, social, personal, and career development, noting particularly the differences between undergraduate and graduate students.
- Attending to students who may have particular needs related to factors such as minority status, disability, health, financial resources, or nontraditional status, among others.
- Preparing students to be informed and active citizens within our society.
- Teaching, conducting research, as well as training and supervising students who conduct activities on behalf of the division.
Purpose
The Division of Student Affairs works collaboratively to support the University’s primary goal of enriching the minds and lives of all students by promoting programs, services, and interactions that enhance the core values which shape the student experience. Broadly defined, the core values central to the student experience refer to:
Honor: promoting ethical conduct and decision-making, which encourage integrity and civility.
Academic Rigor: teaching critical thinking skills and providing opportunities to apply them in and out of the classroom
Self-governance: collaborating with students and vesting them with ownership in the creation and implementation of/changes to policies and practices, which regulate the community in which they live, while ensuring that basic institutional responsibilities of safety, legality, and fiscal soundness are not compromised. Upholding aspects of personal responsibility including matters of health and wellness, safety and personal conduct.
Public Service: investing time and effort in activities that are essential to participatory citizenship and that enrich the intellectual and social understanding of students who are engaged in service while also benefiting those who receive the service.
Diversity and Multiculturalism: ensuring that students are purposefully immersed in experiences that expose them to different perspectives and provide them with an opportunity to learn. This exposure is premised on the concept of respecting and celebrating individual differences, whether these pertain, for example, to a person’s race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities, economic background, political views, or religious beliefs.
Health and Wellness: promoting students’ physical, mental and emotional well-being.