Core Requirement 2.10 (student support services)
The institution provides student support programs, services, and activities consistent with its mission that promote student learning and enhance the development of its students.

Compliance
North Carolina State University is in compliance with this requirement.

Explanation
NC State University provides a variety of student support programs, services, and activities designed to enhance quality of life, facilitate intellectual, ethical and personal growth, and create a culture of respect for human diversity.  These activities are integrated into the academic, athletic, social, and administrative functions of the institution and are designed to address the living and learning needs of the whole student, all of which are important for enhancing student learning. 

The systemic nature of student support at NC State is reflected in the diversity of services and activities available to students.  These efforts are administered through the individual colleges (e.g., Entomology Club, Society for Women Engineers, Leopold Wildlife Club, College of Management Advising and Student Services), through the Provost’s Office (e.g., Office of International Student Support Services), and through the Division of Student Affairs.  The Division of Student Affairs includes 35 units (e.g., Greek Life, National Student Exchange, Student Legal Services, Student Media, the Women’s Center, and University Housing, among others) that focus on various enhancements of the student experience such as quality of life, intellectual development, and personal growth. 

Quality of Life
NC State University is committed to providing quality services to students through such units as University Dining, University Housing, Transportation, Student Legal Services, Disability Services and the office of International Affairs which provides students with assistance in studying abroad, international programs, as well as support services for international students studying at NC State.  To supplement these vital services, the university strives to ensure that students are physically and mentally healthy, therefore it provides facilities, services, and programs to support wellness, including the Counseling Center, Student Health Services, fitness and physical activities, facilities, and programs, and the Chaplains’ Cooperative Ministry.    

Social life and fellowship are also a vital part of the collegiate experience and NC State University supports a variety of organizations and programs that provide students with a supportive community (e.g., Greek Life, Talley Student Center, student organizations, and activities).

Other extracurricular activities at NC State further enrich the quality of student life by providing opportunities to become involved with student media, club and intramural sports, and visual and performing arts. 

Intellectual Development
NC State University is committed to providing educational support services and academic development and enrichment programs that help students reach their maximum potential.  Toward that end, the university provides new student orientation, Web-based advising services, free tutorial services, disability services, distance education and technology services, parents and families services, and international affairs programs.  NC State University also provides students with academic development and enrichment programs to augment their academic experiences (e.g., Educational Talent Search, Multicultural Student Affairs, University Scholars Program, Upward Bound, and student organizations devoted to academic disciplines).

Personal Growth
NC State University supports a number of organizations that are dedicated to broadening students’ horizons and providing opportunities for leadership and civic involvement.  To foster an awareness of diversity, the university supports the Women’s Center and Multicultural Student Affairs, both of which provide awareness programs and services for the campus community.  Students also have many opportunities to develop their leadership potential through Student Government, the Student Center for Leadership, Ethics, and Public Service, Air Force ROTC, Army ROTC, Navy ROTC, scholarship programs that include leadership and service goals including the Caldwell Fellows Program, the Dual Degree Programs, the Park Scholars, and the service-learning initiative.  Professional development of students is facilitated through the Undergraduate Research Symposium, the University Career Center, Preparing the Professoriate for graduate students, and individual college recruiting sessions and career days where representatives from companies, government, and non-profit organizations come to campus to network with students.

Assessment of Student Support Programs, Services, and Activities
To ensure that the student support programs and services are accomplishing their intended outcomes, a variety of assessment practices are employed.  Each year, Institutional Strategy and Analysis conducts surveys of sophomores and graduating seniors on several measures of satisfaction with campus climate and services.  These surveys demonstrate that the student services and programs administered by NC State University are valued resources among students.  Further, the individual offices and programs use the results of this work to identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to increase their effectiveness.

Another vital component of the assessment of student support programs at NC State is the Student Affairs Assessment Taskforce (SAAT), which is charged with making decisions relevant to implementing and using an assessment program to improve the quality of services available to students.  The SAAT also works collaboratively with Undergraduate Assessment in the Division of Undergraduate Affairs to ensure continuous program improvement for all departments serving undergraduate students.  Undergraduate Assessment provides education and consulting services to the individual colleges as well as other university departments regarding ongoing assessment of student learning and development.

Further, although the information presented above emphasizes on-campus services and programs, distance education students are not neglected.  NC State University’s Distance Education department is committed to providing services for distance students that optimize their learning experience, foster intellectual development, and encourage inclusiveness and diversity. Student services for distance students are provided by the same campus entities that support on-campus learning activities, with adaptations as necessary to provide comparable service in the off-campus learning environment.

 

References

• Distance Education at NC State University (http://distance.ncsu.edu/)

• Division of Student Affairs (http://www.ncsu.edu/student_affairs)

• Educational enrichment programs include Educational Talent Search (http://www.ncsu.edu/student_affairs/talent/), Multicultural Student Affairs (http://www.ncsu.edu/msa/), University Scholars Program (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/univ_scholars/), Upward Bound (http://www.ncsu.edu/student_affairs/upward_bound/), student organizations devoted to academic disciplines (http://www.ncsu.edu/sorc/Registered_Groups.html)

• Information on program assessment and student support services is included in Comprehensive Standards: Institutional Mission, Governance and Effectiveness #16 (http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/auth/compliance/standards/governance_16.htm) and Comprehensive Standards: Educational Programs #9 (http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/auth/compliance/standards/program_9.htm)

• Intellectual development programs and services include new student orientation (http://www.ncsu.edu/undergrad_affairs/nso/), virtual advising (http://www.ncsu.edu/advising_central/), free tutorial services (http://www.ncsu.edu/tutorial_center/), disability services (http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/offices/affirm_action/dss/), distance education and technology services (http://www.ncsu.edu/student_affairs/dets/index.html), parents and families services (http://www.ncsu.edu/for_students/for_parents/), international affairs programs (http://www.ncsu.edu/ipo/students.html)

• Leadership and service activities include Student Government (http://students.ncsu.edu/index.php), the Student Center for Leadership, Ethics, and Public Service (http://csleps.ncsu.edu/), Air Force ROTC (http://www.ncsu.edu/airforce_rotc/intro.html), Army ROTC (http://www.ncsu.edu/army_rotc/), Navy ROTC (http://www.ncsu.edu/navy_rotc/), Caldwell Fellows Program (http://www.ncsu.edu/ncsu/fellows/), the Dual Degree Programs (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/univ_scholars/dual.html), the Park Scholars (http://www.ncsu.edu/park_scholarships/), the service-learning initiative (http://www.ncsu.edu/fctl/Initiatives/Service-Learning/)

• Personal growth services include the Women’s Center (http://www.ncsu.edu/womens_center/) and Multicultural Student Affairs (http://www.ncsu.edu/msa/) 

• Physical and mental wellness programs include the Counseling Center (http://www.ncsu.edu/counseling_center/), Student Health Services (http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/health/), fitness and physical activities, facilities, and programs (http://www.ncsu.edu/campus_rec/), and the Chaplains’ Cooperative Ministry (http://www.ncsu.edu/for_students/ccm/)

• Professional development opportunities include the Undergraduate Research Symposium (http://www.ncsu.edu/ugrs/), the University Career Center (http://www.ncsu.edu/career/), Preparing the Professorate (http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad/ptp/)

• Social life, fellowship and extracurricular activities include  Greek Life (http://www.ncsu.edu/greek_life/about.html), Talley Student Center (http://www.ncsu.edu/student_center/), student organizations (http://www.ncsu.edu/sorc/), student activities (http://www.ncsu.edu/activities/), student media (http://www.ncsu.edu/student_media.html), club and intramural sports (http://www.ncsu.edu/campus_rec/), visual and performing arts (http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/Arts/)

• University Planning and Analysis surveys of sophomores (http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/reports/sophtrend/sophtrend_report.htm) and graduating seniors (http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/reports/gsstrend/gsstrend_report.htm), the Student Affairs Assessment Taskforce (http://www2.ncsu.edu/student_affairs/saat/about.html)  and the Division of Undergraduate Affairs’ Undergraduate Assessment (http://www.ncsu.edu/undergrad_affairs/assessment/assess.htm)

• Vital basic services are provided by University Dining (http://www.ncsu.edu/dining/), University Housing (http://www.ncsu.edu/housing/index.php), Transportation (http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/trans/transit/index.html), Student Legal Services (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/stud_affairs/legal_services/), Disability Services (http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/offices/affirm_action/dss/), and the Office of International Affairs (http://www.ncsu.edu/ipo/students.html)