STUDENT GOVERNANCE & ORGANIZATIONS
UT ARLINGTON
The Office of Student Governance and Organizations supports maximizing student learning through active participation by students. Our activities involve students not only in supporting the University community but also in determining the community environment. Student Government has been a part of the University since 1922, and our areas have grown to encompass additional programs which also foster and encourage leadership and civic engagement.
2004-2006 Highlights and Accomplishments
It is easy to see that Student Congress and the Graduate Student Senate continued their rich history of student involvement in the decision-making processes of UT Arlington and that Constituent Councils showed a strong commitment to developing programs for students in each school/college.
Student Congress:
◘ Passed the Student Life Initiative to increase funds used for campus programs by $250,000.
◘ Designated UTA as an Early Voting Site for National Elections.
◘ Passed the “Early Move-In” resolution after two years of work, which will be implemented in Fall 2006. This resolution helped students move into residence halls early, giving students more time to get ready for the first days of school.
The Graduate Student Senate:
◘ Assisted in the Annual Celebration of Excellence by Students (ACES) program, a research presentation program at UT Arlington.
◘ Wrote a leave-of-absence policy for graduate students.
◘ Increased its membership in 2005-2006 from under 15 students to 45.
◘ Hosted a human subjects seminar.
◘ Passed a resolution for graduate student representation on University of Texas System Student Advisory Council every other year.
◘ Passed a resolution granting additional printing privileges (number of prints available without cost) for graduate students in their final semester, benefiting those students as they strive to finish projects and theses.
Constituent Councils:
◘ The JCCA (Joint Council for Architecture Students) hosted a job fair with over 40 companies present.
◘ The BCC (Business Constituent Council) expanded Business Week from previous years increasing the number of programs benefiting students.
◘ The ECC (Education Constituent Council) brought the Holiday Heights Elementary School from Birdville ISD to perform a holiday choir concert on campus.
◘ The JCEO (Joint Council for Engineering Organizations) hosted their first Youth Leadership Forum with Arlington area middle school students.
◘ The HCC (Honors College Council) hosted a U.N. People Speak Debate about U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.
◘ The LACC (Liberal Arts Constituent Council), in conjunction with the UT Arlington Libraries and EX.C.E.L. Campus Activities, brought O.K. Carter to speak on campus about the history of the University and its relationship with the City of Arlington.
◘ The NCC (Nursing Constituent Council) changed the timelines for their HESI (Health Education System, Inc. Admission Assessment) exams, increasing HESI testing opportunities for students during their graduation semester.
◘ The SCC (Science Constituent Council) developed Jepparfortune, a new tradition similar to the Science Weakest Link program, both of which were “scientific twists” of recently popular television game shows.
◘ The SWCC (Social Work Constituent Council) showcased the efforts of Korean, Vietnamese, Native American, and African American contributions to civil rights with a “A Mosaic of Alliances” display.
◘ Combined, the Councils produced over 100 programs and events and provided approximately 70 students to serve on University committees.
Three of our components focus on new students – Freshman Leaders on Campus, or FLOC, UTA-HOSTS!, and a collaborative program, the Leadership Commonwealth. Freshman Leaders on Campus (FLOC) refined the role of advisors and developed new ways to assess the leadership learning taking place with that involvement. UTA-HOSTS!, our peer mentoring program that matches new or transfer students with returning students, continued to be a strong program affecting students’ performance positively. The Leadership Commonwealth, continued to be an effective collaborative effort with the Office of Campus Activities and Community Programs, by involving students in a leadership Freshman Interest Group, or a Residential Living and Learning Community. These students studied leadership in a variety of ways on campus and attended classes as a cohort.
Freshman Leaders on Campus:
◘ Incorporated a student advisor system and established a retreat format for membership orientation and development.
◘ Showed that in 2005-2006, 35 of 36 2004-2005 FLOC students became connected at UTA through involvement in different organizations.
◘ Co-facilitated a leadership forum with the Arlington Chamber of Commerce for emerging high school leaders.
◘ Held a reunion for participants of FLOC’s first four years, honoring the inaugural members of the organization.
UTA-HOSTS! (Helping Other Students to Succeed) Mentoring Program:
◘ Developed on-line mentor training with the use of Web C.T.
◘ Numbered over 1000 students in 2005-2006, with 396 mentors and 677 mentees.
The Leadership Commonwealth:
◘ Held the highest number of co-curricular hours for all Residential Learning Communities in 2004-2005, as well as the highest number of office hours with their faculty mentor. Students in the Leadership Commonwealth were more involved and spent more time with their faculty mentor than those in other Freshman Interest Groups.
◘ Sponsored Monster.com – Ultimate Road Trip program for new students for two years.
Another two of our components focus on University history and tradition. The UTA Ambassadors sought new ways to add to the sense of community on campus and encourage general knowledge of UT Arlington’s rich history. The Homecoming Committee, chaired in the Office of Student Governance and Organizations, worked toward similar goals. Plans for Homecoming 2007 include the addition of a Library exhibit, a residence hall competition, and increased involvement of the community in a concert, the Step Show, and the Homecoming Basketball Game.
Mr. & Ms. UTA and the UTA Ambassadors:
◘ Created the Ambassador Endowed Scholarship.
◘ Initiated the UT Arlington Swap Program, in which students “swapped” t-shirts and hats from other universities for UT Arlington t-shirts and hats.
◘ Led the CPR-Arlington program, recruiting over 200 participants from UT Arlington.
◘ Published and distributed the Traditions and Transitions book, providing campus traditions and historical information.
◘ Taught the Upward Bound Leadership Skills Class, educating participants about UT Arlington and various areas of leadership.
◘ Increased the number of Ambassadors from twenty to twenty-five.
Homecoming:
◘ Held the Blue and White Bash, which in 2006 included “Rent,” Karaoke, Bowling and Billiards, caricature artists, free food, an Irish pub, a casino, live band and a mentalist.
◘ Crowned the Homecoming King and Queen at the annual basketball game.
◘ Honored the three newest members of the Military Science Hall of Honor at the Induction Ceremony and Reception.
◘ Hosted the Blue and White Fashion Show, featuring student organizations, faculty, staff, alumni, and campus departments “strutting their stuff.” The Student Alumni Association held their raffle drawing for free tuition at the show.
◘ Welcomed alumni at the Student Leader Alumni reception.
◘ Featured UTA step teams in the Homecoming Step Show. The winners in 2006 were: 1st place – Black Student Association, 2nd place – Omega Psi Phi, and 3rd place – Alpha Phi Alpha.
◘ Held the Homecoming Chili Cook-off, featuring the cooking skills of student organizations, faculty, and staff. Winners were: Best Chili – Vietnamese Student Association, Chili Spirit – Delta Delta Delta, People’s Choice – FIJI, and Best Presentation – Career Services.
Our final component is student organizations. From 2004 to 2006, the number of student organizations at UT Arlington grew to number 280, and Student Governance and Organizations renewed their focus of providing quality services for these organizations.
UTA Student Organizations:
◘ Registered 280 organizations with approximately 10,000 involved students.
◘ Welcomed 24 new organizations to UT Arlington during 2004-2005, and 26 more organizations in the 2005-2006 year.
◘ Formulated an on-line facility use reservation system for student organizations to use with the Office of Student Governance and Organizations.
◘ Published the Handbook for Student Organizations online.
Initiatives
As the Office of Student Governance and Organizations has been to make processes more efficient for students and provide additional assistance to our organizations during the past two years, our future goals will be much the same. The Office will be working to refine the on-line system currently in place for campus room reservations and to develop one for outdoor reservations. In looking to the future, we are also proposing office space for student organizations and increasing services to student organization advisors.