University of Houston Division of Student Affairs - 2021–2022 Annual Report - University of Houston
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Student Success

Students pursuing degrees at the University of Houston face many challenges — some they may find insurmountable. But the Division of Student Affairs is dedicated to helping students succeed, all the way from enrollment to graduation.

We advocate for everyone from future Coogs to those who have joined the UH community. We also help with scholarships, financial aid, and employment, while also providing academic opportunities that will empower students — especially those more vulnerable populations — to achieve academic, personal and professional success.

We strive to help students succeed!

The global pandemic has been a challenging ordeal for everyone; the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) remains focused on continuing to deliver exceptional programming to help our students become successful. We applaud our students for their commitment to achieving their educational dreams and commend them for not allowing the challenges of the pandemic to hold them back. The (DSA) is equally committed to helping Coogs reach their educational and professional objectives through our programs, resources, and financial support. We believe that the success of our students is our success as a division, beneficial for the University of Houston, and a positive contribution to the community.

The Division of Student Affairs team continues to provide students with the tools to move forward as they pursue their goals. We encourage students to give back to their community through service which helps not only the student but society. The Center for Student Involvement (CSI) has guided our students to become engaged in service through the President’s Student Volunteer Services (PVSA) awards and has increased participation in FY22 by 80 percent. This program is a premier volunteer awards program that encourages citizens to live a life of service through presidential gratitude and national recognition. The PVSA awards are awarded annually based on service hours that the students log between April 1st through March 31st each year. CSI used the “Get Involved” system where students can submit their hours. This allows our students to learn the importance of giving back while receiving recognition from the President. Their service contributes to the overall impact of the University of Houston (UH) and every student's contribution makes a difference.

The Division of Student Affairs (DSA) also believes in empowering our students by engaging in experiential learning. This allows our students to connect theories and knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world situations. The Center for Student Media (CSM) is a department where students take the reins through UH student-driven media outlets to gain hands on experience. CSM supports student-driven expression through newspaper publications, radio broadcasting, and video production. Our CSM department has three major student-run media outlets, The Cougar, Coog Radio, and CoogTV. The Cougar, which is published every Wednesday during the Fall and Spring semesters is also featured online daily. This printed and online newspaper focuses on news, sports, life, and arts, and has an opinion page, which is a student editorial page that allows students to voice their opinion on many topics. Our CoogRadio, a University of Houston Radio channel, boasts student radio shows that allow students to become on-air personalities while in college. CoogTV allows students to discuss sports, news, entertainment, life, and the arts through their unique perspectives. This student-run TV station provides students a creative outlet to create meaningful videos for the University that have three main objectives: drive members to become part of the organization, promote CoogTV among students and the public to grow viewership, and highlight our free movie services to the University of Houston (UH) student population. These media outlets are managed by our students with guidance from the CSM staff and drive revenue from advertising sales from FY22 of $98,083. The CSM promotes innovative programming techniques through our media outlets that provide our students with hands-on skills to help them to become competitive in their respective fields and encourage them to be their best.

One of our students who exemplifies a willingness to be the absolute best is the University of Houston, Legacy Award winner and student, Sarah Khan. Sarah Khan wrote a testimonial in response to the help and assistance she received from our International Student and Scholar Services Office (ISSSO) Director, Dr. Jin Zhang. Sarah stated, “Thank you! I am nothing without your encouragement, kindness, help, and inspiration! So thankful to you for everything I am thankful for you having faith in me, encouraging me, and believing in me. I received three awards and was a Dean’s Award Finalist!”

New Name for Urban Experience Program

The Center for Student Empowerment is the new name for the Urban Experience Program (UEP). The Director, Dr. Raven Jones, said, “the new name better reflects the mission for the Center by acknowledging “empowerment” in our name makes our core work more visible to our stakeholders, including the UH family, prospective students, and industry partners in the Houston community.” The Center for Student Empowerment will continue with the same mission to help traditionally underserved students on their path to graduation at the University of Houston. The programs and services will remain focused on helping students with financial and academic challenges, create opportunities for students to build their personal, social, and professional skills, and foster a space where all are welcomed to meet their potential.

The program was originally founded in 1994 with a five-year plan. The initial plan was to recruit, retain, and propel Black and Latino students toward a degree. It started with just 50 students but has expanded its reach to over 600 students and a more diverse population. The Center for Student Empowerment (CSE) is about connecting students to the many academic, social, and financial resources available to them at the University of Houston. It is a place on campus where students can connect, build a sense of belonging, get support in creating holistic plans for success, engage in skill-building, social programs, and build lasting friendships.

The Center for Student Empowerment (CSE) focus is to support students with scholarship resources, internships, and enhanced campus services, but it now also offers help with grant opportunities, mentoring, off-campus work-study jobs, volunteering opportunities, and financial empowerment seminars. The goal of CSE is to offer extra support to students to allow them to be as successful as their peers who may not have had as many obstacles. This program is helping students become more successful as indicated in our FY22 comparable data analysis that found that underserved students who have participated in the CSE programs, GPAs increased from an average of 2.3 to an outcome of 3.0. The data also revealed retention rates increased from 38-45% to a staggering 88-95%. The data along with our formal name change reflects our longstanding values that “empowerment” is a belief that we promote at the center and to our students. This is one of the many ways we are delivering on our promise to provide our students with “The Cougar Experience.”

Cougars in Recovery

Success can be measured in multiple ways and conquering addiction and becoming a successful student is one way. The Cougars in Recovery (CIR) department’s mission is to redefine the college experience for students in and seeking recovery from substance use and mental health disorders through recovery support services, community events, and professional leadership development. CIR’s vision is to create an environment where recovering students experience a reclamation of agency in education, self-efficacy, leadership, and professional opportunities. The CIR places values on community, connection, support, engagement, stewardship, empowerment, accountability, and respect.

Addiction can be hard to overcome for anyone and when that person is a student it can place additional stress on some students. The Cougars in Recovery department provides students who are recovering from addiction with a safe and sober place to help them as they pursue their academic and professional goals. This is in combination with helping them with their recovery process and participating in engagement activities on campus. Through learning, engagement, and discovery, Cougars in Recovery creates an atmosphere where students' success can be ensured. CIR helps attain this by providing students in recovery from substance use and co-occurring disorders the complete college experience without dependency on drugs and alcohol.

We realize that students struggle with dependency, which is why we offer CIR weekly Community Check-in, a peer-to-peer process group. This gives the students a safe space to share their struggles, accomplishments, and receive supportive feedback. We also host an annual collegiate recovery conference to collaborate with students in recovery nationwide while enriching their recovery. Students also participate in an Outdoor Adventure Learning Experience offered in Fall and Spring, where students travel to a National or State Park to camp and hike. During these types of engagement activities, students learn to incorporate leadership development, team building, and participate in recovery meetings.

During FY22, Cougar in Recovery (CIR) raised $23,500 to help our students in recovery. The CIR team raised $10,000 during the Annual Graduation Celebration and the remaining $13,500 was raised through individual donors without solicitation. The CIR uses these donations for scholarships and to host recovery events for students to give them a sense of belonging. The funding also helps CIR’s Source of Strength (SOS) program which is a philosophy based on three pillars: leadership, community, and academics. Through these pillars, we help students cultivate, strengthen, and refine their leadership potential, interpersonal effectiveness, and self-confidence. Students who participate in SOS can expect a powerful sense of community among peers and anticipation of skills that will enhance success in their academics.

The Source of Strength (SOS) program also offers a mentorship program, and the learning outcomes help the mentee demonstrate interpersonal effectiveness, including communication and interpersonal relationships. The mentee will learn valuable life skills such as time management and study skills. We help our mentees explore career opportunities by discovering their interests and opportunities for the future. We also help them have more confidence in self-efficacy.

The benefits that Cougars in Recovery offers our students at the University of Houston are numerous. We have highlighted our signature programs that help our students learn more about how to become leaders, gain lifelong friendships, enhance their recovery, build their resumes, network, and earn a place in the Outdoor Leadership Program. The culmination of students participating in these programs is recognized at the annual Graduation Celebration where they are also invited to share their personal recovery journey while they completed their degree.

FY 22 Student Success by The Numbers: