Student Life

TU students enhance their learning and personal development through programs and services they help create outside of the classroom.  As a result they leave TU prepared for a life of learning, leadership and service in an increasingly diverse global society.

Student helping kids

OpporTUnities to Serve

For the third consecutive year, freshman students at The University of Tulsa were engaged in community service as part of their new student orientation program. During the fall 2008 orientation program, 400 students and 15 faculty/staff mentors spent a half a day engaged in a variety of service projects.

The concepts of community and service are woven heavily into The University of Tulsa’s mission statement. The university provides several service programs and initiatives through the office of student affairs and the Associate Dean and Coordinator of University and Community Services, Michael Mills.

For the third consecutive year, freshman students at The University of Tulsa were engaged in community service as part of their new student orientation program. During the fall 2008 orientation program, 400 students and 15 faculty/staff mentors spent a half a day engaged in a variety of service projects at Kendall-Whittier Elementary School, which is located 4 blocks from TU’s campus.

The majority of students who attend the school are from economically deprived homes and many are Hispanic speaking. The needs of these children are many. Students arrived at the school and worked in teams of 10-15 and provided a wide array of services including: assisting teachers in the classroom with reading, math, etc.; re-shelving library books, cleaning out storage rooms, weeding and mulching flower beds, cleaning in the learning garden, sorting clothes, assembling computer tables, painting murals on walls, and assembling food backpacks. The day was a great success! As a result of interaction with the elementary students, 40 TU students have signed with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Oklahoma to be “Bigs” for the students of Kendall-Whittier School.

In fall of 2007, TU’s student governing body, Student Association, planned the first ever all-campus community service event. The event was chaired by the Student Association’s executive director of community service. The event was scheduled for Saturday, February 23, 2008. On the day of the event, 600 students and 10 faculty/staff members gathered at 8:00 a.m. in the Collins Fitness Center for breakfast and a rally prior to heading out to the various service sites. Each volunteer was provided with a t-shirt and a hooded sweatshirt imprinted with the slogan – “Tulsa Got Served 2008”.

Students were placed in teams of 7-10, based on their interest in working with children, animals, the elderly, the environment, construction, the homeless, etc. At 9:00 a.m. the teams loaded onto buses and were transported to 61 different sites in the Tulsa area including the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Ronald McDonald House, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Up With Trees, Tulsa Humane Society, Goodwill Industries, Day Center for the Homeless, Grace Hospice, Neighbor for Neighbor. The teams worked approximately 4-5 hours and then were transported back to campus. The volunteers returned to the Fitness Center for reflection, a pizza party and entertainment from a local cover band. On October 18, 2008 the Student Association coordinated the 2nd annual all campus service day. The day was again a huge success with over 600 students giving their Saturday up to serve the greater Tulsa community.

In addition to these service programs, the office of student affairs also offers service internships, student organization/ club service activities, work-study outreach programs, and other service opportunities. For more information please contact Michael Mills at michael-mills@utulsa.edu.

We're Here to Serve

Like most college campuses, the phrase “Student Life” at TU refers to the wide array of programs, services, organizations, and activities available outside of the classrooms and laboratories that are designed to complement the academic component of your TU experience. The main goal of the staff members who work with students outside of the classroom is to assure the most positive student life experience possible. In fact we often say that’s the only reason we’re here – because we mean it! These staff members are a part of the University officially known as the division of Enrollment and Student Services.Welcome to Your World

student life students on bikeStudent Life is really the students’ world in a number of ways.  First, it’s where students spend most of their time.  Second, while a wide range of resources and support services are available to students as described throughout this Student Life section of the University’s web site, students play a significant role in shaping TU’s Student Life experiences.  This comes from our philosophy that people support what they help create.  Third, the students’ world at TU is exciting because of its diversity and the opportunity for students to learn from others from many different ethnic and racial backgrounds as well as from many countries.

What's Available?

From TU’s student government known as the Student Association (SA) to the Residence Hall Association (RHA) students are actively involved in creating the out of class environment at TU.  In addition, there are dozens upon dozens of clubs and organizations designed to address students’ interests and enhance their understanding of, and appreciation for, the diversity of the student body.  And getting involved in them is easy.

 

Staying active and physically fit is also easy to do through a wide variety of intramural sports teams, club sports, and by taking advantage of TU’s state of the art Fitness Center.

 

Making the Student Life Experience Count

TU student section goes wild at football game

TU doesn’t just say that it values the Student Life experience.  It backs that up with its Co-curricular Transcript (CCT.)  Like one’s academic transcript, the CCT is an official document of the University modeled after the academic transcript.  The CCT enables students to document their involvement in the out-of- class opportunities of their Student Life experience.  It also enables them to describe the skills they acquired and how their personal development was affected as a result of those experiences.

The CCT not only benefits students while at TU when it is used to support their applications for leadership positions on campus but also as a supplement to their academic transcript and resume when they make plans to leave TU for the first stop in their career or in support of their application for graduate or professional school.