Division of Student Services
The University’s non-academic student support programs, services, and activities operate under the supervision of the Division of Student Affairs, the goal of which is to provide students with the opportunity to grow socially and culturally. Headed by the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management & Student Affairs, the Division of Student Affairs oversees and coordinates the operations of the following offices:
CARE Team
The CARE (Coordination, Assessment, Response, and Education) Team exists to assist with any situation that could potentially disrupt a student's academic or social wellbeing. The CARE Team is led by the Dean of Students and includes representatives from Student Engagement, Student Success, Residential Life, Athletics, Safety & Security, and Counseling Services. When a student experiences a crisis, the student will be assisted by the Behavioral Intervention Team, a sub-committee of the CARE Team. Concerns for a student’s mental, physical, or emotional health can be submitted to the CARE Team online at utsouthern.edu/care-team. A member of the CARE Team is on call to respond to emergencies. CARE on Call can be reached at 931-309-1670.
Counseling & Health Services
Campus health services are provided by the University Clinic. The Clinic provides primary care and preventive care in addition to care for acute and chronic health issues. Counseling services are also available to all students. A professional counselor provides free counseling and supportive services.
For all emergencies, the local emergency room will be used. Emergency room expenses are borne by the student, and the university encourages all students who do not have a health insurance plan to consider enrolling in one.
Disability Services
The University provides reasonable accommodations (academic adjustments and auxiliary aids) to ensure equal access to educational content and university programs for students with disabilities. Any student eligible for and requesting accommodations due to a disability must document the disability and the request for reasonable accommodations with the appropriate personnel:
1. For Reasonable Academic Accommodations, contact the Office of Academic Affairs, who maintains the files and shares the appropriate or recommended accommodations to the faculty teaching the student, with the student’s permission.
2. For Reasonable Non-Academic Accommodations, contact the Office of Student Affairs, who maintains the files and shares the appropriate or recommended accommodations to the appropriate University personnel (i.e. Residential Life staff), with the student’s permission.
All reasonable accommodations are individualized and based on the nature of the documented disability and the requirements of specific courses and/or activities. Accommodations are designed to meet the needs of students without fundamentally altering the nature of the University’s instructional programs and/or facilities.
1. Below are examples of commonly requested academic accommodations:
• Extended time on exams
• Testing in a distraction-limited environment
• Use of computer for in-class written work
• Preferential classroom seating
• Permission to record lectures to supplement note-taking
• Services for students with temporary conditions, such as concussion, broken leg/arm, or surgery recovery
2. Below are examples of commonly requested non-academic accommodations:
• Emotional support animals
• Housing access accommodations
• Services for students with temporary conditions, such as concussion, broken leg/arm, or surgery recovery
The Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management & Student Affairs and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs consult with each other regularly to make sure the student is being served appropriately. Information regarding accommodations is also placed on every syllabus published by the University.
Veteran Services
UT Southern is fully approved by the State Approving Agency to provide training under the Vocational Rehabilitation and War Orphans’ Assistance programs, the Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966 and the Veterans Educational Assistance Program. UT Southern is approved by the Tennessee State Approving Agency for the training of veterans and their eligible dependents.
Veterans seeking admission to the University should notify the Director of Financial Aid concerning eligibility under the various chapters of the G.I. Bill. All applicants for benefits are subject to Veterans’ Admiration approval. Please request a Certificate of Eligibility from benefits.va.gov/benefits/ and submit to the Financial Aid Office. Veteran benefit recipients will not be penalized for any delayed VA benefit payment. A VA benefit recipient, whether a veteran or a dependent of a veteran, must complete a “Request to Certify VA Benefits” form at the beginning of each semester. Veteran’s Benefits are also available to all qualifying students at UT Southern. Students may wish to connect with UT Southern’s Military and Veterans Affairs Coordinator at wpruett3@utsouthern.edu.
Financial Aid assistance for veterans is available in the Office of Financial. All students planning to enter under provisions of a veterans’ educational program are urged to apply to the appropriate agency for necessary authorization well in advance of their registration date.
Student Food Bank
The Student Food Bank seeks to alleviate the barriers and challenges associated with food insecurity and hunger so that students can remain in school and ultimately earn their degrees. The Student Food Bank promotes the academic success of students dealing with food insecurity by providing a reliable source of food on-campus that is free of charge to current UT Southern students. The Student Food Bank is located on the second floor of the Guthrie Student Life Center.
Student Engagement
The Office of Student Engagement helps students enhance their University experience by offering events, programs, and projects that are personally engaging for every student. Staff is available in the Guthrie Student Life Center to help students connect via events, activities, civic engagement, community service, wellness initiatives, clubs and organizations, intramural sports, and more.
Intramural Sports
The University offers opportunities for all students to participate in intramural sports throughout the year, including water polo, racquetball, volleyball, flag football, basketball, ultimate frisbee, power puff flag football, dodgeball, soccer, and softball. Varsity athletes are not allowed to play in the same intramural sport in which they are receiving a scholarship for during the school year.
Clubs & Organizations
Student organizations are voluntary associations of UT Southern students, which are legally separate entities from the University. Student organizations are student initiated and student run. Student organizations that are registered with the University through the Office of Student Affairs have access to certain University-controlled benefits and resources, such as facilities use and funding eligibility. More information on Student Organizations is available online at utsouthern.edu/registered-student-organizations.
Steps to Register a Student Organization
Step 1: Recruit student members.
Step 2: Find an Advisor.
Step 3: Create a Constitution and Bylaws, using available samples to guide the completion of this paperwork.
Step 4: Submit New Student Organization Application.
Step 5: Receive approval or denial with instructions on next steps.
An organization is on provisional status until it is approved by Student Affairs for conditional chartered status. During provisional status, organizations cannot use the college name, cannot fundraise, and cannot sponsor or promote programs. The primary privilege of an organization on provisional status is the ability to meet as an organization for the purpose of creating or revising the charter application and its subsequent forms.
No student organizations, which have any restrictive clauses with regard to race, color, creed, or national origin will be granted recognition. No student or organization of the University shall engage in hazing or committing an act that injures, frightens, degrades, or disgraces a person attending the university. Students and/or organizations involved in hazing shall be subject to disciplinary action per the Student Code.
All RSOs are expected to maintain a minimum of five (5) currently enrolled UT Southern students as active members. Membership in registered student organizations shall be limited to currently enrolled students of the University. Accurate membership records must be maintained with Division of Student Affairs and updated annually. All RSOs are required to have a full-time UT Southern faculty or staff member an advisor. All RSOs must also meet the requirements below:
• Attendance at Annual Presidents Meeting
• Meet Programming Requirements
• Complete the Annual Re-Registration Process
• Complete the Charter Review every four years
All Registered Student Organizations are responsible for knowledge of and adherence to the policies and processes described in the Student Organization Procedures & Guidelines. This document is available online at utsouthern.edu/registered-student-organizations.
Student Union
The Starnes Student Union contains the dining hall, the student resource center, the cafe, a study room with computers, and student gathering spaces. The Mail Services office is located in the Starnes Student Union. In order to receive a student mail box, students must complete an application; mail boxes are not automatically assigned. Students will receive e-mails (usually via their student university e-mail address) whenever they have a package.
Residential Life
The Office of Residential Life seeks to provide residents with the opportunity to take their college experience beyond the walls of the classroom while helping residents continue to grow and develop by living in community with others. All full-time students under the age of 21 and enrolled in at least 12 hours of coursework each semester are required to live on campus or at home with a parent, legal guardian, sibling (over the age of 25), or grandparent within a 40 mile radius of campus. All students must complete an application through the Office of Residential Life, either for on-campus housing or for off-campus residency. All residential students board at the Dining Hall, located in the Student Union Building. Meals are provided at regular, stated hours seven days per week (see Dining Service).
Dining Services
The Dining Hall and FireHawk Café are operated by a contracted food service company, and are located in the Student Union Building. If you have any questions, concerns, or requests, please contact the General Manager, whose office is located in the Dining Hall.
Student Government
The student body is represented in the governing of life at the University through elected representatives who compose the Student Government Association (SGA). See Appendix B: Student Government Association Constitution for details on the operations of SGA at UT Southern.
Title IX
UT Southern is committed to creating and maintaining a safe and non-discriminatory learning, living, and working environment free from Sexual Harassment (including Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking), Sexual Exploitation, and Retaliation (collectively, “Prohibited Conduct”). Prohibited Conduct will not be tolerated and will be grounds for disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the University and termination of employment.
UT Southern’s Title IX Policy, including definitions of specific conduct and investigation processes and procedures, as well as the most up-to-date information on resources and contacts, is available at utsouthern.edu/about/title-ix/.
Title IX Coordinator
The University’s Title IX Coordinator is
Sarah Catherine Richardson
931-424-4073
scrich@utsouthern.edu
Guthrie Student Life Center
420 W. Madison Street
Pulaski, TN 38478
Anti-Harassment Policy
UT Southern is committed to an environment that recognizes the worth and dignity of every person while striving to foster tolerance, sensitivity, and mutual respect. The university therefore prohibits employees from engaging in acts of harassment on the basis of sex, which includes harassment based on gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity, as required by state or federal law. The university further prohibits discriminatory harassment based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and any other category protected by federal or state law. Employees are prohibited from engaging in sexual and other discriminatory harassment, regardless of whether such conduct is directed at another employee, a student, a vendor, or a visitor to campus.
Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act
The federal government requires that any person classified and registered as a state sex offender must notify the state of any institution of higher education in which the offender is a student or an employee. UT Southern will disclose, within ten days, information concerning sex offenders that it receives under state sex offender registration and community notification programs. The disclosure will be by e-mail to students and employees.
Reporting a Complaint
The University requires immediate reporting of all perceived incidents of Prohibited Conduct, even if involving someone other than the reporter of the conduct. Although a complaint may be made verbally, it is preferable for the complaint to be reduced to written form, signed by the person making the complaint. Prohibited Conduct should be reported to the Title IX Coordinator, Sarah Catherine Richardson, at scrich@utsouthern.edu, 931-424-4073, or in person at the Guthrie Student Life Center.
Anti-Retaliation Policy
The University prohibits retaliation against any individual for making a complaint of any form of harassment or for participating as a witness or otherwise participating in a harassment investigation. Employees and faculty can raise concerns, make reports and participate in investigations without fear of reprisal or retaliation.
Sanctions that may result from any act that could be reasonably considered retaliation for making a complaint or participating in the investigation process may include separation from the University.
Safety and Security
Homeland Security Act
UT Southern maintains contact with the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security and follows guidelines issued by that office.
Campus Security Information
UT Southern participates in Uniform Crime Reporting to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) using the TBI Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS). In accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security and Campus Crime Statistics Act, UT Southern publishes an Annual Security and Fire Report. Copies of the Annual Security and Fire Report are available upon request, and can be found online at utsouthern.edu/campus-safety-security/. A copy of the statistics for UT Southern in the Crime on Campus Report published annually by the TBI is available upon request. Please contact the Campus Security Office for a copy.