Strategic Priorities

Mission
NYU Student Affairs cultivates our students’ transformative growth and contributions by providing student-centered resources and engagement opportunities and fostering a University community that supports development, wellbeing, and belonging.

Vision
Our NYU students form meaningful bonds, thrive in our global community, and lead fulfilling lives with impact — today and in the future.

Values
Division of Student Affairs is committed to being a diverse and collaborative organization in which all members are valued, engaged, and supported to contribute to the mission and grow as professionals. Together, we embody the following values:

Authenticity

We practice courage to be vulnerable with one another and our students and to clearly communicate in ways that consider the individual and our context.

Holistic Approach

We strive to understand and serve the whole person with coordinated offerings that address the multiple dimensions of their experience.

Empathy

We work intentionally to gain an understanding of each other’s lived experience and use this knowledge to better support and advocate for colleagues and students.

Inclusion

We affirm the diverse backgrounds and contributions of all members of the NYU community in order to build a culture of belonging and to address inequities through accessible programs and services.

Growth

We provide opportunities for reflection and learning that enable us to fulfill our potential as individuals and as a collective.

Strategic Priorities

Community & Connections

Our students and staff co-construct the culture of the NYU Division of Student Affairs to center an ethic of care that affirms all members of our global community. Together we proactively foster community belonging and sustain meaningful relationships grounded in care, curiosity, empathy, and respect. Our students and staff engage effectively with one another in moments of both tension and celebration.

Goals

Students and staff engage in activities that cultivate a sense of belonging and strengthen community member’s connections with each other and NYU through cross-divisional collaboration and convenings.
A cross-functional team of student affairs staff and campus partners exists that is focused on fostering an early sense of student belonging. The team gathers and analyzes data to inform a comprehensive understanding of both the known and unknown aspects related to a students' sense of belonging using an approach that enhances wellbeing by empowering students to use their unique strengths to build community.
Student Affairs facilitates Restorative Practice foundational training so that our staff members feel empowered to lead community building efforts. By centering identity based engagement, we are able to embrace and promote the cultural differences of our diverse global network.

Milestones Completed AY 2022-23

Establish a Restorative Practices Steering Committee.
Pilot elements of proactive community building across the Division.
Identify the hand-off and connection between restorative practices, the Student Affairs Professional Development Committee, subcommittees, and partnerships.
Establish an outcome for the Pro Devo Committee related to community-building.

A purple icon of a bar graph with a magnifying glass.

Evidence-Informed Decision Making

A clear culture of evidence-informed decision making in the NYU Division of Student Affairs, in student and staff-facing work, is predicated on every member of the Division understanding data as opportunities to ensure efficient budgeting, identify effective programs, promote continuous improvement and share the NYU stories of students and staff. As a result of amply provided tools and training, staff intentionally identify measurable operational and student learning outcomes for all programs and initiatives.

We share data widely and encourage units to collaborate and scale efforts. We communicate decision-making processes, and progress updates throughout the division. Staff have room to take risks, experiment, and cut losses when developing and implementing accountability measures and assessments for improvement that go beyond stakeholder satisfaction. Together, this facilitates our ability to highlight the good work that contributes to student and staff engagement, learning, collaboration, and retention.

Goals

The processes and transparency of decision making in the division are supported by use of Fair Process from the Restorative Practices toolbox. Important data about the division are collected and shared with staff through Key Performance Indicators, Key Success Indicators and other data dashboards easily accessed by constituent staff members.
Staff receive appropriate resources and training to be able to use data/evidence for continuous improvement of their processes and programs for zero-based budgeting. In addition, professional staff receive resources and professional development opportunities to promote the “scholar/practitioner” model of Student Affairs work, where staff are expected to engage in practice informed by evidence.
Each unit has the resources it needs to understand student responses to programs by race/ethnic groups, sex and gender, and other important characteristics. This allows staff to tailor experiences for potentially underserved populations to promote equity of outcomes in all NYU Student Affairs programs.

Milestones Completed AY 2022-23

Identify existing data training resources (including data collection, analysis, and visualization) and determine gaps.
Conduct a baseline assessment of Divisional and unit culture.
Develop a publicly available progress report for the strategic plan.

Global IDBEA

Global Inclusion, Diversity, Belonging, Equity, and Access (Global IDBEA) serves as a vital foundation to build community, inspire thoughtful engagement, and foster mutual understanding among students, staff, and administrators in the areas of Student Affairs, Global Programs, and Global Services. Individually and collectively we gracefully hold ourselves accountable for doing the work needed to advance GIDBEA.

Goals

Community members and constituents are respected and their voices are amplified through authentic connections.
Our programs, resources and policies embrace historically marginalized and excluded communities.
Collaboration and partnerships with University colleagues are sustained, recognized and celebrated.
Unit GIDBEA Action Plans are effectively prepared, implemented, and selectively assessed to provide meaningful insights for future planning and innovation.

Milestones Completed AY 2022-23

Launch the Divisional Global IDBEA Advisory Board.
Create a departmental representative body that will support the Departmental-level action plans.

Navigation & Access

The Division of Student Affairs leverages shared technology and a user-centric/audience-first culture with students at its core. Every individual easily finds and accesses the opportunities, resources and information they need, when and ideally before they need them. This enhances the overall NYU experience and supports the success of students and staff.

Goals

Staff utilizes an internal system that fosters synergy across the separate units that provides more clarity, less overlap, and greater collaboration among team members.
A common culture across all information dissemination points exists where the needs and perspectives of the audience, especially students, direct the content, medium or method used, and timing of communications.
Student Affairs has a unified technology system that allows staff to reach out to specific audiences based on both general and unique identifiers. This will allow students and other audiences to receive relevant, timely, and actionable information that should be focused on services and programs.
User-friendly digital platforms have successfully empowered students to customize, control, and organize their information. Navigation is a uniquely personalized experience.

Milestones Completed AY 2022-23

Draft a set of clear Division-wide criteria that information must meet that governs editorial decision making.
Adopt universal usage of a communications & engagement project management tool within GP/UL to understand what we are sending to whom/when/how.

Student & Professional Development

All students have equitable opportunities for personal, leadership and career development that empower them to discover meaningful paths for themselves, effectively navigate their educational experience and successfully transition to a rewarding life and career with impact after graduation. NYU Student Affairs colleagues have consistent and equitable opportunities for professional development that enhance their skills and promote expertise that provide a foundation on which we build a comprehensive student development ecosystem.

Goals

Students engage in co-curricular opportunities that are aligned with their interests and progressively develop the skills they need to achieve their goals.
Students build strong networks of peers, alumni, staff and faculty and engage with them to explore diverse pathways at NYU and for their futures.
Staff across the Division of Student Affairs operate within a shared vision and framework for student development by identifying how their work contributes to our vision and building new opportunities that align with the framework.
By participating in professional development activities, staff and committee members strengthen their networks and build community amongst colleagues.

Milestones Completed AY 2022-23

Complete inventory of NYU leadership programs.
Share inventory findings and recommendations with Division.
Define shared student development framework with Student Affairs units.
Launch two career hubs to help students engage in experiential learning opportunities that integrate high impact practices.
Identify a technology that can integrate across units to allow students to track skill development.

Wellbeing & Flourishing

Student Affairs cultivates a supportive and inclusive university environment in which all students feel cared for and empowered with the resilience necessary to flourish during their University years and beyond.

Goals

Important coping and resilience skills to promote student wellbeing are presented across Student Affairs units.
Peer support programs to safely and effectively promote student wellbeing are implemented across Student Affairs units.
Excellent, state-of-the-art clinical services are accessible to students who need them.

Milestones Completed AY 2022-23

Create working group to develop a framework around the determinants of wellbeing.
Create a University-wide campaign and communications plan.
Ensure coordination between the newly created Director, Basic Needs Resources and other support teams across the Division.