About the Program

In February 2007, Vice President of Student Affairs Sandra Johnson announced a series of initiatives designed to assist students with their entire college experience, complementing and supporting students' experience in their academic pursuits. These initiatives begin a comprehensive, University-wide campaign to support student success and enhance the programs and services under the umbrella of the division of student affairs.

Educating the community

"Giving our students assistance, correct information and caring advisement and guidance is our primary focus," said VP Johnson, "and to do that we need to make sure all Hofstra University staff and administrators have the necessary tools to give students prompt, effective advice. Staff educational sessions about campus resources, cross-department training and communication skills will be a major part of the change initiative."

This initiative will be the central part of the campus-wide implementation. A committee has begun to create a comprehensive training program for all employees, to empower them to provide excellent student service and tools to deal with difficult situations, to teach them about all of the resources available on campus, and to introduce them to the functions of all Hofstra departments.

An evolving initiative

Over the next year, more structural changes in Student Affairs will be announced.

"Our goal," said VP Johnson, "is to create a nurturing, student-centered environment, focused on helping our students succeed, connect to the Hofstra community, and prepare them for life after college."

"The Student Affairs team has been briefed on these changes and is fully involved in the discussion about how we'll continue to develop a strong student-centered organization. I expect our staff to move into new roles and assist in shaping the reorganization," said VP Johnson. "Gina Crance, our current Dean of Students, has moved into an advisory role in my office during this reorganization. I am grateful that she has agreed to assist us during the transition and change process."

The first phase, during Spring 2007, will involve the reorganization and development of the division of Student Affairs. During the Spring, an interdepartmental team will assess training, communication and service needs, in anticipation of launching this program in all administrative areas across campus, beginning over the summer of 2007. The Focus on Students program, affecting all Hofstra students, faculty, staff and administrators will be in full operation by September 1, 2007. According to VP Johnson, "this program will continue to evolve, as we continually assess our students' needs, opportunities and concerns. While our launch date is this fall, we'll continually update what we're doing, continue to educate staff and faculty, and continue to ask what we could do better."