Lingli (Alyssa) Kong -- International Orientation Student Leader
Maybe you haven’t heard of the Office of Dean of Students (ODOS). However, ever since you were admitted, New Student Programs, one of the many offices under ODOS, had started to email you. Once you start your student life here at U of I, you would be amazed by how much you would utilize ODOS! You could get your licenses such as passports and academic transcripts certified at the Student Legal Service. You would interact with Fraternity and Sorority Affairs after joining the university’s large Greek community. You would get advice from the Tenant Union while searching for an apartment or house. All these offices are under the Office of Dean of Students.
Similar as me, you would be frequently directed to the Student Assistant Center, the frontline office of the Dean of Students, after mistakenly calling the other campus resources. At the Center, staff will help you connect with the right resources. It is a place to go when a student is having a difficult time at the university and isn’t sure where else to go or is experiencing a crisis (e.g., death or serious illness of a parent, a health or mental health issue that is impeding academic and/or personal functioning, etc..). Gradually, you learned to call or stop by the Center first when you are unsure which campus resource to look into.
One of the staff at the Center once said the Center was a bridge connecting all the other campus resources; and it is, as written in one of its missions, which is to “Enhance students’ knowledge of and access to University resources” (link). The center is at the 3rd floor of the Turner Student Services Building, in the Office of the Dean of Students, one level lower than the ISSS office. You can simply walk in, call them at 217.333.0050 or email them at Helpdean@illinois.edu whenever you encounter an academic problem or personal life issues. Though busy, they are usually very approachable during their office hours, from Monday through Friday, 8:30 am -5 pm. It is always recommended to make an appointment with one of the assistant deans if your situation is relatively complicated and thus need more time.
The assistant deans are very patient and they are very good at explaining university policies and rules, especially for academic related ones. The first semester of my freshmen year, I did not know what the letter grades really stand for. I thought if I get an “A-“ in one of my classes which would be a disaster. I checked the dropped deadline and found that although the deadline has already passed, I could still drop it with a “W” (withdraw) on my transcript and in this way, my GPA won’t be affected. However, I didn’t know what a W really means so I reached out to the assistant deans. Choosing an “A-“ instead of a “W” seems to be obvious to me now, and to the dean, at the time. Seriously, no one would even consider having a “W” to replace an “A-”! Facing this funny question, the dean still patiently explained to me that an “A-“ is not such a big deal and if I choose a “W”, I would lose all the credit hours of the course and extend my graduation date. Thanks to the dean, I made a wise decision.
The Office of Dean of Student and its many programs and services are very helpful and I highly recommend you take advantage of it.
Thanks for reading this blog and hope it is helpful to you. If you need more information, Stephanie Brown (sabrow@illinois.edu), Associate Dean of Students who oversees the SAC, and Dorothy Maduzia (dmaduzia@illinois.edu), the Administrative Aide in the office, are always good points of contact.
