Student Life

arshall University will continue to reaffirm the following in student life initiatives: the development of healthy lifestyles; wellness programming; leadership skills; ability to work in a group or team; respect for others; personal responsibility; decision making; a sense of professionalism; achieving excellence; ethical and moral development, and civic responsibility.

Those students who choose an on-campus educational experience will seek ways to increase the appeal of the residential experience. This trend will force all colleges to simultaneously view potential applicants as students and consumers. Higher education institutions may be asked to provide more supervision in the lives of students.

Students located in distant or virtual campuses are unable to benefit from a necessary interactivity, which is part of any student life learning process. The university will have to work closely with public education, business and industry to assist with the development of partnerships designed to make and maintain relationships, expose students to alternate world views, continue options for professional development choices and personalize interventions for student’s circumstances and needs.

Two demographic trends will have a tremendous effect on student life. The first is the continuing increase into higher education of populations that have experienced historical exclusion based on gender, race, culture, national origin, disability and sexual orientation. Student life professionals will need to lead the campus community into an understanding of expanding diversity. The second trend will be the rapid growth in the number of senior citizens. Marshall University will need to respond to a society engaged in lifelong learning.