The Office of Student Life (OSL)
The Office of Student Life (OSL) provides comprehensive services and resources to prospective and current undergraduate McCombs School of Business students. We complement the academic program by enhancing the college experience. We are committed to students and their continued growth.
At the McCombs School of Business, leadership is a part of what you will learn inside and outside of the classroom. With 35 McCombs Affiliated Student Organizations, the Leadership Program, LeaderShape, and Business Partners, there are always opportunities for students to be involved.
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) presents data that supports the engagement of students in co-curricular activities, and shows that students who are more involved have increased opportunities for critical thinking and an opportunity to apply their knowledge. “In college, involvement in certain co-curricular activities is known to enhance and facilitate student success and persistence” (NSSE, p. 21).
Be Engaged
Being involved in the McCombs School of Business is one of the best things that you can do to get the most from your college education. There are frequent events on campus, and the Office of Student Life (OSL) produces some of the best! Make some connections, network, volunteer and meet some new friends.
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McCombs Kickoff: A day-long, large-scale event around Austin that invites all incoming business freshmen and transfer students to spend a day getting to know each other.
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Gone to Business: An opportunity for students to meet and greet with representatives from the McCombs Affiliated Student Organizations as well as the Office of Student Life, the Business Honors Program, BBA International Programs, BBA Career Services and many more.
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Family Weekend: This event is scheduled in coordination with the university at-large Family Weekend. It is a day highlighted by keynote speakers and information panels to show parents why sending their kids to one of the nation's best business schools is a good decision.
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Explore UT: A university-wide open house to Texans of all ages aimed to inform the public about the university's mission: teaching, research and public service.
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McCombs Honors Convocation: A ceremony to celebrate academic excellence within the McCombs community, recognize the achievements of both our undergraduate students and our undergraduate faculty members.
As Denny Roberts wrote in Deeper Learning in Leadership (2007), leadership is conviction in action. You must learn about yourself, your passions and what is most important to you. There are several dimensions to leadership including: integrity, diversity of thought and people, ethics, social responsibility, conflict mediation and communication. Involvement in programs that give you the opportunity to develop these skills is something that The Office of Student Life (OSL) can provide.
Earn Your Leadership
Check out our leadership opportunities:
Involvement in the school's student organizations and leadership opportunities is integral to the McCombs educational experience. In co-curricular activities, students build skills in leadership, group facilitation, conflict management and negotiation, all of which are instrumental to career success.
The following are opportunities that the Office of Student Life provides students seeking to learn and practice leadership.
The Leadership Program: A three to four-year program that provides a variety of progressive activities empowering students to learn more about themselves, the organizations in which they participate, the community in which they live, and the world in which theyare a citizen.
LeaderShape ®: A six-day interactive, energetic and unique leadership conference dedicated to improving society through encouraging students to commit to "leading with integrity."
Student Organizations: With 35 McCombs Affiliated Student Organizations at the business school, there are always opportunities for students to join an organization relevant to their academic, professional, or personal interests.
Volunteer Opportunities: McCombs students are sincerely dedicated in their efforts to improve the University of Texas and the Austin community overall.
Giving to Student Organizations
Involvement in student organizations has been shown to correlate positively with several areas of psychosocial development. Specifically, college juniors who are members of student organizations score higher than nonmembers on such factors as educational involvement, career planning, lifestyle planning, cultural participation, and academic autonomy (Cooper, Healy, & Simpson, 1994).
Research has also shown first-year students who join student organizations have higher scores on developing a purpose for their life and time in college than those who do not join, have more mature interpersonal relationships, are more tolerant of others, better life management, educational involvement, better decision-making skills and leadership (Cooper, et al., 1994; Kuh, 2005; Pascarella, 2005). “Although this relationship may be either unidirectional or mutually reinforcing, it is evident that students who are involved in clubs and organizations during their college experience are also those who demonstrate higher levels of development in many areas” (Foubert & Grainger, 2006, p. 8).
Explore Opportunities
All UT Organizations
OSL Mission
“What students do during college generally matters more to what they learn and whether they persist to graduation than who they are or even where they go to college" (Kinzie, 2009, p. 410).
It is the action of being fully engaged which leads to deeper learning and ultimately, a broader college experience.
The Office of Student Life (OSL) provides comprehensive services and resources to prospective and current undergraduate McCombs School of Business students. We complement the academic program by enhancing the college experience. We are committed to students and their continued growth.
We achieve this commitment through:
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challenging students to increase their skills and awareness in order that they may become more effective leaders and global citizens;
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facilitating programs that teach skills and expose students to new ideas, encouraging deeper thinking about issues affecting them and/or their communities;
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empowering students to successfully implement programs and events;
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serving as an advocate to raise awareness of student issues and concerns;
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building an inclusive community and creating connections among diverse populations within the McCombs School of Business and The University of Texas at Austin.