The Dean of Students Office, located in Student Services, provides a navigating service to students who are struggling on-campus.

There are common misconceptions that circle the Dean of Students Office. There are plenty of other reasons a student could get in contact with the Dean of Students Office other than having done something severe, such as academic misconduct.

If a student does find themselves in a more severe case where the law is involved, they will likely be connected with Michelle Boettcher, assistant dean of students and director of judicial affairs.

“Of all the people in the [Dean of Students Office], nobody wants to come see,” Boettcher said.

Apart from this area of the Dean of Students Office, the office is composed of 16 different departments, including LGBT, greek affairs, recreation services and many more.

“One thing students may not know about is the National Student Exchange Program is part of the Dean of Students Office,” Boettcher said. “It’s like studying abroad, but here in the United States. For example: You want to study some place for a semester or a year, but you want to go to Hawaii.”

The goal of the office is to facilitate students’ time at Iowa State and to help build a path to success. The professionals that comprise the office collaborate with students for improvement.

“There are a lot of ways to get involved and get the most out of your experience at Iowa State, and the [Dean of Students Office] can help,” Boettcher said. “We don’t want students to have to go to 45 different places.”

Boettcher wants the Dean of Students Office to be a one-stop location for student resources.

“We are here to act as a gateway to clear the clutter and help you better navigate throughout the vast opportunities this university has to offer,” said Keith Robinder, program coordinator who works with student assistance and outreach.

Students are encouraged to take advantage of the office no matter how big of a hurdle they are in need of overcoming. The Dean of Students Office will also step in if a student is living in an off-campus apartment and having roommate troubles.

“If there is a need that a student has, we may not be the final answer, let’s say there is a financial issue. What we may be able to do is get a student connected to a scholarship program, but we may be also able to bridge to financial aid, which is not part of the [Dean of Students Office], but we are kind of the hub and we connect to all those other resources,” Boettcher said.

Robinder wants the misconception that the purpose of the Dean of Students Office as the place that only punishes misconduct to be a thing of the past.

“We commonly see at orientation where parents are at the booth across from ours that has free cookies, and they glance over at our booth and point us out to their kids and say ‘that’s where I hope to never see you,’” Robinder said. “From that moment on students go unaware that we exist for reasons other than misconduct.”

The Dean of Students Office will help students of any age.

In a situation like this, “you don’t know you need it, until you need it,” Robinder said.