UT creates 1 destination for resources under Texas Student Experience

The University is consolidating multiple student service providers into a single unit to streamline access to support systems and student programming, according to an Aug. 28 press release. 

The Texan sat down with two of the new unit’s leaders in an interview on Friday. Here’s what we learned:

What’s changing?

Texas Student Experience was created over the summer by the Office of the President in coordination with student affairs leadership from across the University. It will offer a single destination for all student support programs and resources on campus. The unit merges the Division of Student Affairs and Strategic Enrollment Management. 

Student Experience includes Student Life, which is a replacement for the Office of the Dean of Students, the office that monitors registered student organizations. University officials describe the creation of these offices as an effort to return clarity to their portfolio of student resources. 

The new unit encompasses Admissions and Orientation, Enrollment Processing, Texas One Stop and Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid; Office of the Registrar; Student Support; Student Life, Health and Well-being; Recreational Sports and University Unions, among others. 

Miguel Wasielewski, who was appointed as vice president for Student Experience in June, said the University wanted to offer a solution to students’ confusion regarding the location of different services. 

He said decades ago, many services were concentrated into single offices before UT and other universities began a trend of separation, designating new units for specific services in an effort to boost enrollment and graduation rates. 

“It truly was probably a missed opportunity for folks to be able to work together in a way that really reflected what students expect,” Wasielewski said.

Wasielewski said that the University was left with a stratified system that was unnecessarily difficult for students to navigate. Student Experience intends to be a return to the original unified structure. 

“It’s difficult to find out what (students) actually can do here at the University,” Wasielewski said. “How do they connect to other individuals in a way that helps them feel like they belong, helps them feel like they’re growing, maybe makes it less of an intimidating place for them?” 

University services now work together under Texas Student Experience, combining resources across departments to coordinate decisions that affect student life, Wasielewski said. 

“One of the natural benefits of combining these units together is that we can leverage the resources that existed in those distinct units,” Wasielewski said. 

What’s next for Student Experience?

Tepera Holman, assistant vice president for Student Life, said Student Experience will work with students to meet their needs and create experiences that meet their different interests. 

“We’re all on one team working together to create a really positive and exciting experience for our students,” Holman said. 

Student Experience will connect students with preexisting service units through an online portal designed to help them navigate to the right resources based on their needs. Wasielewski said work on the portal is already underway, with a provisional model based on existing University systems expected to roll out in spring 2027. 

A more advanced model reliant on artificial intelligence, which Wasielewski said has the potential to additionally streamline the navigation process, could take years. In the meantime, he said Student Experience has no plans to reduce staff at its offices, and all programs will remain in their current physical locations. 

“We have a substantial amount of work in front of us, and that work does require people to get those things done,” Wasielewski said. 

​