Dean of Students

Dear Winston-Salem State University Students:

I am very pleased to welcome you to the 2025-2026 academic year at Winston-Salem State University; new students are starting their first semester while returning students are back to campus for another exciting fall semester!   The Office of the Dean of Students includes many functional areas that collectively aim to support students as they grow and develop during their time at WSSU.  Please reach out and take full advantage of all the support, resources, and enrichment offered by our offices, to include the following:  University Recreation, Student Health Services, Counseling Services, Housing & Residence Life, Community Standards & Civility, Interpersonal Violence Prevention. We are all part of an amazing university family at WSSU! 

A primary goal of the Office of the Dean of Students is to support and facilitate a safe campus environment and higher education experience for our students, faculty, and staff. We encourage you to cultivate and maintain high standards of civility and conduct that are consistent with academic, social, and professional success. I urge everyone on campus to stay aware of any unusual circumstances and to immediately notify campus police and public safety about any security concerns.

Don’t forget Rave Guardian, the official safety app used by WSSU. Rave Guardian puts safety directly into the hands of students, faculty, staff, and visitors. You can download the Rave Guardian app for free from your Apple or Android device.  You can connect directly with campus police with the touch of a button. It is everyone’s responsibility to help keep our campus safe, if you see something, say something.   As a student, you are responsible for your interactions with WSSU,  and the Student Handbook serves as a guide to these interactions. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the information contained within this Handbook.  Please contact us with questions, concerns, or just to chat.  You may contact me at any time by email at odomsd@wssu.edu  or by stopping by my office at Thompson Center, suite 303.  

We look forward to working with you during your WSSU journey! 
Shawn Odom, Ph.D.
Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

• We assist any student who may be experiencing transition, personal difficulty, and other crisis or emergency situations. If you find yourself dealing with an issue that is impacting your WSSU experience, the Office of the Dean of Students staff is here to provide support. Our staff is trained to listen, discuss options, provide support, and make appropriate referrals.
• We also provide guidance to our students as they engage in the student conduct and civility process as outlined in the Students' Code of Conduct.
• Academic Advising: Please know that each student is responsible for managing their own class schedule, including adding, dropping, or withdrawing from courses within published deadlines. While advisors and departments are available to assist, the student bears responsibility for ensuring that all course selections apply toward their declared program of study and meet prerequisite and sequencing requirements.

• RamCARES' mission is to provide assessment and intervention of troubling, disruptive and threatening behavior in an effort to avert activity that compromises the retention of a safe and secure learning environment for the campus community. The RamCARES team reviews behaviors exhibited by students following a preventative model that includes an assessment of the behavior, recommendation of intervention plan and monitoring cases brought to the team. RamCARES works collaboratively with Counseling Services to provide holistic support as students engage in the campus community.
• Our highest priority is the safety of everyone on campus. The WSSU Threat Assessment Team (TAT) advises on incidents involving members of the university community who pose a threat to the safety and well-being of themselves or others. If you have an immediate safety concern, please contact Police & Public Safety 336-750-2911, or call 911. To report a non-emergency situation, you can report a concern to a member of the WSSU Threat Assessment Team at tat@wssu.edu or submit all concerns via the Incident Reporting Form.
• At times students may be in distress and in need of immediate care.  Please review this Student in Distress Flowchart to understand how these situations are triaged.

• The Emergency Dean-on-Call supports students who are experiencing health or safety-related emergencies in which an immediate university (non-academic related) response is needed and cannot wait until the next business day.Emergencies are life-threatening in nature, pertain to suicide ideation of yourself or for your friends, hospitalizations, physical injuries, etc.
• For all non-emergencies (academic issues, roommate conflicts, or non-health or safety-related situations). In these situations, please email us at deanofstudents@wssu.edu and we will contact you as soon as possible.
• The Emergency Dean On Call is not a substitute for trained emergency personnel such as 911, police, or fire professionals.
• The Emergency Dean On Call is available from Monday through Thursday, 5:00 p.m.-8:30 a.m., Friday at 5:00 p.m. through Monday at 8:30 a.m. and all University holidays.

• The Allegacy Federal Credit Union Student Resource Center at Winston-Salem State University (SRC) strives to provide holistic support to help students meet their current and long-term needs and goals. The center connects students to campus and community resources and services to help them overcome barriers that interfere with their success. The SRC collaborative is comprised of the WSSU Rams Helping Hands Food Pantry and The Career Closet, which aims to centralize our resources to:
• WSSU strives to support students who may be housing insecure or are an unaccompanied youth. Please complete this form and will we review your   We will contact you to seek any additional information that may be needed. 
• Did you know that Second Harvest Food Bank can assist WSSU students with completing a Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) application?  You can find out if you qualify for the SNAP Program by completing this simple form.

• WSSU has access to limited emergency grant and loan funds to assist students when they experience sudden or unexpected financial hardships such as illness, family job loss, and delays in other types of funding, such as financial aid, paycheck, or military benefits.

• Students should contact their instructors per the Class Attendance and Absences Policy whenever they experience an absence from class. Notification of a class absence does not excuse students from classes and/or course requirements. It is a means through which information can be shared regarding emergent and extenuating circumstances.  The Office of the Dean of Students does not grant excused absences on behalf of students. Faculty are encouraged to provide students with direct answers whether you will permit them to make up missed work or exams.  Our goal is to support both students and faculty throughout this process.