Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Undergraduate Academic Affairs student records

The Office of the Dean for Student Affairs was established at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1902 as the Office of the Dean by a vote of the faculty. Alfred E. Burton was appointed dean and reported directly to the president. The dean was responsible for all students; his duties included cooperating with the president in all matters regarding discipline and the general welfare of the student body; acting as chairman of advisors; generally overseeing first year instruction, student self-government, social centers, residences, and supervising of first year students.

In 1920 the name of the office was changed to the Office of the Dean of Students (ODS) with Burton’s responsibilities including housing, freshman advising and activities, student government, and the Department of Physical Training. In 1962 the ODS began reporting to the vice president for academic administration. That same year its name was changed to the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs (ODSA) to reflect more accurately the expanding areas of responsibility which resulted from the rapid growth of the Institute’s overall educational program during the previous few years.

Student unrest in the late 1960s and, in particular, tensions on the part of students over the U.S. military draft were keenly felt by ODSA in all of its capacities. In 1968-1969 the ODSA was renamed Office of the Dean for Student Affairs (also ODSA) and, the following year, was reorganized into six functional program areas, each headed by an associate dean: the Living Environment; Student and Community Activities; Athletics and Recreation; Counseling and Advisory Systems; Student Self-Governance and Participation in the Institute Governance; and Information Dissemination and Communication. The office reported to the Dean for Institute Relations from 1969 to 1972.

During the 1991-1992 academic year the Office of the Dean for Student Affairs (ODSA) and the Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education (ODUE) were merged to become the Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs (ODUESA). The purpose of the new office was to coordinate efforts and bring new vitality to a number of programs that supported educational activities of the faculty and, at the same time, to be more effective in providing services to MIT students. Under the merger the ODSA Undergraduate Academic Support Office became the Undergraduate Academic Affairs office whose function was to oversee academic advising and support, curriculum support and innovation, teaching and faculty development, educational studies, and research. The ODUESA also assumed responsibility for the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and the Independent Activities Period (IAP).

In 1996 an administrative reorganization was undertaken, designed to consolidate most of the functions which support student life and undergraduate education. As a result, the Office of the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education (ODSUE) was formed. Its main activities encompassed academic and financial information; academic support services; and campus life services. Rosalind Williams served as dean of this office from 1996 to 2000. When Dean Williams stepped down in June 2000, ODSUE (along with the Office of the Dean for Student Life) was restructured.

MIT History, Office of the MIT Dean for Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs, 2013.