STUDENT LIFE

Campus Recreation

We opened the new $1.8 million intramural complex and are currently working on a fire pit project to create a grand entrance to the complex. This will be the highlight of prospective student tours! Estimated completion time is end of the fall semester.

Campus Security

CSU consistently ranks as not only one of the safest colleges or universities in the United States, currently ranked No. 252 of 1,310 institutions, but also No. 3 of 24 in the state of South Carolina. Campus Security recently added Rapidwarn software to our Buc Alert system. This software automatically sends any National Weather Service warnings for the campus to everyone enrolled on the Buc Alert list as well as the campus outdoor warning sirens and will provide a quicker warning in case of severe weather.

The Career Center

The Career Center saw the return of in-person on-campus recruitment post-Covid through Career Chats in the fall and four major-specific Career Expos in the spring. We welcomed over 120 employers to campus to speak with and recruit our students. With renewed focus on professionalism and equal opportunity, the Career Center committed to growing offerings for its career closet that will serve students who may lack the means to obtain professional clothing for interviews, internships, and presentations. Through a persistent social media campaign and targeted messaging to alumni, faculty, and staff, the options for students have grown exponentially. The students even contributed to naming the closet Suited to Sail, and the closet will hopefully be available for them to shop starting in the fall. We are continuing to accept any and all professional wear donations, including ties, jewelry, and shoes.

Counseling Services

1,547 hours of counseling hours provided to students during the 2022-2023 academic year. There were 992 individual appointments made during the academic year; 8.5% of those appointments were triage/crisis appointments.

Residence Life

The Residence Hall numbers increased with a total of 1,364 residents starting in the fall compared to 1,252 last fall. This is CSU’s record number of residents living in our residential communities. We maintained a 97% retention rate between fall and spring semester.

SPIRITUAL LIFE/CAMPUS MINISTRIES

ON-CAMPUS WORSHIP

Elevate had a year high of 212 students and saw 50% of all Elevate students attend a small group throughout the year. We began new partnerships with local ministries and increased partnership with Charleston Baptist Campus Ministries to reach greater Charleston. Chapel averaged 780 and had a high of 1,240.

Missions

We had three mission trips during spring break that assisted the Charleston area, Boston, and Erwin, Tennessee. These trips sent 100 students. This summer CSU was the number one sender for GenSend through NAMB (21 of the 51 students from South Carolina were from CSU). We sent 74 students on domestic and international mission trips.

Discipleship

The CSU women’s ministry had a high of 100 one-on-one discipleship relationships. The men’s ministry began its early stages of discipleship. Campus Ministries partnered with the worship leadership program to develop a pipeline to supply local churches with worship leaders.

Recruitment

Student Leadership University (SLU) had 288 students attend CSU after Drop/Add. SummerSalt had 15 students attend CSU. In total, 303 students came to CSU through the Office of Spiritual Life’s recruitment efforts.

Student Engagement

Partnered with the American Red Cross to host six blood drives on campus, collecting 143 units of blood, which impacted/saved 429 lives. Four new student organizations were added to our Board of Student Organizations, and the Campus Activities Board was re-established. Fifteen student organizations participated in the Lowcountry Relay for Life, helping to raise over $60,000 for cancer research with the American Cancer Society. Thirteen student organizations participated in Walk for Water with Water Mission International, helping raise over $13,000 with our CSU Service-Learning Team. Miss Charleston Southern University Keiara Williams competed in the Miss South Carolina Pageant in June and won the Morgan Nichols Scarnecchia overall interview award.

Sweet 16

In 2022-2023 the university averaged almost 700 people at Sweet 16 events, our largest events each year. Some events are open to our campus community, including employees, board members, and alumni. Departments such as Enrollment and Development/Alumni Relations have aligned much of their planning to correspond with several Sweet 16 events. Everything about Sweet 16 meets CSU’s E.P.I.C. initiative. For the fourth year in a row 94% of the student body voted in a campuswide student survey that Sweet 16 events directly affect their overall student satisfaction. Student surveys have shown that Sweet 16 events, eight in the fall and eight in the spring, have had a positive impact on recruitment, enrollment, retention, and overall student satisfaction. Big school or small school, no one does events like CSU!

Operation Christmas Child

One of the most successful Sweet 16 events of all is mission based: Operation Christmas Child with Samaritan’s Purse. CSU has now broken the national record for the past four years, packing more shoeboxes than any other college or university in the nation. In 2022 we packed over 13,019 boxes. Four years ago we were packing just 2,400 total.

Ring Ceremony

CSU celebrated our second Ring Ceremony in April overlooking the Reflection Pond with a beautiful view of Lightsey Chapel. We had 103 students attend and receive their signature class ring. Over 600 guests attended this new CSU tradition. After the ceremony all enjoyed a reception on the lawn with music and refreshments. A gorgeous ice sculpture of the CSU signature ring was the perfect photo spot for our students.

The Office Of Diversity

Through celebrations of Culturefest, Black History Month, and Women’s History Month, our campus community came together and built better relationships. We held a series of talks called Courageous Conversations that brought faculty, staff, and students into a safe space to have hard but beneficial engagement in pursuit of giving everyone a sense of belonging.

13,019