Academics
鈥淚 love SUU,鈥 says one student, whose bubbly enthusiasm is typical among her classmates. 鈥淢y professors are great. . . . One time I was struggling to write a paper for English, so I called my professor鈥檚 house, and he met up with me at the university library and helped me work on my paper. . . . I [also] dream of being a basketball coach . . . and the head basketball coach lets me . . . watch practice and . . . even got me a volunteer job at a local middle school . . . coach[ing] a 7th and 8th grade team.鈥 We鈥檙e told that professors demonstrate 鈥減assion for the subjects they teach, but are more concerned about the student and his or her potential than the subject and thus will do everything possible to ensure鈥 student success. Administrators are also 鈥渉elpful鈥 and 鈥渒now you and why you are here.鈥 Strong programs include 鈥渢heater, business, and nursing鈥; the first boasts strong ties with the annual 4-month-long Utah Shakespearean Festival, and the last is simply no piece of cake. School 鈥渨as a whole lot of fun during my nursing prerequisites,鈥 says one student, 鈥渁nd a whole lot of work now that I鈥檓 in the program.鈥 Retention is a problem in the student body at large---less than a third of all students graduate in 6 years.
Student Body
Students tell us that the 鈥渢ypical T-bird鈥 has 鈥渁n eagerness for learning, a passion for involvement, and a contagious friendliness鈥 that combine to put other students at ease. 鈥淚t is fairly easy to strike up a conversation with a random student on campus.鈥 Students are heavily 鈥渋nto [the] outdoors,鈥 and proximity to the Utah Shakespearean Festival also attracts 鈥渕any theater鈥 types. In addition, 鈥渁 large majority of the students belong to the LDS faith.鈥 This homogeneity has its fans and detractors: one student enjoys having his fellow 鈥淢ormons . . . among the student body, because their morals are so high,鈥 while another LDS student found it 鈥渉ard coming from a community college [that] was highly diverse. . . . The school could use some diversity training [for] students, faculty, and staff.鈥 There are two non-LDS Christian groups and six multicultural organizations on campus. Students are 鈥渁ccepting.鈥 Students say that 鈥渆veryone is treated with respect鈥 and 鈥渇its in,鈥 and no one 鈥渁bsolutely hates鈥 anyone else---鈥渆xcept鈥 when it comes to 鈥渟chool politics.鈥
Campus Life
SUU鈥檚 prime Cedar City location puts students within 150 miles of Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon---and those are just the big-name national parks. Students take ample advantage of the 鈥渞emarkable鈥 setting by 鈥渉iking, kayaking, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, caving,鈥 and 鈥渆xploring.鈥 In addition, 鈥淲e鈥檙e not afraid to put forth a little effort to have fun,鈥 says one undergrad. 鈥淭hree days ago we drove an hour and a half to hang out in a . . . hot spring in minus-12-degree weather.鈥 Extreme recreation goes beyond the outdoorsy: 鈥淭his weekend we鈥檙e actually planning on lining a U-Haul truck with mattresses and driving around Cedar taking sharp turns to see if we can 鈥榮urf鈥 in the back of the truck.鈥 Students also play recreational sports---鈥渇ootball, Ultimate Frisbee,鈥 鈥渞acquetball, basketball, [and] volleyball鈥---on campus, although they say that intercollegiate 鈥淪ports [are] not a very strong point鈥 and 鈥淎thletic [events] aren鈥檛 even worth going to.鈥 鈥淭here are tons of clubs鈥 on campus: 鈥淚 am not a music major, but I am still actively involved in five music ensembles,鈥 says one student. More than 20 couples belong to 鈥渁 married kids club鈥 that holds 鈥渄ate nights [with] dinner and a movie.鈥 Whatever your interests, we鈥檙e told that 鈥渢he small student body. . . . makes it easy to make friends.鈥 鈥淭he only thing that we are in desperate need of,鈥 says one student, is better 鈥渟hopping. Luckily, St. George is 40 minutes away, and Las Vegas is 2 hours.鈥
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