• Division of Student Affairs

The goals of the Division of Student Affairs include developing effective and efficient services and programs for students through the various departments within Student Affairs, integrating student affairs and academic affairs, directly involving students in the affairs of the institution, encouraging a sense of community among students, faculty and administration, and increasing the accessibility to and attractiveness of the University of Florida.

The Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, located in 155 Tigert Hall, has administrative responsibility for the Dean of Students Office, Department of Housing and Residence Education, Office for Student Financial Affairs, J. Wayne Reitz Union, Career Resource Center, the Counseling Center, Recreational Sports and Student Government.

• Campus Facilities

On 2,000 acres, most of it within the limits of a 109,000-population urban area, the university operates out of 1,013 buildings, 184 of them equipped with classrooms and laboratories. Facilities are valued at more than $1 billion. Notable mong these are the Brain Institute, the physics building, University Art Gallery, a microkelvin laboratory capable of producing some of the coldest temperatures in the universe, a 100-kilowatt training and research nuclear reactor, the second largest academic computing center in the South, and a self-contained intensive-care hyperbaric chamber for treating near-drowning victims.

The Florida Museum of Natural History is the largest natural history/anthropology museum in the Southeast and one of the top 10 in the nation. Its research collections contain nearly 6.5 million specimens.

The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, with 18,000 square feet of exhibit space, is one of the largest museums in the Southeast. The Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts attracts world-class symphony orchestras, Broadway plays, operas, and large-scale ballet productions to Gainesville.

The Stephen C. O’Connell Center and the J. Wayne Reitz Union provide space for a myriad of student and faculty activities. One thousand persons can participate simultaneously in eight recreational activities in the O’Connell Center, which is home to the Gator basketball, volleyball, swimming and gymnastics teams. More than 20,000 use the Reitz Union daily for various activities.

• Campus Safety and Security

The University of Florida is one of the largest institutions of higher education in the nation. The university community is not unlike many other municipalities, and as such, has the same safety and security concerns as "any-town" USA.

The University of Florida Police Department (UFPD) recognizes that it must maintain the safest and most secure environment possible for all students, faculty and staff, and campus visitors. The UFPD has the utmost concern for personal and property safety, but with an open campus environment, safety becomes a shared responsibility.

The UFPD is a State of Florida and Nationally Accredited Law Enforcement Agency. There are more than 90 fully certified and sworn officers who patrol the UF campus and its surrounding properties 24 hours per day, every day. The department has its own Criminal Investigations Division employing highly trained detectives to investigate any reported crime on campus. The officers of the Uniformed Patrol Division are highly trained campus law enforcement professionals who are equipped with the most contemporary crime-fighting techniques and tools. The Community Services Division is proactive in providing everyone in the campus community with the very latest information regarding personal and property protection through classes, programs and documents.

For more information, contact Lt. Joe Sharkey, public information officer, 352-392-1114, or visit UFPD.

• Career Resource Center, 1st floor, Reitz Student Union

  The CRC provides comprehensive career exploration, career planning and job search services to UF students in all majors. The center's career events program is the largest in the state, attracting recruiters from hundreds of organizations who come to campus every fall and spring to hire UF graduates.

  Students can use the center's resources at any time and most services are free. Individual counseling, for-credit courses, workshops, internships, cooperative education experiences, externships and career fairs help students prepare for fulfilling careers.

  Create a Gator CareerLink account to access CRC resources:

  • Select a major
  • Obtain practical work experience before graduating
  • Conduct mock interviews
  • Prepare for graduate school
  • Interview for jobs

• Dean of Students Office, 202 Peabody Hall

  The Dean of Students Office provides programs and services to support students' academic success and personal development. DSO programs and services help students from the moment they arrive on campus:

  • new student orientations
  • leadership and service opportunities
  • education, advocacy and support for the numerous cultures and diverse lifestyles on campus
  • off-campus and commuter student resources
  • counseling services
  • student conduct and academic honesty
  • Greek organizations
  • emergency response in time of crisis
  • withdrawals from the university

• Gator Dining Services

  Gator Dining is the official food service provider for the university. There are more than 25 dining locations on campus, including many national franchises like Burger King, Wendy’s, Subway, Taco Bell, Blimpie, Chick-fil-A, Einstein’s Bagels, Freshens Yogurt, Java City and more.

  Gator Dining Services offers two types of meal plans: the all campus meal plan and the regular declining balance account.

• GatorLink, Gator 1 and the UFID

  GatorLink establishes a unique computer identity for every student. The GatorLink account provides access to all online services and creates the UF "username@ufl.edu" e-mail address where official university communications are sent.

  Gator 1 card is the official university photo ID. The ID Card Services office is located on the ground floor of the UF Bookstore and Welcome Center complex on Museum Road. All enrolled students, faculty and staff must have this card

  • to enter CIRCA computer labs, university libraries, the infirmary, recreation centers
  • to sign up for intramural sports activities
  • to participate in the textbook deferment program at the UF Bookstore
  • to purchase tickets to university events
  • to vote in student government elections
  • to purchase food on campus with a Gator Dining or prepaid vending account
  • to use laundry facilities in some residence halls, and
  • to use as an ATM/debit card when activated through Wachovia Bank.

  UFID is an eight-digit number that serves as the primary identifier for all university records and transactions. Similar to a social security number, no two people will have the same number, and each person has only one. The UFID is assigned by the university, not chosen as you would a PIN. All students, faculty and staff have UFIDs, and the number is printed on the Gator 1 card.

• Housing and Residence Education

  The Department of Housing and Residence Education provides well-maintained, community-oriented facilities where students live in single-student residence halls. Married students and their families and graduate students live in apartment-housing villages.

  Beginning Freshmen: Freshmen entering the university during the summer term(s) must live on campus during the summer to be eligible for continued housing. Residence hall contracts are available for academic year (fall/spring semesters), spring semester only and the summer terms.

  Applying for campus housing does not guarantee an offer of residence hall space. If space is available, admitted students will receive a residence hall agreement. To secure campus housing, the student must return the agreement and advance rent payment by the deadline.

  Transfer Students: Transfer students should apply as early as possible because the demand for housing is substantial and spaces for transfers are very limited. If space is available, admitted students will receive a residence hall agreement, which must be returned by the deadline accompanied by the advance rent payment.

  Facilities: Twenty-four single student residence halls offer single rooms (limited), double rooms, triple rooms, suites for 2/3/4/5 residents and apartments. The most common room is a standard air-conditioned double room that accommodates two residents. All rooms have beds, mattresses, study desks, chairs, dressers, closets, and window coverings. Rental rates include cable television service, local telephone service, fiber optic computer service and utilities.

  Off-campus housing information

  Security: Security is a shared responsibility of the university, residence hall staff and residents. Residents must take precautions to protect themselves and their personal property. Residence hall staff and the UF Police Department provide campus safety education and awareness programs. The residence hall staff monitors internal residence hall security; external building security generally is the responsibility of the UF Police Department. Housing security assistants patrol the areas immediately next to residence halls from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. when classes are in session.

  Village community housing for graduate and married students

• Office for Student Financial Affairs, 107 Criser Hall

  The Office for Student Financial Affairs administers financial aid programs and provides financial assistance and counseling. SFA awards aid according to financial need — the difference between current educational costs and what the individual student can pay toward these costs.

  Financial Aid Programs
  Financial aid is money provided students and their families as gift aid (scholarships, grants) or self-help (loans and/or work) programs to help pay college costs. Financial aid can be awarded singly (one type of aid) or as a package.
  

  • Scholarships are awarded based on academic performance and financial need. Most academic scholarships are awarded through the UF Office of Admission and individual UF colleges.
  • Grants are awarded for financial need. The largest grant program at UF is the Federal Pell Grant.
  • Loans. Loan programs for undergraduates include: Federal Direct Stafford loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans, Federal Perkins Loans and UF institutional loans. These programs offer long-term, low-interest loans that must be repaid when the borrower graduates, withdraws or drops to less than half-time enrollment. Parents of dependent undergraduate students can take out educational loans through the Federal Direct PLUS loan program.
  • Student Employment. Federal Work-Study jobs may be awarded by SFA to students with demonstrated financial need as part of an aid package. Other job programs, such as OPS employment, do not require financial need and are open to any student with the desire to work who meets the basic criteria of half time enrollment and a 2.0 GPA. Student jobs usually are 15-20 hours a week and pay at least minimum wage.

  How to Apply for Financial Aid
  FAFSA Application
  Enrollment Requirements for Financial Aid

  When to Apply: Applications are available January 1 each year. Although SFA cannot award financial aid until students have been admitted to UF, they should apply for aid as soon as possible after January 1. Students are considered for aid according to the date their aid file is complete. Federal Pell Grants, Federal Direct Stafford Loans and OPS employment are open throughout the year.

  March 15 is the "on-time" deadline for SFA to receive students’ information from the need analysis agency for Federal Work Study, Federal Perkins loans, Turner Grants and university loan consideration.

  Federal Direct loan deadlines occur each semester. The fall deadline for Stafford, Unsubsidized Stafford and PLUS loan application is October 15.

• Student Health Care Center, Infirmary Building on Fletcher Drive

  Hours of operation and scheduling appointment information
  Medical Excuse Note Policy

  The SHCC provides outpatient medical services that include primary medical care, health screening programs, GatorWell health promotion services, sexual assault recovery services and mental health counseling. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Inc. accredits the SHCC.

  There is no charge for an office visit with SHCC clinical staff, GatorWell services or mental health services. Fee-for-service charges are assessed for laboratory tests, X-rays, medical procedures, medications, physical therapy, massage therapy and consultations with health care specialists. All registered students are eligible for service.

  CPR, first-aid, first responder and life guard classes also are available for a fee. Spouses, postdoctoral students and semester-off students who plan to return the following semester may receive services if they pay an optional health fee. A Student Government-sponsored health insurance plan is available.

• UF Bookstore and Welcome Center

  The University of Florida Bookstores are located in the UF Welcome Center on Museum Road just next to the student union, in the Health Science Center and in the College of Veterinary Medicine. UF Bookstores offer new and used textbooks, school supplies, gifts and clothing. Bookstore programs include textbook reservations and a 50% guaranteed book buyback.

  UF Welcome Center is within the main UF Bookstore next to the Reitz Union. The Welcome Center is maintained by the Office of Admission and is the university's "front door" to visitors, providing weekday and Saturday information sessions and walking tours of campus.