Sponsored by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators This comprehensive volume offers practitioners at all levels specific guidelines, strategies, and practical advice on how to effectively manage and administer the student affairs of diverse college and university campuses. Student affairs practitioners will find this book a valuable source of information on mastering the higher education political process, sharpening management conflict resolution skills, and advancing methods for assessing outcomes of programs and services.
This volume challenges the widely held assumption that the professional practice of student affairs administration transcends the influence of organizational culture. Based on data and commentaries from more than 1,100 practitioners, this book describes how the experience of student affairs administrators varies by institutional type. The findings paint a multifaceted and integrated portrait of the profession. For instance, the standard bearers at liberal art colleges share as much in common with the generalists at comprehensive institutions as they do with the interpreters at religiously affiliated campuses. The specialists at research universities are juxtaposed against the producers at community colleges, however they have closer ties to the change agents at Hispanic-serving institutions. The work of the guardians at historically Black colleges and universities is linked to practice at both liberal arts and community colleges. Where You Work Matters offers current and future administrators a greater appreciation for the vibrancy and complexity of the student affairs profession.
Co-published with In these days when every college or university needs to make the best use of resources, Student Affairs for Academic Administrators is intended to help academic administrators make the best use of one vital campus resource: student affairs. By providing this concise introduction to student affairs as a discipline and a profession, the authors of this volume provide a foundation for working together to improve the student experience and enhance learning. Since academic administrators typically come up through the faculty ranks, they are unlikely to have a good grasp of what their student affairs colleagues bring to the common work of education. To provide a better understanding, the chapters in this volume cover topics such as: • The history of student affairs, and functions typically associated with student affairs divisions; • Current thinking and research in student development theory; • Theoretical constructs underlying contemporary student affairs practice (and ways to employ these theories in academic administration); • Diversity issues and their impact on student outcomes in the collegiate environment.After a chapter on how to build successful collaborations between academic affairs and student affairs, two final chapters explore specific examples of how such collaborations work in practice: Academic honor codes, and undergraduate research. While written for academic administrators, the book also provides valuable insights for those in student affairs seeking to improve understanding and facilitate collaboration with colleagues in academic affairs.
The Foremost Authorities on Student Affairs Address Issues Facing The Field Today The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration is a comprehensive and thoughtful resource for the field, with expert insight on the issues facing student affairs. This fourth edition has been fully updated to reflect the most current and effective practices in student affairs administration. New chapters address persistence, retention, and completion; teaching and learning; working with athletics and recreation; leadership; purpose and civic engagement; spirituality; and fundraising. Emerging populations are discussed throughout, featuring specific advice for working with veterans and dual-enrolling high school students. New material includes the role of student affairs in study abroad programs, student use of technology and using social media to serve students, working with student athletes, and more. Professionals at all levels of student affairs administration need practical, timely, and applied information on the myriad issues that fall under the student affairs umbrella. This NASPA-sponsored guide collects the latest information, methods, and advice from the field's leading authorities to bring you up to date on the latest solutions and best practices. Learn about the dominant organization and administration models in student affairs Stay up to date on core competencies and professional development models Examine the latest literature, and consider both the newest and lasting issues facing student affairs Instructor resources available As both the student population and the college experience grow more diverse, student affairs professionals need to update their toolset to face the broader scope of the field and the new challenges that arise every day. The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration provides invaluable guidance to graduate students and professionals alike, and is the one resource you should not be without.
Effective socialization of new student affairs professionals is essential—both for the individual success of these practitioners, and for the work of a college or university that promotes student learning. It enables new professionals to manage the important personal and professional transitions they experience throughout their careers, engage in continuous professional development, and achieve high levels of productivity. It also counteracts the high attrition rate among new hires, with all the attendant costs to the institution in terms of resources spent on recruiting, hiring, training, supervising, and developing staff talent.The socialization process for new professionals includes formal and informal elements that influence both success and quality of work life. This process is far more complex than a single orientation program organized by a unit or division. Rather, it is a comprehensive process where both the new professional and organization learn about and from each other in ways that influence working relationships and individual and organizational outcomes.Part I of this book defines the concept, explains its value, and offers a model of socialization. Part II examines the institutional context in which the socialization of new professionals occurs, and describes how different institutional types influence the socialization process. It considers the changing characteristics of college students, and how these impact the work of student affairs.In addressing the extra-institutional and professional contexts, Part III considers the role that graduate education plays in preparing new professionals for work in student affairs, and offers guidance to faculty and practitioners involved in graduate education about what they can do to introduce graduate students to professional life. It addresses the importance of professional orientation activities, the roles of supervision and mentorship, as well as the impact of peers and institutions on the socialization process. It concludes with a discussion of the role and importance of professional associations.This book is intended for graduate program faculty, for senior student affairs officers concerned about developing and retaining the new staff, and for administrators and leaders in student affairs shaping the future of the profession. For new professionals themselves it offers insights on the path to professionalization.
Styled as a complete update to the 1991 book "Administration and Leadership in Student Affairs", this work addresses issues of importance to student affairs professionals. Grounded in human development, learning, leadership, group dynamics, management theories, and social science research and evaluation methods, this book articulates the means for college student affairs administrators to function in the forefront of student learning and personal development initiatives. The book focuses on the three essential roles played by student affairs administrators: as educators who play a significant role in addressing the academic goals of their institutions, as leaders who help to shape the vision of their institution's student affairs practice and education mission, and as managers who are responsible for co-ordinating programs and services, supervising staff, and overseeing university facilities and budgets.
What is your level of understanding of the many moral, ideological, and political issues that student affairs educators regularly encounter? What is your personal responsibility to addressing these issues? What are the rationales behind your decisions? What are the theoretical perspectives you might choose and why? How do your responses compare with those of colleagues?Contested Issues in Student Affairs augments traditional introductory handbooks that focus on functional areas (e.g., residence life, career services) and organizational issues. It fills a void by addressing the social, educational and moral concepts and concerns of student affairs work that transcend content areas and administrative units, such as the tensions between theory and practice, academic affairs and student affairs, risk taking and failure; and such as issues of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and spirituality. It places learning and social justice at the epicenter of student affairs practice.The book addresses these issues by asking 24 critical and contentious questions that go to the heart of contemporary educational practice. Intended equally for future student affairs educators in graduate preparation programs, and as reading for professional development workshops, it is designed to stimulate reflection and prompt readers to clarify their own thinking and practice as they confront the complexities of higher education.Student affairs faculty, administrators, and graduate students here situate these 24 questions historically in the professional literature, present background information and context, define key terms, summarize the diverse ideological and theoretical responses to the questions, make explicit their own perspectives and responses, discuss their political implications, and set them in the context of the changing nature of student affairs work. Each chapter is followed by a response that offers additional perspectives and complications, reminding readers of the ambiguity and complexity of many situations.Each chapter concludes with a brief annotated bibliography of seminal works that offer additional information on the topic, as well as with a URL to a moderated blog site that encourages further conversation on each topic and allows readers to teach and learn from each other, and interact with colleagues beyond their immediate campus. The website invites readers to post blogs, respond to each other, and upload relevant resources. The book aims to serve as a conversation starter to engage professionals in on-going dialogue about these complex and enduring challenges.Short ContentsThe 24 questions are organized into four units.I. The Philosophical Foundations of Student Affairs in Higher Education explores the implications and complications of student affair educators placing learning at the epicenter of their professional work. II. The Challenges of Promoting Learning and Development explores the challenges associated with learning-centered practice. III. Achieving Inclusive and Equitable Learning Environments addresses crafting learning environments that include students whose needs are often labeled “special,” or students and/or student subcultures that are often marginalized and encouraged to adapt to normalizing expectations. IV. Organizing Student Affairs Practice for Learning and Social Justice addresses the organizational and professional implications of placing learning and social justice at the epicenter of student affairs practice.
This Black Administrators in Higher Education book displays a group of administrators from predominantly white and historically black institutions from both four-year and two-year institutions. Through the lenses of autoethnography and personal narrative studies, this extraordinary edited volume by two former deans of education provide the audience with cutting-edge research findings on a variety of topics relative to black administrators working in higher education.
