Student Affairs in Higher Education

Advising and Supporting in Student Affairs is a practical guide that will help student affairs professionals do the perpetual reflection needed to sustain themselves in a career that requires they bring their whole self to work in order to be good company for students and in community. It brings into focus essential aspects of professional development, such as how to raise your self-awareness, how to reflect on your personal and professional identity, and how to do so in the context of the standards and competencies of the profession. It is a unique offering to the profession that extends beyond reviewing the literature or reporting the competencies. It assumes that to be competent in advising and supporting students, student affairs professionals must not only possess the skills, knowledges, and dispositions to complete the basic tasks, but also, they need to build the stamina to situate themselves in relation to the challenges they are facing in their professional lives. This type of reflection asks that student affairs professionals strive to make meaning of their identity, background, historical context, cultural norms, and institutional dynamics as they work with students. Through a specific focus from each of the chapter authors, the editors provide specific guidance on professional competencies that goes beyond surface-level understanding of the 'what' (specific policies, ethical guidelines) and into inviting a more thoughtful connection between those and the all-important 'why and how' (reflective action, traversing conflict, and controversy). That is, it offers content along with the processes of how to engage these professional ideals in real life by providing relevant examples through case studies and practice scenarios. Also, essential guidance is given on how to reflect and to learn and absorb lessons that will help the student affairs professional embody a whole life in the profession.

The editors of Emerging International Issues in Student Affairs Research and Practice situate developing issues in student affairs through research, new and emergent methodologies, pedagogies, and practices. The text aims to encourage intercultural perspectives and opportunities across student affairs research and practice, while calling upon international student affairs practitioners, faculty, and staff to engage in international evidence-based research that provides a foundation toward a collective consensus of the field. To accomplish these goals, the editors invited predominant practitioners in student affairs practice and student affairs scholars from across the globe to engage in discourse, share their insights, and offer implications to the student affairs profession at the international level. The editors do this by dividing the text into two parts: Part I: Theoretical, Historical, Cultural, and Ideological Considerations in International Student Affairs and Part II: Emergent International Issues and Practice in Student Affairs. In Part I, the text addresses larger contexts, theories, and frameworks for understanding some of the most recent concerns and issues that have surfaced among international higher education leaders, student affairs professionals, and scholars. The section highlights discourse on directions and praxis that relate to the internationalization of student affairs and the resulting implications. Part II amplifies the larger international issues that have recently surfaced through the context of student affairs practice. International scholars and practitioners share timely concerns and matters that influence the profession on a global scale. This section highlights specific ways that practitioners can think about their work moving forward and implications that can shape research and the profession in the future. Collectively, these chapters represent a snapshot in time. Written early in the third decade of the 21st century, they emerge from one of the most distinctive--and some would say, one of the most unrelenting and tragic--recent periods of human history. The confluence of the pandemic and other global issues is exerting extensive pressure on higher education in general and the practice of student affairs in specific. Consequently, sustained, significant change seems inevitable. As a text within the series, International Perspectives on Educational Policy, Research and Practice--a series that aids to be a leading forum for global discussion on educational issues, urgent problems, successful experiences, and reflections from educational researchers and practitioners around the world--the editors believe the text is both timely and consequential.

This unique book is a valuable tool for all student affairs educators. The text opens with an exploration of the history of assessment in higher education, in general, and then student affairs more specifically. Having established a historical perspective, the reader then delves into chapters that align with the Assessment, Evaluation, and Research (AER) competency and accompanying rubric. It provides the reader with a unique approach to learning and understanding AER. It is designed in a format that describes/defines this competency at the foundational, intermediate, and advanced outcome levels; suggests ways to apply this competency in practice through case studies from student affairs; and provides tools for the assessment of competency understanding. All chapters include relevant terminology necessary for understanding, the competency applied to a case study, and an opportunity for self-assessment. While the book is designed for those who are preparing to become student affairs educators and for those who are new to this discipline, it is certainly filled with information and resources for entry-level, mid-level, and senior-level professionals. The text is not only a blueprint but also a global positioning system on assessment, evaluation, and research in student affairs to guide the reader in the process of helping and educating students. The book bridges the gap between who one is today and who one wants to become as a future student affairs educator. As a guidebook, it is a unique and valuable source to aid the student in developing real professional competency.

The Heritage of Student Affairs in Higher Education: History, Philosophy, and Values is a valuable resource for student affairs educators seeking to discover their professional roots. It focuses on student affairs in the United States. It offers insights into the philosophical foundations of the field, including history, values, ethics, and practices, while providing a unique perspective on diversity, social justice, and inclusion. In this book, you will learn how student affairs educators establish their professional identity through practice. All the essential elements of student affairs have been expertly interconnected, creating a blueprint highlighting the profession's heritage. The book situates the ACPA/NASPA (2015) competencies within fundamental aspects of the student affairs field by providing current literature and real-world examples. The case studies presented demonstrate the complexity of ethical decision-making and leading through a social justice lens. It prioritizes integrating social justice into student affairs by discussing professional identity, standards, and competencies throughout each chapter. Chapter One traces diversity and inclusion within student affairs from the elitist beginning to the current times. Chapter Two introduces the ethic of care and social justice. Chapter Three discusses the philosophical and practical applications of experiential learning. Chapter Four covers the role of values and ethics in decision-making for student affairs educators. Lastly, Chapter Five reflects on the field's foundations while focusing on the future. It will be a valuable resource for graduate students in student affairs preparation programs and new student affairs educators to foster their professional identity and ultimately achieve their goal of whole-person education.

Co-published with  In these days when every college or university needs to make the best use of resources, Student Affairs for Academic Administratorsis 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.

A COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCE FOR UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING RESEARCH METHODS Research Methods and Applications for Student Affairs offers students and professionals in the field an authoritative and accessible guide to help navigate research in student affairs. This comprehensive resource on research methods instruction clearly shows how to interpret the various forms of research, how to be critical as a research consumer, and how to use research to inform practice. Author J. Patrick Biddix--a noted scholar and expert in the field--presents a detailed overview of three qualitative-focused and four quantitative-focused research methods. The text reviews the basics of these qualitative and quantitative approaches and explores how to differentiate the major types of research as well as how to understand, read, evaluate, and apply results. Biddix also includes important information on using mixed methods approaches. The user-friendly text includes insights on key issues, as well as descriptions of the individual sections that comprise research studies. Also included is an overview of ethical considerations that apply specifically to student affairs. Research Methods and Applications for Student Affairs is an essential guide for enhancing research methods' skills, and offers direction for applying those skills in actual work situations.

Design thinking is an innovative problem-solving framework. This introduction is the first book to apply its methodology to student affairs and, in doing so, points the way to its potentially wider value to higher education as a whole. With its focus on empathy, which is the need to thoroughly understand users' experiences, design thinking is user-centered, similar to how student affairs is student-centered. Because the focus of design thinking is to design withusers, not forusers, it aligns well with student affairs practice. In addition, its focus on empathy makes design thinking a more equitable approach to problem-solving than other methods because all users' experiences--not just the experiences of majority or "average" student--need to be understood. Centering empathy in problem-solving processes can be a tool to disrupt higher education systems and practices. Design thinking is a framework to foster innovation, and, by its nature, innovation is about responding to change factors with creativity. In an organization, design thinking is inherently connected to organizational change and culture because the process is really about changing people to help them rally around a disruptive idea. Implementing design thinking on a campus may in itself be disruptive and require a change management process. The beauty of using design thinking is that it can also act as a framework to support organizational culture change. Design thinking approaches, with their focus on stakeholder needs (as opposed to systemic norms), collaborative solutions building, and structured empathy activities can offer a concrete tool to disrupt harmfulsystems of power and oppression. Design thinking as a process is not a magic solution to equity problems, though it can be a powerful tool to approach the development of solutions that can address inequity. Design thinking is data-driven and considers both qualitative and quantitative data as necessary to gain most complete picture of an issue and its possible solutions, whether a product, program, or service. Design thinking has numerous benefits to afford students affairs. Chapter 1 outlines a case for design thinking in student affairs. Chapter 2 discusses a brief history of design thinking, noting its germination and evolution to current practice. Chapter 3 provides a detailed description of each step of the design thinking model with pertinent examples to make the steps clearer. Chapter 4 explains the intersection of equity and design thinking while chapter 5 explores the use of design thinking for organizational change. Chapter 6 presents a new model for design thinking assessment. Chapter 7 addresses the challenges and limitations of the process. Chapter 8 concludes the book by discussing the alignment of design thinking and student affairs and outlining next steps. Design thinking is an innovative process that can change the way higher education and student affairs operates, realizing the potential it offers.