Student Affairs in Higher Education: How Are We Preparing New
Professionals?
Kris Binard
This article addresses the question of preparing student affairs professionals for a future in higher education. Research
was conducted in the summer of 1998 to question the Faculty in the Colorado State University Student Affairs in Higher
Education graduate program. Responses related to the future of higher education, the curriculum in the current
master's program, and challenges to higher education.
INTRODUCTION
According to the Student Personnel Point of View (1937), the student affairs profession exists "to assist the students
in developing to the limits of [their] potentialities and in making [their] contribution to the betterment of society"
(American Council on Education, 1937, p. 1). Although simple, this statement describes the essence of the field.
Student affairs professionals at times believe they must explain their role as it relates to higher education, because the
purpose of student affairs is often questioned by members of the college community. Manning (1996) stated "student
affairs educators consider their role as essential, not because of their relative importance to the academic mission, but
because their purposes and mission are intrinsically essential to the mission of higher education" (p. 42). Since the role
of student affairs is a component of higher education, student affairs programs are available to students who wish to
become professionals in the field.
An attrition study on the field of student affairs revealed role conflict and role ambiguity as the two most common
reasons student affairs professionals leave the field within five years (Ward, 1995). An effective student affairs
administrator can help eliminate this role ambiguity by clarifying expectations, discussing roles within the organization,
and improving communication. In light of this, student affairs graduate programs need to provide new professionals
the tools to be successful. Preparing future student affairs professionals for the work they will encounter in the field
is one strategy for providing the tools necessary. Ward (1995) asserted "persons preparing to enter student affairs must
be given accurate, honest appraisals of the nature of the work, particularly those aspects pertaining to role behavior"
(p. 41). Students should leave graduate programs with a full philosophical understanding of the career they have chosen.
Student affairs professionals first must analyze some of the recent data on student affairs to determine what student
affairs graduate programs need to include. Students in the 1990s are different from college students thirty years ago.
Today's undergraduates have full lives, including families and full-time jobs, and many undergraduate students are over
the age of 25. Research conducted by Levine and Cureton (1998) revealed that
Higher education is not as central to the lives of today's undergraduates as it was to previous generations. Increasingly, college is just one of a multiplicity of activities in which they are engaged everyday. For many, it is not even the most important of these. (p. 15)
Delivering student services will become even more of a challenge for student affairs professionals as they serve a
changing population of students. Student affairs professionals will need to look for new ways to deliver student services
and provide avenues for student development. Astin (1998) compared interviews with undergraduate students from
1966 and 1996 and found that the comment, "developing a meaningful philosophy of life" is declining, while the
comment, "being very well off financially" has been increasing (p. 124). Statements similar to these reveal the changing
values of students in higher education today. New student affairs professionals should be aware of these changes to
better understand the changing student population.
When asked to identify key skills that student affairs professionals will need to understand to succeed in higher
education, selected chief student affairs officers responded with several qualities, including leadership, student contact,
communication, and personnel and fiscal management. A review of current literature has also revealed many of the
issues student affairs programs should include to be successful. Some of the skills identified were professional
development and research and evaluation (Fey & Carpenter, 1996). This kind of knowledge and skill development
should be required for students who are participating in student affairs in higher education or similar graduate programs.
In a recent presentation at Colorado State University, Carol Christ, Vice Chancellor and Provost of the University of
California-Berkeley, listed several challenges universities will face in the 21st century. These challenges include fiscal
management, access, public identity, technology, accountability, and distance learning (1998). Each of these challenges
will effect a new student affairs professional.
Because college students and their needs in student services are changing, student affairs graduate programs should
examine how they are preparing new student affairs professionals. This study examined what skills and knowledge need
to be addressed when developing a student affairs in higher education graduate program.
METHOD
In summer 1998, a Student Affairs in Higher Education Questionnaire (see Appendix) was sent to 20 faculty members
who teach in the Colorado State University Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) graduate program. The
questionnaire was developed by the author to assess responses about the Colorado State University SAHE graduate
program. The questionnaire included open-ended questions on what to teach, how to teach, the organizational structure
of the department, and challenges to higher education. Twelve of the completed responses were usable for this study.
RESULTS
The responses from theFfaculty at Colorado State University mirror many of the challenges Christ (1998) mentioned
above. Listed below are the responses from some of the faculty at Colorado State University.
Future of Higher Education
One of the questions on the questionnaire related to the topic of the future of higher education. The faculty answered
the question, "What does a leader in higher education need to know to be successful in the next five to ten years?" The
responses fell into four broad categories: change, skills, trends, and orientation.
Change included:
Skills included:
Trends included:
Orientation included:
Curriculum Changes
These responses are similar to the research Fey and Carpenter (1996) reported which identified professional development, research, and evaluation. Colorado State University SAHE Faculty currently is examining courses to determine if they address those issues. When asked to suggest some curriculum changes, their answers fit into two categories, which could be classified as skills and knowledge.
Curriculum changes to address the skill level include:
Knowledge responses included:
The Faculty answers to the curriculum question specifically relate to the skills identified as important in the 21st century.
The only specific change mentioned by the Faculty was to change the requirement of the pre-practicum course to seven
weeks and add an ethics course for seven weeks. Changes similar to these were made for the 1998 Fall semester. The
practicum experience relates directly to the issues of role ambiguity mentioned previously and helps to create an
understanding of the specific departments within the field of student affairs. The ethics course gives students an
opportunity to discuss the types of ethical dilemmas they will encounter as professional staff members.
Challenges for Higher Education
A third question was asked of the Faculty regarding their opinion on the greatest challenges they see higher education
facing in the future. Once again, responses addressed two themes: instruction and access to higher education.
Instruction responses included:
Access included:
These responses had a commonality not found with any of the others. The Faculty focused on access to higher
education by addressing the cost of higher education. Instruction was mentioned through their responses on technology,
including how technology will be delivered and how it will affect the curricular and co-curricular education of college
students. According to these responses, student affairs professionals need to be prepared for future challenges in order
to be successful in higher education.
In order to prepare student affairs in higher education graduate students to face these challenges, Colorado State SAHE Faculty members suggested:
The last question related to how the Colorado State University SAHE Faculty can meet the challenges of teaching courses in higher education. Some suggestions included:
From this list and the frequency of responses, time to research and prepare, as well as access to literature on higher
education are the most critical pieces. Faculty struggle with the balance of being a professional in the field and teaching
and advising students. The Colorado State University SAHE Faculty are concerned that they are not staying abreast
of current trends in higher education.
A specific question dealt with the issue of part-time versus full-time faculty teaching in the Colorado State University
SAHE Program. Ten of those who responded believe that full-time faculty is important to the SAHE Program. These
respondents felt that full-time faculty could engage in more research and spend more time with the students. In addition,
they noted the need for a balance of both part-time and full-time faculty. Only two felt that part-time and full-time roles
should be the same, and that the practical experience from a part-time faculty member is crucial in understanding the
practical issues in student affairs.
According to the American College Personnel Association (ACPA)(1994), certain criteria are important for a student
affairs in higher education graduate program. These criteria are (a) at least one full-time faculty member in the program;
(b) at least four content courses about student services/affairs/development and the college student/environment; (c) a
program of at least two academic years; and (d) at least one practicum opportunity for students in the program. While
the ACPA believes that at least one faculty member should be devoted to teaching in the program full-time, it also
would seem that Colorado State University Faculty would agree that some full-time faculty are needed for the Program
to be successful.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION
The SAHE Program Faculty at Colorado State University responded to many issues about the future of higher education.
Their answers included skills, trends, and knowledge as important foundations, as well as issues such as instruction,
change, access, and orientation. Due to the Colorado State University SAHE Faculty responses, the curriculum could
be evaluated to see how it currently reflects these changing needs or may adjust to do so in the future.
When examining the literature that suggests that student affairs professionals leave the field within five years (Ward,
1995), it is important to know why and how changes in the curriculum might effect this phenomenon. More research
needs to be conducted to determine how student affairs programs can assist in the attrition rate within the profession.
Current research also suggests a need for a changing curriculum to reflect the changing needs of college students. As
Levine and Cureton (1998) pointed out, current undergraduates are in need of four things: hope, responsibility,
appreciation of differences, and efficacy. Students need to believe that they can make a difference, and student affairs
professionals should be prepared to deliver opportunities that will allow students to make these differences. Therefore,
new student affairs professionals should be prepared for the next generation of undergraduate students.
More research needs to be conducted to determine what student affairs professionals need to learn and be able to do to
be successful in higher education in the next millennium.
REFERENCES
American Council on Education. (1937). Student personnel point of view. Washington, DC: Author.
American College Personnel Association (1994). Directory of graduate preparation programs in college student
personnel. Washington, DC: Author
Astin, A. (1998). The changing American college student: Thirty-year trends, 1966-1996. Review of Higher Education, 21(2), 114-135.
Christ, C. T. (1998, July). The research university in the 21st century. Presentation at Colorado State University. Fort Collins, CO.
Fey, C. J. & Carpenter, D. S. (1996). Mid-level student affairs administrators: Management skills and professional development needs. NASPA Journal, 33(3), 218-231.
Levine, A., & Cureton, J. (1998, July/August). Collegiate life: An obituary. Change,13-17.
Levine, A., & Cureton, J. (1998). When hope and fear collide: A portrait of today's college student. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Manning, K. (1996). Contemplating the myths of student affairs. NASPA Journal, 34(1), 36-46.
Ward, L. (1995). Role stress and propensity to leave among new student affairs professionals. NASPA Journal, 33(1),
35-44.
Appendix
Student Affairs in Higher Education Questionnaire
Colorado State University
This questionnaire is designed to examine the Student Affairs in Higher Education master's degree program at CSU
to determine how student affairs professionals are trained and taught. Your thorough response is appreciated. All
responses will be compiled into a final document; however, specific individuals will not be mentioned.
Name: ___________________________________________________________
Title: ____________________________________________________________
Courses you have taught or are currently teaching: _______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
What do you believe will be the biggest challenges to higher education in the future? ___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
How are you preparing graduate students to handle these challenges?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What does a leader in higher education need to know to be successful in the next 5-10 years? _______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Do you see your student affairs program changing in the near future as it relates to core requirements? If so, how? _____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
What are some suggestions in regards to changing the curriculum requirements of the program? _______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
What are the tools you need as a faculty member to meet the challenges of teaching higher education?
______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
What are your thoughts on the role of full-time versus part-time faculty? Do you see these roles as being different
from one another? If so, how?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kris Binard ('94) is the Director of Student Life at Front Range Community College/Larimer Campus.