Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons^™

The Experiences Of Postsecondary Students With Disabilities Utilizing One Stop Student Services: A Grounded Theory Approach, Ivan Noe

Education (PhD) Dissertations

The number of students with disabilities attending postsecondary institutions of higher education continues to rise. With it, it is necessary to understand better how they experience their institution beyond curricular spaces. Presently, there exists a gap in the knowledge of how these students experience co-curricular support, including assistance with enrollment services through one stops. This study sought to understand the multiple ways in which this population of students experiences the one stop at one of three four-year public research universities in California. This qualitative research study utilized the constructivist grounded theory methodology and methods to aid in the emergence of …

Understanding Holistic Development And Wellness: Experiences And Perspectives Of Filipino Student Leaders, Leandro Loyola

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study focuses on how student leaders coming from different Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) understand Holistic Development and Wellness based on their experiences and perspectives. Literature underscores the clear role of HEIs in ensuring the holistic development and wellness of the students, whose responsibility includes creating programs and policies that promote the development of students in different aspects. This responsibility is being shared with the members of the community like the administrators, teachers, and even with the students. Student leaders, especially the active student ones, are believed to play an active role in leading the implementation of programs and …

Queering The Bible Belt: Stories Of Student Affairs Professionals Establishing Lgbtq Pride Centers In The Deep South, Kevin David Linton

Educational Studies Dissertations

This study examined the experiences of 20 student affairs professionals who played a pivotal role in the establishment of LGBTQ pride centers at public four-year institutions of higher education in the Bible Belt. Since the first pride center opened at the University of Michigan in 1971, pride centers have been a critical resource for supporting LGBTQ college students. In the Bible Belt, 28 pride centers have been successfully established by professionals despite social, fiscal, and religious conservatism negatively influencing public support of LGBTQ initiatives. However, best practices for establishment in this region have not emerged. Understanding the experiences of individuals …

Career Longevity In Student Affairs: Implications For New Professionals From A Qualitative Study, Diane R. D'Arcangelo

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Over the past several decades, the retention of new professionals in student affairs has been a concern. Many newcomers leave the profession before completing five years in the field. This qualitative study explored factors contributing to career longevity in student affairs professionals through semi-structured interviews. I interviewed eight participants working at Mid-Atlantic University for more than five years. The semi-structured interviews were set up with a dual focus. The first half of the interview focused on the participants' experience as new professionals, followed by questions that explored their perspectives on supervising new professionals. Seasoned professionals who remained in the field …

Student Affairs Professionals As Tempered Radicals: Lessons On Action And Advocacy, Devin A. De Both

Masters Theses

Modern universities are intricate organizations with many stakeholders each with their own goals and objectives. In a time of resource scarcity, student affairs professionals are tasked with advocating on behalf of their students, staffs, departments, and priorities against more solvent operations. Effective managers and administrators must align their priorities with other actors on campus and in accordance with institutional values. This study asked how professionals engage in the advocacy process, including the strategies that they use. Utilizing the tempered radicals perspective, this qualitative study was conducted through four interviews with experienced senior level student affairs professionals.

Integrating International Graduate Students On Campus: The Perspectives Of Student Affairs Professionals And Staff, Rachal Etshim

Dissertations

International graduate students are a unique population that face specific challenges that affect their campus integration (Arthur, 2017; Burdett & Crossman, 2012; Sharma, 2019). The role of student affairs professionals and staff includes developing and integrating all students, including international graduate students, on-campus (Di Maria, 2012; Braskamp, 2011; Kuh, 2009; Wilcox, et al., 2005). However, many student affairs professionals and staff feel unprepared to serve or work with international graduate students (Brandenburg, 2016; Cierra, 2004; Di Maria, 2012; Yakaboski & Perozzi, 2018). There has been little empirical research conducted on student affairs professionals and staff members’ perspectives about their role …

A Different Kind Of Job Search: Post-Graduate Student Affairs Geographically Focused Searches, Michelle L. Boettcher

Georgia Journal of College Student Affairs

As student affairs graduate students finish their academic work and begin their job searches, they must navigate a number of competing priorities including position, title, work responsibilities, functional area, salary, benefits and other aspects of the position. For some graduates, the most important consideration is geographical location – they want to be close to family, partners, or located in specific communities. As a result, they often have to be very flexible on other work considerations. They also sometimes feel isolated in their searches and get messages from peers that they are not doing their searches in the “right” way. This …

Angry White Men On Campus: Theoretical Perspectives And Recommended Responses, Kyle C. Ashlee, Pietro A. Sasso, Christina Witkowicki

Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs

In this article, the authors explore a rise in violent protest among white college men, theoretical interpretations of this trend, and recommendations that student affairs educators can implement to address the harmful acts of white male on campus. By examining hegemonic masculinity, the theory of dispossession, anomic protest masculinity, and white men’s disengagement in college, student affairs professionals can begin to understand the larger contemporary trend of student activism among white college men. Moreover, evaluating common strategies for engaging college men, including behavior-only approaches, bad-dogging accountability practices, and white privilege pedagogy, educators can gain perspective on how current responses in …

Policy Problems: Preparing Students For The “Real World”, Shannon Mckechnie

Education Publications

Employability of students has risen as a key indicator of success of institutions, alongside an increased focus on policy for skills development in Canada. In Ontario, a hub for Canada’s economy, the issue of the “skills gap” has sustained interest as a significant but contested policy issue in public post-secondary education (Viczko, Lorusso, & McKechnie, 2019). Directed by policy and by public demand, significant resources at universities are invested into efforts to increase students’ skills capacities, career prospects, and overall employability. For student affairs staff (SAS), developing student career readiness and employability is central to many portfolios of our work …

An Examination Of Nature Relatedness, Nature Exposure, And Quality Of Work-Life Among Student Affairs Professionals, Breanne Hiivala

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study explored the relationship with nature within the realm of career development. More specifically, it examined the relationship between nature relatedness, nature exposure, and quality of work-life among student affairs professionals. The participants identified as members of the American College and Personnel Association (n=275). A Pearson Product Moment Correlation Matrix (r) and a simple linear regression were used in this study. There were significant small correlations found between nature relatedness and quality of work-life variables such as home-work interface, job and career satisfaction, working conditions, and stress at work. Additionally, significant relationships were found between nature exposure and nature …

From Collaborative To Collegial Communities: Transitioning From Student Affairs Practitioner To Faculty, Michelle Lea Boettcher, Dena Kniess, Mimi Benjamin

Georgia Journal of College Student Affairs

While student affairs (SA) practitioner expertise can inform a faculty member’s knowledge in the classroom, the transition into a tenure-track faculty role from student affairs administrative roles is complex. One of the differences new faculty members with SA administrator backgrounds experience is a change in the work community and shift from collaborative to collegial cultures. While studies have examined the transition of student affairs professionals from graduate programs to full time student affairs practitioner roles and graduate students into the professoriate, there is limited scholarship on the transitional experiences of student affairs practitioners moving into faculty positions. This qualitative study …

Skills And Student Affairs: A Discourse Analysis, Shannon Mckechnie

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Media, industry, and other public actors have claimed that a ‘skills gap’ exists in students exiting post-secondary education and entering the workforce. The Ontario provincial government has developed policy, the Highly Skilled Workforce Strategy, to provide directives to universities in the province to provide skills development to students to aid in closing the gap and providing a workplace relevant education. In this study, I explore the experiences of student affairs and services (SAS) staff responsible for enacting provincial policy related to skills development at the university level by investigating the discourses that shape policy and practices of these staff …

Dragon Ambassador Manual: A Guide For Dragon Ambassadors And Supervisors, Jamie Wepking

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This Action Plan B Project is the creation of the Dragon Ambassador Manual. This comprehensive manual was created to aid in the supervision of the Dragon Ambassadors and to provide information and resources to Dragon Ambassadors as they participate in the student leadership program.

Significant research exists that student leadership programs provide great service to our student leaders, faculty, staff, and campus communities. Implementing this manual to Dragon Ambassador program will allow the involved student leaders to work with prospective students and their peers more effectively while creating meaningful experiences and interactions.

Prospective students of MSU Moorhead will benefit from …

What's In An Ally? Closing Gaps In Lgbtq+ Support, Laura Gentner

Journal of Research, Assessment, and Practice in Higher Education

This study will explore the relationship between LGBTQ+ identifying students’ expectations of and experiences with allies, and their perceptions of campus climate. LGBTQ+ ally training programs and visibility of LGBTQ+ allies contribute to both campus climate and LGBTQ+ students’ perceptions of that climate, leading to more positive and healthy college experiences. However, it is not clear that current practice in training and educating allies truly reflects the needs of LGBTQ+ identifying students.

While research is available for the design and implementation of ally training programs, there is little to no research on what LGBTQ+ identifying students expect of allies, nor …

Everyone’S Doing It. Or Are They? Understanding Student Affairs Assessment Practices At Small Private Colleges, Jonita Denise Ashley-Pauley

Doctoral Dissertations

Reports from national organizations and student affairs organizations have strongly suggested student affairs professionals engage in ongoing, comprehensive assessment of how their programs affect student learning (ACPA, 1996; ACPA & NASPA, 1997; Keeling, 2004). In terms of assessment and how it should be conducted, scholars have provided clear guidelines for the conduct of such assessment. However, to date, only one study has looked at assessment practices in student affairs programs; and that study was of three large public institutions whose student affairs programs were determined to have exemplary practices (Green, Jones, & Aloi, 2008). To date, no studies have focused …

Reclaiming The "Scholar" In Scholar-Practitioner, Rishi Sriram, Meghan Oster

Rishi Sriram, Ph.D.

Scholars and practitioners continuously espouse the importance of research in student affairs work. This study empirically examined student affairs professionals’ engagement in research. Results indicated that professionals desire to engage research, but struggle to do so regularly. Gender and education are not factors in level of research engagement, but job level is. Graduate students reported significantly higher research engagement than did full-time professionals.

Engaging Research As A Student Affairs Professional, Rishi R. Sriram

Rishi Sriram, Ph.D.

Student affairs professionals are often referred to as scholar-practitioners. As demands upon professionals increase, however, it is all too easy for the “practitioner” part to completely overtake the “scholar.” If we find ourselves too busy even to read research, perhaps it is time to pause, re-establish our priorities, and reclaim the “scholar” in scholar-practitioner.

Between The Ideal And The Practical: Using Assessment To Find The Balance, Rishi Sriram, Laine Scales, Meghan Oster

Rishi Sriram, Ph.D.

Rishi Sriram, T. Laine Scales, and Meghan Oster share how the assessment efforts of Baylor University’s Engaged Learning Groups have led to effective advocating for program improvement as well as increased administrative support.

Purpose In Life, Student Development, And Well-Being: Recommendations For Student Affairs Practitioners, Christy D. Moran

Christy Moran Craft

To supplement student development research, the author reviews clinical psychological research on the concept of purpose in life. This review is presented to provide impli- cations and recommendations for practice in the higher education setting. By not only encouraging students to identify a purpose in life but also assisting them in this process, student affairs practitioners may positively influ- ence their personal development and well-being.