A Research Study Of Academic And Student Affairs

My desire as a child to travel the world led me to my education at Pace University, first of my many destinations. The teaching methodology, the process of assigning homework, the serene atmosphere in the campus and the ever-helping faculty and staff have already instilled confidence in me. This has helped me ease out of my comfort zone to explore and innovate. Gaining my higher education in America has exposed me to a whole new set of scholastic vocabularies such as credit hours, GPA, courses, Greek life involving sororities and fraternities and

Student affairs is less about being a bottomless well of knowledge, rather it is about having genuine interactions with students who are looking to you to as a role model. If by the end of my practice I can leverage my experiences and understanding to make a positive impact on the world through my relationships with my students, I will consider myself a success.

As a graduate student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, I had the opportunity to enhance my understanding of higher education through my coursework, and involvement with on campus organizations. While a graduate student, I also worked in both the student affairs and academic advising department and, I was able to conduct research as part of course assignments. As a non-traditional, first-generation undergraduate student, I found particular interest in research topics involving non-traditional students like myself. I found interest in the history of financial aid and the admission process in regards to a student who took less traditional routes to access higher education.

This paper is separated into two parts that are connected. The first part will cover my beliefs about higher education focusing on my Student Affairs philosophy while integrating theories and work from current or previous successful Student Affairs professionals. The second part will also discuss my beliefs, foundation of my faith, my strengths, my challenges, my beliefs, my values, and my goals.

Higher Education between 1945 and 1970 was known as the “Golden Age” and SPPV (1949) came right at the beginning of this era (Thelin & Gasman, 2011). In 1945 the federal government used the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill), to offset the pressure of hundreds of thousands returning war veterans into a job market that was not able to handle them all (Thelin & Gasman, 2011). The GI Bill provided a policy for increasing the diversity of student at both colleges and universities (Thelin & Gasman, 2011). The influx of students stressed many campuses because they did not have enough faculty and staff to accommodate the students as well as the physical environment to house all the students (Thelin & Gassman, 2011). The stress involved with the increase of students even further shows the need for SPPV (1949) pushing the separation between student services staff and faculty, because faculty simply did not have the time to advise and work with every new student now enrolling in the higher education system. Parker (1978) shows that during the 1960’s most colleges and universities had whole divisions dedicated to student affairs professionals, which were not present in the past and directly reflective of SPPV (1949). SPPV (1949) laid out 17 services of a student personnel program that became divisions by the 1960’s (Parker, 1978).

The Student Government Association, a student lead organization aimed to improve the campus community, has established several goals they would like to accomplish during the current school year, 2015-2016. In order to determine these goals and objectives, two detailed persona profiles were created which provided the association with a better understanding of their audiences and how to best communicate with them. The publics were divided into two groups, students pertaining to the senate and students pertaining to the student body. Therefore, the next stage consists in performing research regarding the goals SGA has established by conducting surveys and focus groups on campus.

With outreach from student and academic affairs and the creation of “Blue Ribbon” committees (Zhang, 2010) institutions are well underway to addressing the issues mentioned above. These issues are on every campus regardless of Greek life. (Glindemann, & Geller, 2003). Long (2012) recommends that student affairs staff “establish and enforce quiet hours and create quiet study spaces in chapter houses, inform members with deficient grades about resources to improve their academic standing, and add workshops on developing study skills and career-related abilities” (p.

Equal Access to Higher Education: Believe it or not, until the 1970’s, some colleges and universities refused to accept women into their institutions. Why? The answer’s simple: education officials at the time

The first two chapters of this book set the background for student development and how theory has evolved over the years. As time passed and college student demographics changed, new ideas and views were developed to understand the ever changing student body. Theorists realized that the college experience was different between demographic groups. Being able to develop student affairs practices and activities that can reach the different student groups is probably the biggest challenge a student affairs professional will tackle. It is said that student development is most achieved by involvement by the students. This means that these activities must be designed to accommodate students from all walks of life.

There is a need for continued research in the area of shared governance among stakeholders and departments in the decision-making process for better clarity of necessity and function in higher education. There has been essentially no research on restructuring the decision-making process for collaboration (Kezar, 2005). It is difficult for colleges and universities to succeed in a top-down hierarchal structure. To encourage collaboration and networking across the institution, configuration of a leveled design is needed (Finch et al., 2010). Advocates recommend organizations have critical personnel in the development, such as campus leaders connected to the systems, individuals that affect policy, and those with justifiably influence in the process of decision-making and change (Kezar, 2005). The business sector conducted research-involving restructure to advance cooperative work (Liedtka, 1996). The research provided in the review offers a foundation for testing and developing a model of collaboration in the higher education area. Research from organizational theory demonstrates that models of collaboration are usually more successful if modified in the context in which they are used (Birnbaum, 2002). Collaboration among departments and those making decisions is important for continued growth in higher education. Without communication, there is higher employee turnover. The systems within the institution struggles due to an inability to make effective choices that impact institutions as a whole. The bureaucracy within post-secondary institutions and lack of collaboration among those in authority and departments diminish school reputations, influence employee morale, and affect

It was during the 1920’s where the Student Affairs profession got national coverage. In 1924, the National Association of Appointment Secretaries (NAAS) was founded (Gordon, 2015). It was the Precursor to the ACPA, American College Personnel Association. NAAS renamed National Association of Personnel and Placement Officers NAPPO was founded in 1929. Which led up to the Student Personnel Point of View in 1937. This was a guiding document for Student Affairs Professions. It stated that, “one of the basic purposes of higher education is the preservation, transmission, and enrichment of the important elements of culture the product of scholarship, research, creative imagination, and human experience” (The Student Personnel Point of View, 1937, p. 1). They wrote in this report that the colleges and universities are responsible for those elements to take place as well as other educational purposes that would assist the student in developing to their limits. They were tasked with helping the student realize their potential in making contributions to the betterment of society.

Upon identifying programs available on various college campuses as they relate to first year students; it has become noticeable that university leaders are concerned with the retention of students within their first and second year of college. Therefore many universities have developed programs that are focused on the success of the freshman student and ensuring that group of students’ matriculations throughout their degree programs. As quoted in “The Dynamics of Organization in Higher Education (Kuh, 1996) “the frequent and increasingly predictable accusation that institutions of higher education operate in “silos” is based on their various schools, colleges, and athletic programs operating in parallel with one another, more focused on promoting than on adhering to or accomplishing broader institutional

The Academic Affairs Division comprise of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), Business, Liberal Arts, Social Science, Health Careers, Learning Commons, and the Brunswick University Center. Dr. Janice-Taylor Heard is the Dean of Academic Affairs. I currently report to Dr. Taylor-Heard as the Interim Assistant Dean/Director of the Learning Commons and Academic Support Services. The Academic Affairs objective is to strategize and implement initiatives that geared towards student success, faculty development and adjunct services. Included in its objective is to develop an academic support system for students with tutoring and technology.

Today, many higher education institutions is very complex in their daily operational schematics and departmental functions within each institution itself. In my attempt to accomplish the task of researching and understanding the integral parts of higher institution’s departments, I elected to investigate Academic Services/Advisement. Although, Academic Services are not affiliated with the Student Affairs department, none the less, I was intrigued by the functionality and the operational process involved with this department. Interestingly, I wanted to conduct my research at an institution that was fairly close in proximity from the downtown area of St. Louis. Ultimately, with the vast number of institutions, in the St. Louis region alone,

Learn. Never put yourself in the same position twice. Expand your horizon. Live with open eyes and mind. Remember that time remains the utmost precious commodity in all existence. All of my past experiences have been able to teach myself lessons. Lessons that I will share with you. Subsequently proceed into further detail regarding how I might be able to contribute to the Towson University campus community.