Student affairs


Student affairs, student support, or student services is the department or division of services and support for student success at institutions of higher education to enhance student growth and development in the United States and abroad. People who work in this field are known as student affairs practitioners or student affairs professionals. These student affairs practitioners work to provide services and support for students and drive student learning outside of the classroom at institutions of higher education.
The size and organization of a student affairs division or department may vary based on the size, type, and location of an institution. The title of the head of student affairs also varies widely; traditionally in the United States, this position has been known as the "dean of students", as distinguished from the academic dean or the deans of individual schools within a university. In some institutions today, student affairs departments are led by a vice president or vice chancellor who then reports directly to the president/chancellor of the institution. In other cases the head of student affairs may report to the provost or academic dean.

History of student affairs

Although institutions of higher education have had to deal with student affairs in some way for as long as they have existed, student affairs as a distinct professional field emerged first in the Anglo-American context in the late 19th century. There it developed from the originally distinct positions of "dean of women" and "dean of men". The field developed much later in continental Europe, where development first began in the 1950s but was greatly spurred when the Bologna Process in the 1990s created a surge in international students with greater needs for student support. Similarly in many other countries where student affairs is still a largely inchoate profession, such as Uruguay, professional activity in the field has emerged in relation to the needs of international students.

Canada

Student affairs in Canadian higher education dates back to the vocational school established at the Collège des Jésuites in seventeenth century. Additional development of Canadian student services has many similarities with authoritarian teaching in terms of monitoring and controlling students behaviour on campus that was common in United States in nineteenth century. The protest that occurred at Queen's University in 1875, when Principal William Snodgrass suspended several students for drinking, indicated a need for closer observation for students' conduct. After the Principal Snodgrass sent a report to the Senate, two students were suspended. They were allowed to attend the class, but could not graduate. Their friends appealed against the suspension, and refused to go to the class. Since the Senate rejected their request, all students returned to their class in a week. In order to prevent further misbehaviour, staff representatives started to be more engaged in students life organizing social, cultural and physical activities.
Several decades later, the Queen's Rev Principal Robert Bruce Taylor emphasized importance of students representatives role by including deans of men and women to be elected and responsible for cooperation with administration, student events and regulations. They used to live on several campuses to supervise visitors, off-campus housing, dress code, etc. The first Dean of Women Caroline McNeil started at Queen's in 1918 and soon, the other Canadian universities appointed dean of men and women on their campuses.
After the Second World War the professionalization of student affairs expanded by supporting soldiers who received tuition and living assistance based on Veterans Rehabilitation Act in 1945. Within the educational system, veterans received personal support and career counselling, but the other students were put on a side. While in the last seven decades Canadian student affairs has developed to support all students in financial need, career services, housing, residence life and academic advising, it was also reorganized frequently, e.g.:
Today, CACUSS arranges conferences, develops network and discussion within postsecondary community, publish a national magazine Communiqué and remains the leader of Canadian student affairs professionals. The CACUSS has included variety of organizations that recognize the specific needs of all provinces including Indigenous students, students with disabilities, financial aid, academic integrity and judicial affairs, international students, etc.
Student affairs are also impacted by governance and decision making efforts in the form of student associations at post-secondary educational institutions. In Ontario, these entities are formally recognized under Bill 184 2011 which acknowledges the autonomy of student associations in order to foster governance, accountability, and collaboration between student associations and post-secondary educational institutions, as well as addressing issues related to fee collection and remittance between these two parties. The impact that student associations can have on student affairs issues is exemplified by challenges to the Student Choice Initiative where the Canadian Federation of Students and the York Federation of Students challenged an initiative launched by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities. This particular initiative was aimed at providing students with the ability to opt-out of various supplementary fees during their enrolment process and also to provide them with a transparent itemization of their tuition and supplementary fees. The opposition by the Canadian Federation of Students and the York Federation of Students ultimately led to the successful overturning of the Student Choice Initiative, by the Divisional Court of Ontario. This event is noteworthy with respect to student affairs, because it demonstrates the impact that student associations can have on downstream funding necessary for delivering student services.
Canadian student affairs continues to develop and prepare professionals by recognizing demands of growing internationalization, diversity and sustainability in higher education. The specialization and further expansion is identified to focus on students' mental health, experiential learning, academic integrity and equity, diversity and inclusion to enhance their learning achievement and wellbeing.

South Africa

Student affairs did not become a unitary profession in South Africa until the end of apartheid in 1994. As in other countries of sub-Saharan Africa, South African universities have broadly followed an American model of student affairs administration. Difficulties in the implementation of student affairs principles from developed countries has been characterized as due to South Africa's status as a developing country.

United Kingdom

Student affairs draws its origins on the Oxbridge model and the Anglo-American concept that schools stand in loco parentis, creating a greater legal obligation for the university to govern student life. However, professional student affairs administration in the United Kingdom is of relatively recent date: student affairs departments became a feature of all United Kingdom universities in 1992, having previously been widespread only in the new universities.

United States

The profession of student affairs "grew from the campus up, not from theory down". Early higher education in the United States was based on the Oxbridge model of education; thus, most early institutions were residential and the tutors lived in the halls with the students. These men were the precursor to student affairs professionals in the United States. Typically, they served as dean of discipline and in loco parentis. These early student affairs practitioners' focus was on control of the student as opposed to modern philosophy which focuses on the development of the student as a whole, but has always connected those interested in the welfare of students with students needing assistance.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as the number of land-grant institutions increased, enrollment expanded, student populations began to include women, the idea of vocationalism began to influence academics and the institution's president began to be viewed as "the chief moral front". With these changes it became apparent that additional staff members were needed to allow the president to respond to the issues of finance and faculty recruitment.
These first student affairs professionals were the dean of women, dean of men and personnel workers. Many of the early deans came from "teaching roles in the liberal arts". The first dean of men was LeBaron Russell Briggs at Harvard University in 1890, with the first dean of women being Adelia Johnston in 1869 at the Oberlin College as lady principal and later named Dean of Women in 1894. Alice Freeman Palmer in 1892 at the University of Chicago was the first to hold the title of Dean of Women.
The dean of men's position typically included discipline, but could vary depending on the institution's overall philosophy. The position description might have read, "that officer in the administration who undertakes to assist the men students achieve the utmost of which they are individually capable, through personal effort on their behalf, and through mobilizing in their behalf all the forces within the University which can be made to serve this end". The one thing that remained consistent was the responsibility to deal with men and help them develop to their potential.
Deans of Women were trail blazers as women in positions of authority. Not only were women at colleges and universities a new development, but women as staff members even more new. The institutional leadership was dominated by men, but still they persevered including the founding of what is now the American Association of University Women in 1903.
In December 1918 Robert Rienow, the dean of men at the University of Iowa, wrote a letter to Thomas Arkle Clark, dean of men at the University of Illinois, suggesting a meeting that is now recognized as the founding of the organization now known as NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.
In 1924, May L. Cheney, who organized a teacher placement office at the University of California, Berkeley, helped form the National Association of Appointment Secretaries. That year, NAAS met for the first time and came as guests of the National Association of Deans of Women to a convention sponsored by the Department Superintendence of the National Education Association. In 1929, forty-six NAAS members registered for the Sixth Annual Convention. NAAS became the National Association of Personnel and Placement Officers. The name American College Personnel Association was adopted in 1931. Association communication consisted of one mailed newsletter, the Personnel-O-Gram. In 1937, the Student Personnel Point of View statement was developed by leaders of the American Council on Education and ACPA.
The Student Personnel Points of View, written in 1937 and 1949, further developed the area of student affairs.
In the 1960s the student development movement, the study of the student as a whole - physical, mental and emotional, was introduced.
In the 1970s the landscape of student affairs began to change when the voting age was lowered and 18-year-olds were granted adult status in the eyes of the law.
In the United States as early as 1992, student affairs began to see a change in the reporting structure. Chief student affairs officers began to shift to the provost, the chief academic officer.

Student affairs at community college

The work of student affairs is critical across all institutional types, but essential at a community college, an open access to institution. While enrollment at community colleges are holding steady across the country, the students within this population require more assistance, both in and out of the classroom.

Student affairs professionals

Student Affairs professionals are individuals who serve in a supportive capacity and provide a variety of supports and services within Higher Education.
Roles range from service providers to senior leadership. Staff have diverse backgrounds and programs of study, bringing a wealth of knowledge and research aimed at best supporting students in their development during the course of their studies. Relying on current student development theories, they support the whole student. Challenges in meeting this goal include budget cuts, emotional strain, crisis-related issues, feeling devalued, and having to do more with less.
Student Affairs professionals are often the first point of contact for students in crisis situations, which may include sexual violence, suicidal ideation, severe mental health episodes, hate crimes/discrimination. As first responders with exposure to traumatic information, they may be prone to occupational burnout and compassion fatigue.

Preparation for student affairs

Some student affairs practitioners and college student personnel have completed graduate work with a complementary assistantship. An assistantship can be an entry-level position, but is usually a part-time paraprofessional position with compensation including tuition waiver, professional development and a stipend. These are sometimes called graduate assistant positions. The graduate program is usually two academic years of full-time study with opportunities for internship and abroad opportunities. Universities offer graduate programs sometimes called College Student Personnel, Higher Education Student Affairs, or Educational Leadership which lead to a Master of Education or Master of Arts degree, or Master of Science degree. Doctoral programs also exist for student affairs professionals, leading to an Ed.D. or Ph.D..
Student Affairs Personnel or College Student Personnel graduate programs may include classes in psychology, business, law, communication, inter and intra-personal counseling, higher education, and group dynamics. These help to form a foundation for creating relationships with students, faculty, staff and parents. CSP programs tend to be found in departments of leadership, counseling, psychology and education. Traditionally these programs have an emphasis in administration, student development theory or counseling.
Developmental theories used in college student personnel programs include
There are also many other ways to learn more about and prepare for a position in student affairs. This can include completing certificates, reading prominent journals, volunteering or attending conferences for student affairs organizations, and networking with student affairs professionals in the areas that you may want to work in.
For Canadians looking to enter student affairs, some useful certificates to attain can include SafeTalk training, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, Mental Health First Aid training, and Standard First Aid training.

Areas

The functional areas of student affairs and services are considered by several professional associations including: ACPA, CAS, CACUSS, and NASPA. Growing research in the field of student affairs and services contributes to our understanding of how these functional areas are organized and operationalized. The composition and structure of these functional areas differs across various institutions, and continues to be shaped as new information is gathered pertaining to the needs of students in post-secondary education.
NASPA outlines 39 functional areas of student affairs and services:
Departments in Student Affairs may overlap or combine multiple functional areas into one office, especially at smaller institutions. Some departments can include:

Academic services

Counselling Services on campus provides students with support through personal or academic challenges. Counselling Services offers individual and group counselling to support those students who need to work through their challenges, which affect their ability to succeed in school or other parts of their lives. Counselling Services falls under Student Wellness at many campuses. Providing both students and staff with services and resources to facilitate improved mental health well-being. Counselling services can be utilized for personal, academic, as well as counselling staff.  
Students in Canadian post-secondary seek advice for the following top reasons: relationship concerns, anxiety/ stress, depression/grief, academic, and career. There has been an increase in psychopathology among students attending universities and colleges in Canada. Research suggests the explanation behind increased appointments with counsellors are due to the high population of international students and mature students. The increasing number of students who have financial debt, students who have pre-existing mental health issues, shortage of institutional resources, the increase of accepting treatment, and the valued support among counsellors are the reason for increased appointments.  
Atmosphere:  Most Counselling Services offices will encourage a respectful, safe, and affirming atmosphere for students. Offices will support inclusiveness for marginalized populations or minority-seeking groups, including students of all races, ability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, culture and socioeconomic status.
How? Depending on the institution, counselling services can be booked via online booking, in-person booking, or walk-in hours.
Types of Supports:
Where: Counseling services occur in a private and confidential setting. Counselling can occur at the comfort of the student's desires. In a quiet office space, casual walk, or dining hall.
Average Appointment Time: 45–60 minutes.
Length of Treatment: Therapy can last a few sessions, several weeks, or years. There is no simple answer on how long therapy will take to feel better because each encounter with a counsellor is individualized.
Types of Counselling: Counselling services can be utilized for many aspects, including personal, career, academic, group, or faculty/staff.
Evolving over decades, the purpose and approach of career and employment services in the landscape of Canadian higher education has progressed from roots in a post-Second World War era “when campuses responded to a national need to assist returning veterans make a successful transition to civilian life” to a requirement of the service to respond swiftly to a modern time marked by technological advances, cultural revolution, and internationalization. Typical career centers in Canadian higher education concentrate on student career development from the outset of one's entry into a program through to graduation by providing support in areas such as:
Some career centers also provide ongoing support, resources, and programming for alumni populations.
There are three common service delivery models influencing the placement of career and employment services in a post-secondary institution's Student Affairs and Services offering: the centralized, decentralized, and hybrid models of service delivery. The centralized model provides the same menu of services to every student regardless of faculty contrasting the decentralized model which places focus on individual faculties or schools providing independent support to individual students enrolled in that faculty's programs. The third hybrid model "features some centralized career services, such as graduate recruitment, but with faculties maintaining their own career centres".
has identified four areas for career and employment services departments to remain cognizant of in the future: experiential learning, new technologies, changing student populations, and research and accountability.
i. Experiential learning
Having gained increased focus within the post-secondary landscape, “concepts of experiential learning, work-integrated learning, alternative education, practice-oriented education, co-operative education, and internships” require astute anticipation, evaluation, and action from career and employment services professionals.
ii. New technologies
Technological advancement introduces the ability to meet students where they are, both academically and physically. explains that the ongoing development of new technology supports “the delivery of future services, such as digital portfolios, sophisticated searches, and distance interviewing”.
iii. Changing student populations
Increasing diversity in cohorts of students including “older-than-average students, single parents, students of color, international students, Aboriginal and First Nations students, part-time students who are full-time workers, distance students, and students with physical and emotional disabilities” present both opportunities and challenges for career and employment services professionals.
iv. Research and accountability
Little data or literature exists on the impact of career and employment services programming in the Canadian post-secondary landscape including “outcomes of career centre interventions or the effect of work-related factors on student retention”. Improvements in this area can “offer compelling evidence for the efficacy of what career and employment services has to offer on campus”.

Diversity and inclusion

Multicultural student services aim to support students, student affairs professionals and faculty in higher education, frequently those who are underrepresented. Services offered by multicultural services include coordinating events of cultural heritage and expression, uniting students to community resources, and helping marginalized students find success on campus.
Larger institutions might have decentralized services where its own office and programs serve each group of underrepresented students. Women and LGBT students are sometimes included in multicultural student services functional areas but may be served by others.

Residence programs

Residence programs provide housing, programming, and academic and personal/social support including resident assistants/hall directors for on-campus undergraduate and graduate residents living in traditional residence halls, suites, or apartments, and may include food services. Residence programs focus on supporting student transition to post-secondary and on integrating students into the broader institutional community. Residence programs can be split by functional units which are focused on managing different aspects of student housing. Some of the functional units that can be found within residence programs include:
Residence Life
Aims to provide more than just a space for students to reside - the focus of residence life programs is on community integration both within the context of the housing operation and within the context of the institution. Residence life units seek to create a connection between students and the institution, where students feel they belong and are more likely to find success in their studies.
Residence Education
Acknowledged as a separate functional unit at some institutions, residence education focuses on the development and implementation of intentional learning experiences for students to engage in. Residence education units focus on developing learning experiences that support the student life cycle and student retention/persistence to graduation. Some examples of priorities for residence education units include time management skills, study skills, career planning, healthy eating & sleeping habits, etc.    
Residence Admissions/Administration
Responsible for the overall administrative management of housing operation. This unit of housing operations is often responsible for processing residence applications, managing the residence placement process, managing the customer service component of housing operation, and overall financial management of the housing operation.
Facilities/Facility Operations
Responsible for maintenance and upkeep of residence spaces including damage to infrastructure, wear endured over time, and ongoing maintenance of spaces including restrooms, common lounges, lobbies, etc.
Food Services
May be auxiliary or part of the student Union and includes meal plans, meal plan options, campus restaurants, and catering services for student events

Athletics and recreation

Student conduct, judicial affairs, and/or academic integrity offices are typically coordinated by student affairs professionals, with a focus on promoting student success through the prevention and sanctioning of academic and/or non-academic misconduct. Judicial affairs or student conduct offices enforce community standards and campus codes of conduct, which may include ethical and legal programs/education, conflict resolution or mediation for academic and behavioural student concerns, investigative response to campus sexual violence, threat assessment, and referrals and collaboration with outside police agencies. Student affairs professionals concerned with student conduct are responsible for communicating and enforcing institutional policies and student codes of conduct, investigating allegations of student misconduct, and working with students throughout the resolution process.
The organizational framework for responding to student misconduct varies across institutions, taking a centralized, decentralized, or hybrid approach. Similarly, definitions of student misconduct, the delineation of types of misconduct, and disciplinary processes also vary by institution, though commonalities exist.
There are multiple approaches to conduct processes on campuses, which balance the precedent of conduct administration history and the call to better align with the institutions' educational focus. University and college campuses have a history of balancing the competing responsibility of an educational focus and the emergence of legalism. In the 1960s, a Federal court process in the United States highlighted the first and fourteenth amendment rights of students, which influenced universities to adjust their judicial processes to be legalistic and adversarial.
A key function of all conduct systems is providing a result or expected pathway forward for the student. Depending on campus precedent, history, and the type and severity of the behaviour, processes and outcomes for academic or non-academic misconduct may be punitive, educational, and/or restorative in nature. Punitive sanctions tend to focus on punishment at or to the student, educational and developmental sanctions focus on guiding students to critically reflect on behavior, and restorative sanctions ask students to repair harms through action. A 2014 study by Karp and Sacks identified six developmental goals for college students aged 18–22 to be achieved throughout the conduct process: 1) Just Community/Self-Authorship, 2) Active Accountability, 3) Interpersonal Competence, 4) Social Ties to Institution, 5) Procedural Fairness, and 6) Closure. They found that a restorative and developmental approach to conduct allowed for these learning goals to be met more frequently and consistently, compared to traditional punitive styles. It is becoming widely accepted within the conduct administration field that taking a developmental approach to behavioural concerns decreases the recidivism rates among students and allows students to focus on the harms that have been caused, rather than simply the rule that was broken. With this being said, this is not to completely discount the traditional or 'code' style approach to conduct, which is still effective when a student does not take responsibility for their actions or identify the harms and impacts that their behaviour has caused.
Student affairs professionals working in student judicial affairs and academic integrity are in a unique position to influence a students' moral and ethical development. By responding to student misconduct in a way that is “measured, fair, and appropriate”, student affairs professionals promote the importance of being accountable for misbehavior, while also assisting students in becoming better students, graduates, and members of society. Whether this be express new knowledge of department or institutional policy and expectations, or more introspective moral development and reflection, the goal for any judicial affairs or student conduct officer is to promote learning and development for each student they engage with.
An organization based on the United States, but with international membership, the Association for Student Conduct Administration focuses on conduct administration and best practices on campuses.

Professional organizations

There are numerous professional organizations for student affairs at the national, regional, and international levels. In addition, many student affairs professionals participate in associations that are either more general or specific to a particular sub-field such as residence life or student health. At the international level, professional organizations for student affairs include the International Association of Student Affairs and Services, which was established in 2010.
In Europe, international cooperation among student affairs professionals is facilitated by the European Council for Student Affairs, based in Brussels. Founded in 1999, ECStA traces it origins to a series of conferences of student affairs professionals held in the 1990s. ECStA deals with a number of issues that are unique to European higher education, such as ensuring international student mobility within Europe under the Bologna Process.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the major international student affairs organization is the Asia Pacific Student Services Association, based in Hong Kong. APSSA was established in 1988, and holds regular staff and student conferences. Countries represented among APSSA member institutions include Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States.
In the United States, large organizations include National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and American College Personnel Association. NASPA members are committed to serving college students by embracing the core values of diversity, learning, integrity, collaboration, access, service, fellowship, and the spirit of inquiry. As well, there are publications that relate to the Student Affairs field such as the Journal of College Student Development and The Chronicle of Higher Education. While large organizations exists there are smaller organizations and publications that represent various smaller departments or divisions in Student Affairs. For example, in Residence life, university departments have a national organization association called the Association of College and University Housing Officers - International. ACUHO-I also publishes a peer-reviewed journal twice a year and publishes a magazine.

Criticism

The field of student affairs has been criticized for its emphasis on formal, professional training, calling into question whether the field is theoretical or practical. Complicating this criticism is the question of the role of student development theories in student affairs practice. It is claimed that student development theories are used to “proactively identify and address student needs, design programs, develop policies, and create healthy...environments that encourage positive growth in students.” Yet, student affairs practices often bear little resemblance or connection to student development theories. As Paul Bloland wrote in an article in the NASPA Journal, “We have cultivated an expertise that was not requested, is not sought out, and for which there is little recognition or demand. Many entry-level and seasoned professionals know little of student development theory and practice and, in fact, do not really need such expertise to meet the role expectations of their supervisors or, in too many instances, their institutions.”
Another debate has centered on the degree to which available postgraduate programs actually represent a distinct discipline. While the field bears a resemblance to psychology, counseling, and other general concentrations, debate and criticism of the field's major foundations are virtually nonexistent in theoretical discourse, calling into question the academic credibility of the field. As Bloland, Stamatakos, and Russell wrote, while student development theory “...has been widely distributed through the literature, in preparation programs, at workshops and conventions,” academics and professionals in the field have, “...failed to exercise their critical faculties to raise questions about student development, to slow down the head-long pace of its engulfment of the field of student affairs, and to examine alternatives and opinions as they presented themselves.”

Works cited

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