Student Affairs 2014: Alive and functioning? Absolutely! However, , ,

As the course began, I realized that my previous view of what constitutes "Student Affairs" was quite narrow. I became interested in working to promote student wellness, or, more accurately, student flourishing through my role as an instructor. Clearly, students are much more than the sum of their papers, exams and grades, and they always bring their whole selves to the classroom or virtual classroom,  but, with limited time, too often the aspects of those selves apart from the intellect were ignored. I saw that there was a need, among traditional aged students as well as adult students to engage the whole person in a meaningful way, but, at first, I saw need mainly in terms of helping students to adjust to college life and expectations and addressing social, emotional and academic difficulties. The fact that CSD was embedded in the Counselling program made perfect sense to me, and I think I've befitted from the counselling classes. What I hadn't considered until taking this course was the wide variety of positions that come under the Student Affairs umbrella. As some of my classmates have noted, I do not recall much involvement with SA personnel as an undergraduate. I lived in a residence hall for two of my four years but, even then, I have only vague memories of one of the RA's and that one of my roommates attended all sorts of activities that did not seem relevant to me. 
As a teacher, I have spent a fair amount of time thinking of ways to engage students in the material and in learning itself. There is no shortage of resources which contain strategies that can be employed in the classroom or online to enhance student learning, and some of these strategies are very effective. However, it has only been in certain very small classes that I have felt that students were consistently able to bring their learning experiences outside of school and make meaningful connections with what we were attempting to accomplish as a class.
The two areas of CSL490 that were most helpful to me were the required use of social media and the readings from WLOM, particularly chapter 3 on developmental learning. The interactions between class members and others on Twitter and Pintrest gave me a new appreciation for the crucial role of social media in higher ed. I struggled at times to find something to say or to pin--it often seemed like I was repeating others, but I do recognize that during the times that I struggled most and felt like I had nothing interesting to add to the discussion were also my greatest learning experiences. For one thing, I spent a lot of time reading and thinking about what others had to say about the topics we covered in class and about more general SA-related topics. I discovered or was introduced to a seemingly endless number of resources filled with ideas and questions about the profession. I have a far greater appreciation for social media as a student and as a teacher. It's encouraging to connect with so many people who are wrestling with similar dilemmas and searching for ways to improve the college experience for all students.
On the other hand, some of the sentiments expressed in WLOM could be downright depressing. As a number of my classmates have mentioned, Professors Keeling and Hersch did not stop at pointing out all the ways in which higher ed is failing students--the authors provided many ideas for improvement--overwhelming, yes, but hopeful notwithstanding. The book clarified a number of concepts that I've mulled over for years. Terms like "developmental" or "transformational" or "holistic" learning are bandied about all the time, but the authors' examples as well as the assignment to come up with our own examples, made me feel like I had tools to enhance my own learning as well as that of my students. 
I'm very excited to continue to explore the profession with this group of people--see you in the fall!