Challenges for SA Professionals

Over the past several weeks, I have been trying to sync my current practice of student affairs with the theory and history we’ve been reading including We’re Losing our Minds, “Student Personnel Point of  View,” “Learning Reconsidered” (I & II) and the various online materials from my fellow classmates on Pinterest. I think the most influential for me has been the Keeling and Hersch text. When I first read it, I really thought that We’re Losing Our Minds (Keeling & Hersch, 2012) was a rather harsh assessment of the American higher education system. After all, I’m a rather recent graduate of that system and I think my critical thinking and analysis skills are very good. I also work with both students and employers who will eventually hire those students, and have found that in general, DePaul’s students are well prepared to enter the workforce.  After more thought and class discussion, I still think the authors have overstated their case, but I do agree that there is certainly room for assessment and improvement in traditional higher education.

Keeling & Hersch’s most salient point, in my opinion, is in the section on assessment. I agree that higher education professionals should work “to develop cultures of assessment in which what constitutes expected learning and the criteria for excellence are clear to all participants” (Keeling & Hersch, 2012, p. 107). After all, if there is no measurable definition or standard of higher learning, how can we tell if students are achieving it or if faculty are successfully facilitating it? I will most definitely take this into consideration as I develop programming for students. First, I’ll be sure to write clear learning outcomes for each program, and then I will do my best to assess whether or not the participating students actually learned. I will also do my best to encourage my colleagues to utilize thoughtful and meaningful assessment throughout their programs.

I think the most intimidating take away from this class has been the idea that transformative learning and teaching the ‘whole student’ must necessarily involve collaboration across university teams and offices. In theory, I agree with this sentiment whole heartedly. But as an active student affairs professional, I have seen that this is much more difficult to achieve in practice. I can see from the two editions of Learning Reconsidered that the development of student affairs was in response to a need for collaborative services beyond the classroom. But the evolution and expansion of these departments has led to silos and extra-curricular services rather than co-curricular or integrated services. Having become acquainted with the workplace politics that can pervade any organization, I think it’s really an uphill battle to make faculty and staff truly collaborate with one another. But I can now at least be a conscious advocate for this within my own university setting.

Overall, it is clear from all of the reading material we’ve seen this quarter, that the heart of student affairs is working for the betterment of students. Student affairs professionals really do want what is best to help students succeed academically and beyond graduation. I think if we all keep this mission in mind, and do our best to collaborate across departments, and follow the cycle of assessment, we will be successful in improving the quality of higher education.