Running head: THE RELEVANCE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

The Relevance of Student Affairs

Ashley A. Curtis

Loyola University Chicago

HE RELEVANCE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

The current state of affairs in higher education is quite turbulent. In the midst of a decline

in resources as a result of “economic conditions, eroding public confidence, accountability

demands and demographic shifts”, it is no secret that there is a tension in higher education as

administrators look to respond to these organizational and financial challenges (Student Learning

Imperative, 2008). One of the most frequent discussions held by administrators, is the

consideration to collapse student affairs into academic affairs in order to conserve financial

resources. All too often, administrators are quick to support the disintegration of student affairs

because they do not understand the value student affairs offers higher education institutions. This

paper will articulate the ways in which student affairs is relevant to higher education by guiding

you through the: 1) historical influence of student affairs in higher education; 2) impact of

student affairs on the holistic development of the student; 3) impact of student affairs on

retention and student success.

The Historical Influence of Student Affairs

To understand the evolution of higher education and the relevance of student affairs

today, it is important to first understand the historical context and foundation of where higher

education began. In the very beginning, the colonial era college mission was to provide a

“rigorous education of the ‘gentleman scholar’” (Thelin & Gasman, 2017). Higher education was

designed to support the learning of elite white men at English universities such as Oxford and

Cambridge in order to train scholars and promote political and intellectual leadership. While this

notion would evolve, for over a century, the foundation of “colleges and universities in this

country [was] about teaching and learning” (Thelin & Gasman, 2017).

The impact of a number of social forces upon American society following the Civil War,

however, directed the interest of most of the strong personalities of our colleges and

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universities away from the needs of the individual student to an emphasis, through

scientific research, upon the extension of the boundaries of knowledge. The pressures

upon faculty members to contribute to this growth of knowledge shifted the direction of

their thinking to a preoccupation with subject matter and to a neglect of the student as an

individual. (Student Personnel Point of View, 1937)

For over a century, the focus of higher education was research and knowledge, which

placed faculty at the epicenter of higher education, pushing student affairs into the background.

However, through the evolution of higher education and in the coming of the Student Personnel

Point of View (SPPV), a mindset was created to demonstrate the relevance of student affairs.

The SPPV (1937) communicated that the basic purpose of higher education was to promote

“scholarship, research, creative imagination, and human experience” (SPPV, 1937). The

document argued that the philosophy of higher education institutions is to promote the holistic

development of the student, to consider the “intellectual capacity and achievement, his emotional

make up, his physical condition, his social relationships, his vocational aptitudes and skills, his

moral and religious values, his economic resources, his aesthetic appreciations” (SPPV 1937).

The Holistic Development of the Student

The mission of higher education must go beyond scholarly research. The work of a

student affairs practitioner is to support the mission of the institution and the holistic

development of the student. In supporting the holistic development of the student, student affairs

practitioners support both cognitive and psychosocial development that help students become

leaders and change makers amongst our communities (SPPV, 1937; SPPV, 1949).

Cognitive Development

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Cognitive development plays a critical role and has many implications towards the

holistic development of the student. It influences collegiate outcomes that incorporate various

forms of learning and development, such as critical thinking, student identity and cultural

development (King, 2017). Mirrored through a multitude of models and theories such as Perry’s

(1970) Intellectual and Ethical Development, and Baxter Magolda’s (1992) Epistemological

Reflection models, student affairs practitioners utilize such models to help students transition

through stages of unequivocal knowing, radical subjectivism, generative knowing (King, 2017).

Through cognitive development, student affairs professionals help students increase their

confidence in various subject areas including verbal and writing skills, quantitative and

reasoning, among many others. When considering the importance of cognitive development in

higher education, Mayhew, Rockenbach, Bowman, Seifert, and Wolniak (2016) found the work

of cognitive development important to the overall student change during college. They found

cognitive development relevant as “there is considerable room for improvement even among

college graduates in obtaining high levels of mastery in these core competencies” (p.525).

Psychosocial Development

Psychosocial development is the continuous development which has many influences on

the holistic development of the student. Psychosocial development influences the student

maturation process and helps students transition from a simple to more complex understanding

of their lived experiences (Miller & Winston, 1990). This development aids students in the

ability to reflect on life experiences, which ultimately has the potential to support and develop

autonomy and freedom towards gaining independence, particularly around family influences

(Mayhew et al., 2016). Through psychosocial development, we help the formation of student

identity development, through stages that develop competence, help students manage emotions,

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develop autonomy, establish identity, develop purpose and develop integrity (Chickering and

Reisser, 1993).

One of the wonderful aspects to having a student affairs division, is that student affairs

staff have touch points with students of multiple identities: Black; People of Color; White;

Multiracial; Asian; Latino/a; American Indian; Women; Men; Transgender; Heterosexual;

Lesbian; gay; Bisexual; and Queer. More importantly, student affairs practitioners have the

training and knowledge of a plethora of theories that are used to help support the psychosocial

development of these populations. Ultimately, it is this understanding and application of theories

used by student affairs that support the psychosocial and identity development which help

students better “understand [their experiences] and assist them in the meaning making process

critical to development” (Torres and McGowan, 2017).

Leadership Development

Helping students understand their cognitive and psychosocial identities, is the foundation

of the process for which students make meaning of their experiences and critically think about

their own identities. This process is referred to as leadership development. Leadership

development helps self-exploration and relationship-building, it is the process which helps

students ask the question of “Who am I? Who are you? [and] Why are we doing this together?”

(Maxwell and Thompson, 2019). It influences “social identity, resilience, cognition, and social

perspective taking, all of which play important roles in leader and leadership development”

(Dugan and Osteen, 2017).

Through models such as The Social Change Model of Leadership Development (HERI,

1996), which incorporate seven core values: 1) Consciousness of Self; 2) Congruence; 3)

Commitment; 4) Collaboration; 5) Common Purpose; 6) Controversy with Civility; 7)

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Citizenship, student affairs practitioners help students transition through the process of

understanding themselves towards collaboration with others for a common goal to promote

change.

It is important that as educators, we help students understand who they are by providing

them with the tools to “reflect on [their] own identity, especially salient identities, [which are]

necessary for better understanding experiences in different contexts” (Guthrie & Jenkins, 2018,

p. 21). Student affairs practitioners understand a multitude of leadership theories, an example

being the theory of authentic leadership, which can be utilized in practice. The impact of

teaching students how to be authentic leaders is that, “[a]uthentic leaders understand their own

values and behave toward others based on these values…They have a clear idea of who they are,

where they are going, and what the right thing is to do” (Northouse, 2018, p.200). Practitioners

can utilize this theory, among others, to be combined with a variety of pedagogical styles to

reinforce student self-awareness. Guthrie & Jenkins (2018) developed four stages of experience

in leadership education pedagogy: 1) Experience as a Leadership or Follower; 2) Critical

Reflection; 3) Experiential Abstraction; 4) Metacognitive Discovery and Exploration. Applying

pedagogical tools such as this encourages students to consider their experiences as a leader or

follower, critically reflect on their experiences, actions and behaviors, make meaning of those

experiences, and work toward implementing new behaviors (Guthrie & Jenkins, 2018). The

application of such leadership theories and pedagogical tools plays a significant role in helping

students become aware of their own identities and supports student leadership development and

efficacy.

When students understand how their unique experiences influence their positionality and

bias, they can then recognize how their salient identities influence the way they interact with

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students who hold identities different than their own. In this process, students gain not only

awareness of themselves, but also awareness of others.

The impact this has on student development is invaluable. Recognition of one’s bias

toward others, based on understanding of self-identities and experiences, creates opportunity to

promote positive behaviors that encourage empathy and collegiality in order to promote social

justice.

Seeing Student Affairs Practioners As Educators

We often associate theory and pedagogy, within the context of faculty, so it can be easy

to dismiss that student affairs practitioners are educators who incorporate theory and pedagogy

into their practice. However, administrators must realize that student affairs have learned

knowledge of theories and pedagogical practices that support students who hold a multitude of

identities. Utilizing these theories, student affairs practitioners are able to build and design

programs that educate our students. These programs are intentional, designed with specific

learning and program outcomes that are centered to support the holistic development of the

student. These programs not only support the holistic development and well-being of students,

but they help students identify leadership. Student affairs programs are designed to help students

gain an awareness of leadership, explore and engage in leadership practices, understand what

leadership is, and what leadership is not, and ultimately, develop leaders who develop a

commitment and responsibility to one another and their community. (Komives, Longerbeam,

Owen, Mainella, Osteen, 2006).

Retention and Student Success

One of the primary goals for higher education institutions is retention, persistence, and

student success. In working towards this goal, it is important that higher education institutions

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and administrators understand that we are best able to support retention and student success

when we focus on the holistic development of the student. They must know that student affairs is

imperative to the holistic development of the student, and that “[s]tudent affairs organizations

have become complex entities [that] serve as a critical link to student success and the quality of

the overall educational experience in collegiate institutions” (Kuk and Banning, 2009, p.94). The

educational experience that student affairs provides, offers the student cognitive, psychosocial

and leadership development that work in tandem to promote leadership, social justice, and

student success.

Tinto (2016) communicates that there are three components “central to student [retention

and persistence]: students’ self-efficacy, sense of belonging and perceived value of the

curriculum.” Having a division of student affairs, that works to develop cognitive, psychosocial,

and leadership development, provides for all three opportunities. Students gain a better

understanding of themselves, and their identities, they see themselves as a member of a

community, and they express this in the form of a commitment even during challenging times.

Conclusion

It is important to acknowledge the financial burden faced by higher education institutions

today. But the reality is, for centuries higher education institutions have struggled with funding

and financial challenges. And through many of these challenges, there have been periods of time,

where institutions have embraced student affairs, reminded that student affairs practitioners are

the heart of the institution and the development of its students.

Student affairs offers the holistic development of our students that do more than teach

students subject knowledge. Student affairs develop the cognitive, psychosocial and leadership

development of our students. In this, we prepare them to be critical thinkers and change makers

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of our communities. So, despite financial hardships, we must be reminded of the value student

affairs brings to the institution. At the same time, expressing the nature and relevance of student

affairs in higher education, is not to diminish the importance of the academy. The truth is, to

promote the holistic development of the student, both student affairs and the academy must exist.

This is why it is imperative that higher education institutions honor both, and work to create

partnership between the academy and student affairs. Through a partnership of both the academy

and student affairs we provide opportunities to help “students [become] acclimated to college

life…in meaningful ways…acquire the sense that they [are] important members of a

community…[and help] students to (1) make connections between in-class and out-of-class

experiences, (2) think critically, and (3) understand themselves and others” (Whitt, 2017 ).

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