Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF

Philosophy of Student Affairs Part II

Jesus Romero
Western Michigan University

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Philosophy of Student Affairs Part II

With the first semester of my graduate program coming to a close, I now have a better
understanding of the student affairs profession. I started off the school year knowing very little
about student affairs other than it being the non-academic side of higher education. My
experience was limited to residence life, student government, and orientation since those were
the primary ways that I interacted in my undergraduate career. However, now that I am a first
year graduate student studying student affairs, I can speak to other functional areas of student
affairs including career services, admissions, and working with special populations. This is in
part due to the guest speakers in class but also through readings assigned in the class. Apart from
naming different functional areas in student affairs, I also possess knowledge about how student
affairs came to be as a profession in addition to the guiding documents and student development
theories of the profession.
As student affairs professionals, we need to ensure that students get the most out of their
college experience, which requires both curricular and co-curricular involvement. According to
Astin (1999), student involvement refers to the amount of physical and psychological energy
that a student devotes to the academic experience (p. 518). Thus, involvement includes being a
part of a student organization, holding an on-campus job, participating in an athletic program, or
even studying for class. One of our responsibilities is to assist students in finding a good balance
between academics and the other activities that they dedicate their time to. A good way to do this
is to enforce GPA requirements for leadership positions, especially those that are time
consuming. Student leaders often find more satisfaction in co-curricular activities than they do in
their studies. However, we need to remind them that they are students first and the primary
reason for attending college is to obtain an education. This is a lesson I learned during my second

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year of college when I was placed on subject to academic disqualification. Not only was I close
to losing the leadership positions I had worked hard to obtain, but more importantly, I was
almost kicked out of school. It was a reality check for me and the next quarter I made sure to
dedicate the necessary time and energy to my schoolwork. It resulted in the best academic
performance of my college career. In order to best serve students, student affairs professionals
should support students in finding quality over quantity of involvement.
Student affairs is both valuable and necessary to college students and the institution. It is
the support services that student affairs professionals provide to students, which help students
succeed in college. Whether those services are for disabilities, financial aid, or even a way to destress by attending a social program, students are more likely to interact with a student affairs
professional than with an administrator or faculty member. That being said, student affairs
professionals have a great opportunity as well as a responsibility to positively influence as many
students as possible. Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) found that college affects students in the
areas of learning and cognitive change, psychosocial changes, attitudes and values, and moral
development. It is clear that college is beneficial to students and thus as student affairs
professionals we must provide students with a meaningful experience. This translates not only to
simply providing services for students, but also supporting students in their growth and
development as young adults. When it comes to student leaders, our responsibility is to offer
learning opportunities and experiences as well as the space for reflection that will enhance their
transferable skills. It will make them both more marketable and help them be responsible young
adults once they graduate. In a longitudinal study of college dropouts, it was found that the
factors that contributed to the students remaining in college suggested involvement whereas
those that contributed to the students dropping out implied a lack of involvement (as cited in

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Astin, 1999, p. 523). Student involvement is one of the goals of student affairs and the more
students that are involved, the higher the percentage of student persistence. This is significant for
the institution because when students perform better, it reflects positively on the institution and is
likely to bring in more money for the institution.
It is important for student affairs professionals to have a basis for the work that we do in
college student development. Vital to this is the professional competencies endorsed by both
ACPA and NASPA, the two largest student affairs professional organizations in the United
States. They are intended to define the broad professional knowledge, skills, and in some cases
attitudes expected of student affairs professionals regardless of their area of specialization or
positional role within the field (p. 3). This is a great resource since it outlines the basic,
intermediate, and advanced level for each competency area. Therefore, it is a useful assessment
tool since we can evaluate ourselves and figure out what areas we need to work on. In the
beginning of the semester, I ranked myself low in the student learning and development
competency area. However, now that the semester is coming to a close, I can definitely see
myself on the higher end of the ranking system. I have been able to see the theories in my
professional practice when working with students. We must also consider ethical standards and
principles in our work with students since it provides a foundation for a coherent approach to
professional practice. According to Fried (2011), ethical standards, values, norms, and codes are
created by communities that share certain beliefs about good and bad and the relative importance
of the individual and the community (p. 116). This can be complicated on college campuses
since the community consists of people from different cultures, beliefs, and professions, which
sometimes have their own code of ethics. Thus, ethical dilemmas are all too common and it is up
to us as student affairs professionals to negotiate our own personal ethics along with the ethical

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codes of the profession and institution to construct solutions to such problems.

The profession of student affairs has a long tradition in redefining and re-evaluating its
purpose in working with college students. This is apparent in the Principles of Good Practice for
Student Affairs. One of the principles is to use systematic inquiry to improve student and
institutional performance (ACPA & NASPA, 1997). It requires assessment methods to gather
results that can inform change in an effort to improve institutional and student achievement. In
Student Activities & Leadership Programs (SALP), we have learning objectives for each
program and use this as a basis for assessment. There has also been a shift in gathering more
qualitative data than simply just quantitative data. Through this assessment, we are able to find
what works and what needs to be either improved or replaced so that we can offer students
effective learning experiences.
Another facet that is critical to student affairs is relationships. In entry-level student
affairs positions, perhaps the most important relationships are with students. It is important to
have good relationships with students because they are the ones we work most closely with.
Also, good relationships with students will build your rapport and bring about interactions with
even more students. Roper (2002) argues that success as a student affairs professionals is more
closely tied to our ability to construct and manage essential relationships during our careers than
to any other activity (p. 11). This means developing and responsibly managing relationships
with faculty, supervisors, and administrators. Each interaction should be treated just as important
as the next so that those relationships become authentic rather than simply for political gain.
These relationships will allow us to do our work more effectively as others are more likely to
collaborate if we have a previous relationship with them.
By increasing my knowledge about the profession of student affairs, I have been able to

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formulate my philosophy of student affairs to help guide my approach to working with students.
Since our primary focus in student affairs is on college student development, I will practice and
continue to learn about student development theory. That being said, each student is at a different
point in their development and some may not fit just one development theory. Therefore, I need
to understand the intersecting identities of the students that I work with and try to apply several
theories simultaneously to effectively aid students in their development. Because the population
of students that we work with is becoming more and more diverse, it is crucial to keep up with
new research on student development theory. By encouraging students to become involved both
in their studies and co-curricular activities, they will be challenged to develop the transferable
skills that will help them once they graduate. In working with students I will make sure to stay
true to the foundations of students affairs but also continue to grow in my professional
development by evaluating myself on a constant basis. More importantly, I will build and
maintain essential relationships that will allow me to be an effective student affairs professional.
As a student affairs professional, my philosophical approach to working with college students
will include the use of student development theory, professional competencies, and relationships
to best serve students.

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References

American College Personnel Association (ACPA) & National Association of Student Personnel
Administrators (NASPA), (1997). Principles of good practice for student affairs.
Washington, DC: American College Personnel Association.
American College Personnel Association (ACPA) & National Association of Student Personnel
Administrators (NASPA), (2012). ACPA/NASPA professional competency areas: For
student affairs practitioners. Washington, DC: American College Personnel Association.
Astin, A. W. (1999) Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal
of College Student Development, 40(5), 518-529.
Fried, J. (2011). Ethical standards and principles. In J.H. Schuh, S.R. Jones, S.R. Harper (Eds.).
Student Services: A Handbook for the Profession (pp. 96-119). San Francisco: JosseyBass.
Pascarella, E.T., & Terenzini, P.T. (1991). How college affects students. San Francisco: JosseyBass.
Roper, L. (2002). Relationships: The critical ties that bind professionals. In New Directions for
Student Services, 2002: 11-26. doi: 10.1002/ss.46