Running head: A new way of structuring student affairs 1

ELPS 425: A New Way of Structuring Student Affairs & The Importance Of Our Role

Elizabeth A. Thomas

Loyola University Chicago

A new way of structuring student affairs 2

Abstract

As the Dean of Students at this institution, I pride myself on the rigorous work we do as student

affairs professionals. This paper will go into detail about why the division of student affairs is

essential to the continued success of our students, and I will provide evidence that supports this

perspective. My goal is that in reading this plea, you decide to keep the crucial department of

student affairs open so that this university and its students, staff, and faculty can continue to

flourish and progress.

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The department of student affairs is essential to our students college experience. As

student affairs professionals we are mentors, leaders, and most importantly, educators. In this

paper, this plea for our institution to see the importance of student affairs, I will demonstrate how

we are vital by speaking on our roles in relation to the history of higher education, student

activism, student success, transformative education, the co-curricular model, and diversity. My

hope is that in providing these examples and supporting them through textual evidence, you will

deem student affairs an integral part of providing students with a holistic educational experience.

Student Affairs in the 1960s

Before I can tell you why student affairs is imperative to our institution right now and

will continue to be in the future, I must first frame how we have proven ourselves to be an

essential part of higher education at the national level in the past. It is a well-known fact that our

country was in a state of political unrest during the 1960s. With protests, sit-ins, and sometimes

violent police backlash, this restless climate also proved to be present on our college campuses:

Student affairs leaders were expected to be peacemakers, conflict resolvers, mediators,

and community builders. In a climate often characterized by political distrust social
unrest, and racial misunderstanding, student affairs leaders were expected to help their
institutions retain their civility, decrease their bureaucracy, and above all, build humane
and trusting relationships with students, many of whom felt alienated from their
campuses. (Sandeen & Barr, 2006, p. 51)
This was a challenging time for student affairs professionals; they were expected to fill many

roles to ensure the mental and physical safety of students, and it could have been the end of the

profession. Some professionals flourished in this climate, serving their institution and their

students with outstanding leadership. (Sandeen & Barr, p. 51). For others, this trying time

proved to be too much for them to handle: others found that their talents, energy, or

backgrounds were not sufficient to meet the new challenges and left the profession. (Sandeen &
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Barr, p. 51). We should use our history to see ourselves as a strong, resilient, and adaptable

profession that has withheld the test of time. We should view this history with pride not just for

ourselves, but for the well-being of our students. With recent student activism taking place at

Missouri, Loyola, Yale, and countless other institutions, this is a time where we can use history

to our advantage. We can look at the tactics used by student affairs professionals in the 1960s and

adapt them for our use in the present and years to come. With the rise of technology, specifically

email, texting, and social media, students are able to communicate and organize demonstrations

faster than ever. If we do not have staff at the ready to meet with students and make sure proper

policy is followed, students may fail to follow procedure and could find themselves in potentially

violent or dangerous situations. As student affairs professionals, it is our duty and privilege to

make sure this does not happen. It is a challenge to make sure that our campus stays safe while

giving students a chance to peacefully and respectfully use their freedom of speech, and a

challenge I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically accept. My question for you as the president is

this: if the university were to demolish our division, would you feel comfortable and prepared for

the possible outcomes? Would you feel personally responsible if anything were to happen to

student protestors because of decreased staff numbers? These are the questions we must ask

ourselves when proposing to do away with a division as important as student affairs.

The Role of Student Affairs

One of the challenges of defending this field is that we often see student affairs as

something completely separate from academic affairs; in reality, when student affairs is at its

best, it works alongside academic affairs, in a mutually beneficial relationship that works to

cultivate rich experiences for students, staff, and faculty. Manning, Kinzie, and Schuh (2014)

expand on this belief:

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However, student affairs professionals at most colleges and universities are well
positioned to establish the campus conditions that affirm students as well as provide the
programs and services to meet their academic and social needs outside the classroom. For
example, new student orientation and fall welcome week activities equip students with
the skills they need to acclimate. Peer mentoring, study groups, and tutoring programs
foster independent learning. (Manning, Kinzie, & Schuh, 2014, p. 23)

I want to point out a significant and often overlooked factor of student affairs that Manning,

Kinzie, and Shcuh (2014) state: as student affairs practitioners and educators, we aim to foster

independent student learning, and that learning can take several different shapes. Leaders in

residence life and campus activities are often looked at as party planners and hand-holders,

unneeded extra positions that dry up the institutions budget. That viewpoint is short-sighted,

hurtful, and detrimental to the entire campus community. Long before I became the Dean of

Students at this institution, I was a graduate assistant for campus activities. Every week in that

position, I challenged students by asking them questions that required critical self-reflection.

After an event flopped or a student made a mistake, I did not simply walk into our one-on-one

meetings and say look what you did wrong!. I asked them how do you think that went? and

what do you think we could do to avoid that situation happening again in the future?. By

asking students these questions, I was able to guide them towards a solution while still

challenging them to get to this solution through their own thought processes. The truth is that

our faculty doesnt always have the time to guide our students in this way; if we cut our division

of student affairs, students miss out on these crucial moments of self-reflection and learning

experiences, and thats not an outcome Im comfortable having on my conscience.

From the examples provided, it is plain to see that independent learning is essential for

not just academic success, but also the development of social, communication and problem-

solving skills, which student affairs can provide. This is why academic and student affairs need

each other; we are the yin and yang of a holistic experience that caters to the development of the
A new way of structuring student affairs 6

whole person. Ballard and Long (2004) have provided insight into the importance of a

partnership between academic affairs and student affairs:

In developing goals for their university, the first goal is centered on students and
required collaboration between academic and student affairs. A telling observation came
from the provost: When I evaluated our academic programs related to student success, it
became clear to me that Academic Affairs must do more and we could not be successful
without a strong partnership with Student Affairs. (Ballard & Long, 2004, p. 17)
In looking at the provosts experience, it is evident that that the success of this partnership cannot

land solely on the shoulders of student affair leaders. Much literature has already been written in

the support of seeing student affairs as an essential, equal part of the college learning experience,

as Day and Associates (2004) explain:

Learning is a complex, holistic, multi-centric activity that occurs throughout and across
the college experience. Student development, and the adaptation of learning to students
lives and needs, are fundamental parts of engaged learning and liberal education. True
liberal education requires the engagement of the whole student and the deployment of
every resource in higher education. (Day & Associates, 2004, p. 6)
If we do away with the division of student affairs, how will we contribute to the engagement of

the whole student? Will that responsibility also land on faculty members? How can we possibly

hold students accountable for out-of-the-classroom learning if there is no one in place to

stimulate or provide a space for that learning? We as student affairs professionals are essential to

the college experience because we allow students the opportunity to grow and learn as people

and leaders, not just students. This is especially important when considering students lives post-

graduation. The expectations of students out of college have changed greatly in the past few

years, as Day and Associates (2004) state:

Our society expects colleges and universities to graduate students who can get things
done in the world and are prepared for effective and engaged citizenship. Both within the
academy and among its observers and stakeholders, the need to identify the goals and
effects of a college education has produced demands for, and commitments to, specific
learning outcomes. (Day & Associates, 2004, p. 3)
Students will to write papers, read textbooks, and present group projects in class- but they can

experience direct, real-life outcomes of their actions by being on a homecoming or spring formal
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planning committee. They can gain the experience of event planning, program implementation,

assessment and reflection by serving as the recruitment chair for their fraternity or sorority.

Identifying what students have to gain from programs and procedures implemented by the

division of student affairs (which are already taking place) can help assure our board of trustees

and other stakeholders that we are essential not just to student learning, but also to student

success and job/internship preparation. The more students gain experience and skills from our

division, the more success our students will have after graduation. This means more likely that

we will be able to add them to our database of successful and notable alumni, the more popular

and notable our institution will become, and hopefully increase enrollment-which would bring in

more money to the university.

Transformative Education

An important part of student affairs, and the entire college experience, is giving students

the space to learn what kind of person they are today, and who they can aspire to become in the

future. This can be done through many avenues, but one of the ways that this can be addressed

using student affairs is through transformative education: Transformative education instead

places the students reflective processes at the core of the learning experience and asks the

student to evaluate both new information and the frames of reference through which the

information acquires meaning (Mezirow & Associates, 2000). Viewing education through this

lens encourages students to reflect on their own experiences and how those experiences might

affect how they perceive and internalize academic lessons. Mezirow & Associates (2000) expand

on this idea and the goal of students being able to articulate those experiences through an

academic lens:
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People compose their own stories about who they are, what life is about, what is going

to happen to them and how they should respond to the various challenges life presents.

Maturation or development occurs as people become more capable of articulating and

critiquing personal stories, reframing them and reshaping their own lives

For example, when a white student learns about white privilege and the role it did or did not

play in their pre-college education, they might apply that lesson to their own lives by recalling

books they were assigned as a student in grade school or high school. If most or all of the books

assigned were written by white authors, how does that change the students perspective if that

was something they had not considered previous to learning about white privilege? Does

learning about white privilege cause them to take notice of current injustices and encourage them

to become an activist? Does this new knowledge incite them to reflect on microagressions they

might have unknowingly enacted? These questions are an essential part of self-reflection, and an

important step of the transformative education we can take part in student affairs.

As leaders of this institution it is imperative that we recognize the importance of this type

of learning, but also recognize that the only way to implement this campus-wide is to enlist the

help of both our faculty and student affairs professionals. Through the implementation of

transformative learning, we realize that student learning and holistic development must be on the

minds of everyone; if we want to see a change on our campus and see more positive outcomes

with our students, the change begins with us, as stated by Day and associates: In order to

achieve this goal, every aspect of student life must be examined and a new configuration of

learning processes and outcomes created. All of the resources of the campus must be brought to

bear on the students learning process and learning must be reconsidered. (Day & Associates,

2004, p. 10).
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If student affairs and academic affairs can work together to ensure that fostering

independent and transformative student learning is at the helm of our daily mission, and is

present in every program, meeting, and vision, I am confident that we can work together to reach

our common goal of student success.

Co-Curriculum

As discussed in the previous section, academic and student affairs need to work together

for the benefit of the students. One way to do this and legitimize the field of student affairs is to

create a co-curriculum model for student affairs. If you dont feel that the current division of

student affairs is accomplishing enough in the way of student learning, let me propose how we

can start to do that as a division. Just as faculty do so for academic classes, we as student affairs

educators can identify and implement learning outcomes. Using learning outcomes in the co-

curricular model is an important step in assessing student learning both inside and outside the

class room, as Schuh, Jones, and Harper (2011) explain:

An effective alternative to offering fragmented programs and meaningless experiences is

the implementation of a co-curricular model...that identifies the programs and
experiences necessary for the actualization of these outcomes, that strategically
sequences them and assigns responsibility for the implementation to expert educators in
the division, and that lays out a multifaceted set of assessment activities to measure
student learning and development. (Schuh, Jones & Harper, 2011, p. 291)
These learning outcomes can be used to assess student learning within several different areas of

student affairs, including diversity training, student leadership, and residential education.

As residential education can prove to be one of the most expensive departments for an

institution, I strongly suggest we implement a co-curricular model in order to assess our current

efforts towards student learning. This means doing much more than just ordering food to entice

students to come to a program and counting how many show up. This means creating a strategic

plan for student affairs professionals in residence life to follow and introduce to their staff. This
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means planning programs that go far beyond mixers and movie nights, possibly events that

partner with the tutoring center to give presentations on study skills (especially prior to finals

week) and other offices who have a lot to offer first-year students. This means bringing people

from those important offices to the residence halls instead of handing out pamphlets or simply

telling students to go to their website. This also means asking important questions, such as

What should every individual student learn as a result of living in a residence hall?, What

must a student do in order to learn this? and What must we do to engage each and every one of

our students in this learning? (Schuh, Jones, & Harper, 2011, p. 292)

If we implement a co-curricular model in several areas of student affairs, but especially

residence life, I firmly believe we can create successful outcomes that further benefit the learning

and development of students both inside and outside the classroom.

Campus Climates & Diversity

Along with new expectations and a new-found sense of freedom, something magical

happens to students when they go to college; they immediately are immersed into situations with

people who are different from them, and there are both challenges and wonderful opportunities

that arise because of these circumstances. Students find themselves in diverse groups in their

classrooms, dining halls, and often in their on-campus housing communities. In order to address

the growing pains that can often affect first-year students, especially regarding diversity and

honoring the perspectives of others, we must rely on both faculty and student affairs

professionals to implement diversity initiatives that support all students. On a larger scale,

Schuh, Jones, and Harper (2011) advise the following:

A first step in signaling an institution-wide commitment to diversity is for educators and

administrators (including the president and cabinet-level leaders) to issue statements of
support, purpose, and action regarding the important role that diversity plays in the
educational mission of the institution. (Schuh, Jones, & Harper, 2011, p. 53)
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When students see that diversity is carried out at the institutional level, and then see how it

trickles down into every department, they can truly feel that they are attending a university that

supports their authentic self. This kind of support is something that we can provide as student

affairs professionals. When we take the time to listen, advocate for, and stand with students from

diverse backgrounds, we are showing just how important we are in the context of higher

education and the future of our institution. When I as the Dean of Students can take student

feedback with me to a departmental meeting and work with my coworkers on a plan to improve

on whatever issue that feedback addresses, this shows how I can directly improve the lives of my

students. I cannot change my students grades or teach them about astrophysics or congratulate

them on improving their grammar in an essay, but I can show them through example the

importance of working with others from different backgrounds. I can show them through my

own actions what they have to gain from learning about others perspectives and individual

stories. I can show them how essential compassion, empathy, advocacy and allyhood are to

addressing institutional, national, and global diversity issues. Schuh, Jones, and Harper (2011)

touched on the importance of student affairs work in diversity when they stated:

An education-only rationale, they argued, fails to acknowledge the fact that a campuss
capacity to remedy the present effects of past discrimination is instrumental in
maximizing the educational benefits associated with a diverse student body. Failure to
intervene at the basic, remedial level not only reduces the chances of realizing the
benefits associated with a diverse student population but also can fuel alienation,
antipathy, higher rates of departure, and students dissatisfaction with their overall college
experience. (Schuh, Jones, & Harper, 2011, p. 56.)
To summarize Schuh, Jones, and Harpers (2011) point, the role of student affairs is essential in

the implementation of diversity initiatives. If students read a clause in their professors syllabus

about the importance of diversity but dont see this translated into campus programming, they

have no reason to believe it is a priority at our institution. If they dont see any visiting speakers

or university staff who look like them or speaks to their experiences, that communicates to them
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that diversity is only important in the classroom, which, as is stated in the previous quote, can

lead to less retention and student dissatisfaction. We as student affairs professionals have the

power to change students lives, especially the lives of students who may have repeatedly been

told that their thoughts, dreams, and identities do not matter. We can empower those students

through our diversity initiatives, and that is what I am most proud and invigorated to do as a

student affairs professional.

Other Solutions

I have just told you some of the many reasons that I believe student affairs is vital to our

students and the future of our institution. So, in lieu of scrapping the entire student affairs

division or merging it with academics, I propose that we find ways to be frugal by simply

restructuring our division. By scrutinizing our student demographics and restructuring our

division to match the needs of our unique students, we will be able to better serve them while

also reducing the amount of money spent. Do we have a large percentage of commuter students,

or does the majority of our student body live on campus? What is our most popular major? Do

we have a large graduate student population? Do we need less classrooms but more online

programs to be accessible to our distance learners? Asking these questions can help us see if

there is a disconnect or drift between our institutional mission and divisional mission, which

Kuh, Schuh, Whitt and Associates (1991) address in the following:

Drift can occur as a consequence of new staff members being hired who do not
have experience at similar institutions and/or who have not had a thorough
acculturation to the nature of their new institution. Drift might also occur when
new senior leaders are appointed who do not study the history of their new
institution, and/or do not understand the powerful influence that the institutional
culture can have on how student affairs programs and services are offered. (Ku,
Schuh, Whitt, & Associates, 1991, p. 201)
Not only must we take a critical look at our student makeup to ensure we are serving them in the

best way possible, but we must also conduct intense training with all staff to ensure that their
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values align with the mission of the institution. Only then can we know how staff plan to more

strongly implement the institutional mission and help keep to a stricter budget.

I hope you have found throughout this document that I have provided adequate

documentation that our field of student affairs is legitimate and an essential part of the college

experience. In talking about co-curriculum, diversity, transformative education, and the

intentional role of student affairs, I hope I have been able to shed some light on the importance of

our existence and the crucial work we do with students. I hope that I have communicated that we

are important, even in our state of progress and imperfection. In closing, I will leave you with

this: if you dont treat student affairs as you do faculty, if you do not give us the access the reach

our students and input these initiatives fromm all sides- inside the classroom, outside the

classroom, in our residence halls, our dining halls and student unions, then I fear you will never

realize our full potential. For that, our students, the future of this institution and the future of our

loca, national and global community may suffer.

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References
Ballard, S., & Long, P.N. (2004, November/December). Profiles in partnership: Finding strength
in collaborative leadership. About Campus, 9(5), 16-22.

Day, P., & Associates. (2004). Learning Reconsidered: A Campus-Wide Focus on the Student
Experience. NASPA Journal.

Kuh, G. D., Schuh, J., Whitt, E., & Associates. (1991). Involving Colleges. San Fransisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. & Assoc. (2000) Learning as transformation. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Manning, K., Kinzie, J. & Schuh, J. (2014). One size does not fit all: Traditional and
innovative models of student affairs practice (2nd ed.) New York: Routledge.

Sandeen, A. & Barr, M. (2006). Critical issues for student affairs: Challenges and opportunities.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Schuh. J. Jones, S., Harper., & Associates (Eds.) (2011). Student services: A Handbook
for the profession (5th ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.