Many student affairs practitioners passionately support students, but the cost of caring may include compassion fatigue or secondary stress. This constructivist case study examined how a program that serves at-promise students contributes to and alleviates compassion fatigue among staff members. While the scope of work, position of the program at…

Student development theory (SDT) is a diverse corpus of academic and popular psychology with real-world application to the maturation of college and university students. It originated during the campus upheavals of the 1960s as part of a collective effort to reconcile restive students to mass higher education and modern technological society.…

Many student affairs professionals had impactful experiences as undergraduate students, themselves, and they want to facilitate those same opportunities. They believe their work is meaningful to students' experiences and is also valued by institutions. So if that is what motivates many student affairs professionals, what happens when they begin to…

Evidence demonstrates work intensity is on the rise and can lead to higher rates of burnout. The UK Higher Education professional services sector has been under-researched in terms of work intensity levels and experience of burnout. This research measured these levels and sought evidence of whether high-performance work practices (HPWPs) moderate…

The retention of student affairs professionals remains a significant challenge for academic institutions, as these professionals play a critical role in supporting student retention and ensuring completion rates. A misalignment between employees' preferred work environments and current institutional policies and traditions hinders the transition…

Since its conception as a distinctive form of scholarship, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has evolved into a legitimized field. Despite its rapid evolution, there still exists confusion surrounding its definition and distinctions from scholarly teaching. Additionally, although it is widely recognized across many disciplines, there…

Recently, leadership education researchers and practitioners have raised significant concerns about the gap between the expectations of, and professional training for, leadership educators in student affairs. These professionals are frequently required to facilitate leadership learning, especially in co-curricular training spaces for student…

In the spring of 2021, staff from the University of Minnesota Morris participated in Fika Coffee Time gatherings, inspired by a Swedish tradition to slow down, have coffee, conversation, and a treat with friends or colleagues. As Minnesota is the state with the largest number of Swedish Americans, it has a great deal of institutions that celebrate…

Over the last few decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of student service personnel, yet demand has outstripped this growth leading to turnover and low employee satisfaction. Scholars and practitioners alike have called for increased levels of empowerment of these workers, but the outcomes of this approach need further…

In this article, we provide an overview of the current and emerging professional competencies for student affairs professionals around the world, highlighting those from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Botswana. We compare and contrast competencies from these countries and conclude with implications for the student affairs…

This article explores the concept of Student Affairs and Services (SAS) as a global profession, how it is positioned and positions itself in the context of what it means to be a profession and reflects on the ways in which SAS has and can professionalize. The literature related to professionalization is presented along with a discussion of the…

An imaginary divide exists between academic affairs and student affairs, fueled by disagreements over responsibility for the educational mission of a university. Some in academic affairs doubt the capability of student affairs professionals to promote rigorous learning, because student affairs is often viewed as the realm outside of the classroom.…

Doing more with less is a continual dynamic faced by leaders in higher education, particularly within small institutions where resources can be scarce, and professionals often are wearing multiple hats. The ability to prioritize programs and services in student affairs rises to the forefront of our work every day. As a result, leaders often need…

This article examines how appreciative inquiry can be a helpful tool to improve the supervision of graduate assistants in student affairs. Representing the future of the field, these emerging professionals need supervisors willing to invest in their development, a process that can be improved when approached with appreciative frameworks.

This study examines how higher education professionals navigate intersectional failures in institutional, state, and federal support as advocates for undocumented students. Semi-structured interviews with these professionals reveal that they rely on college interventionists to fill the gaps in undocumented student support on their college…