Though history has long been a part of graduate preparation in higher education administration, new student affairs professionals often struggle to see its relevance to their work. We present a conceptual framework that links organizational ecology, institutional culture and climate, and student development through a historical lens. We then…

Within a traditional organizational structure in higher education, academic and student affairs divisions may not be collaborating well, and the lack of such collaboration may be impacting the students' holistic experiences. Students' academic and personal development depends not only on the quality of the curriculum and classroom instruction, but…

Today, Latinos are enrolling in higher education at higher rates than ever before. Access to higher education for Latinos is no longer the greatest issue facing this population. Instead, degree completion is of increasing concern not to only Latinos, but also to higher education researchers and administrators. The purpose of this study was to…

What is a culture of assessment? According to this author, in a culture of assessment, staff members recognize that they must collect evidence systematically to demonstrate accountability to their stakeholders, and that they must use that evidence to improve. Fundamental to the concept is the author's back-of-the-envelope definition of…

Dr. Melvene Draheim Hardee was a higher education administrator, scholar, and leader. She earned degrees from Iowa State Teachers College, Teachers College Columbia University, and the University of Chicago. The majority of her professional career played out at Florida State University where she first served as coordinator of counseling and later…

Researchers have explored the issue of social class in higher education through the experiences of students and faculty, but have not yet analyzed the experiences of student affairs staff. Past researchers have conflated or ignored issues of race in studies on class, and rarely acknowledge gender as a variable in the classed experience. Student…

"Decisions Matter" is an innovative guide designed to help novice student affairs professionals develop effective decision-making skills. Written by seasoned student affairs educators and practitioners, this book contains a systematic method for solving a wide range of complex problems. In this exceptional instructional tool, the authors…

Interim leadership appointments in higher education are a common strategy used to fill leadership gaps in executive positions. Because student affairs executives are particularly vulnerable to high turnover rates, interim appointments are becoming more widespread. Even with the prevalence of this trend, little attention has been given to the…

While the number of Native Americans attending post-secondary institutions continues to rise, Native Americans remain one of the least represented and least understood populations in our colleges and universities. The lack of knowledge about, and understanding of this particular population may be attributed to its invisibility within the academy,…

Student affairs is a relatively new profession and has changed in significant ways in response to new developments in higher education, innovations in practice, new conceptual paradigms, and changing economic and political conditions. As a result there is much debate about the core mission and purpose of student affairs and whether it is possible…

In 2002, Pearson and Bowman examined the issues and trends in the "College Student Affairs Journal" over its first 20 years, from 1979 to 1999. This manuscript expands that analysis to examine trends from 2000 to 2007, paying particular attention to changes that occurred as the journal transformed from a regional to a national journal and how the…

Using a case study approach , this article explores how men become restricted in experiencing a full range of emotions and human potential. After reviewing current literature describing the pressures men face to conform to traditional ideologies of masculinity, the case study methodology is described, results presented, and implications for…

Young men struggle with privilege and oppression in college and university residence halls just as they do in other educational and social contexts. While discussions and research about adolescent and adult identity development continue, little attention has focused on how a male student's identity development can impact residence life cultures on…

Why do we do what we do? Why is what we do important? What are the best practices to ensure that our "why" is accomplished? These are questions of philosophy--a topic of immense importance since the "why" behind the work influences everything about the "how" and "what" of daily affairs in the world of…

The purpose of this study was to identify the competencies important for success in entry-level residence life positions. The literature suggests that student affairs professionals must ascertain which skills require further development in order to identify professional development activities that will increase proficiency and improve overall…