This qualitative study grounded in feminist theory uses narrative inquiry to explore the stories of 26 senior women student affairs leaders. We tell the collective story we heard participants bring forward by describing plotlines that reverberated across their accounts. We call these plotlines: "Experiencing Communication through Gendered…

Student affairs practitioners and researchers are well positioned to contribute holistically to student success and as such could play a strategic role in the transformation of higher education. The aim of this article is to illustrate that a key strategic objective of student affairs is to contribute significantly towards student success. This…

Since its emergence in December 2019, SARSCoV-2 and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic have had a significant impact worldwide (CDC, 2022a). Researchers have noted that students with disabilities are less likely to enroll in, persist within, and graduate from postsecondary education (Kutscher & Tuckwiller, 2018; Pingry O'Neill et al., 2012).…

To better understand higher education administration practices, I investigated the perspectives of Black womxn student affairs practitioners' aspirational, social, educational, historic, navigational, resistance, and cultural capital which comprised workplace wealth. The data collection utilized a qualitative research methodology. To encourage…

Using sista circle methodology (Johnson, 2015), this critical qualitative study explores the experiences of Black women student affairs professionals and the critical incidents that occur in workplace relationships with white women higher education professionals at historically White institutions (HWIs). The research questions explored how Black…

Learning centers and tutoring programs serve a unique function as they are situated between academic and student affairs. Despite their importance, little research has focused on the key knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies required for success as learning center directors. This qualitative study addressed this gap by exploring critical…

The shortage of qualified administrators who can utilize data analytics means that institutions are not able to harness data analytics to its fullest potential in order to remain competitive in a higher education market that continued to reward institutions that embrace entrepreneurship. Examining how new student affairs professionals in US higher…

With a growing demand for addressing the mental health needs of students, so is the need for faculty and practitioners in student affairs and academic affairs to engage in supporting students through their trauma, due to a lack of mental health resources and a rise in students' feelings of isolation and anxiety, as a direct result of the COVID-19…

Student affairs administrators in higher education spend time advocating for students in times of crisis. Whether case management occurs within a full-time case management role or as added responsibilities onto an administrator's job, the hours and minutes spent helping students manage crises add up to a significant amount of time. This article…

Midlevel student services managers (MSSMs) in higher education institutions (HEIs) are middle managers overseeing critical programs and services impacting the retention and engagement of students. Besides having to negotiate competing priorities from superiors above and subordinates below, MSSMs must also navigate HEIs with distinctive features…

The conclusion of 2024 state legislative sessions brought news of additional measures to limit higher education institutions' ability to offer initiatives focused on creating inclusion and belonging. In addition, and of particular impact on Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) members, several states and institutions that…

This study examined lived experiences of foreign-born student affairs professionals (SAPs) in the United States and Canadian higher education. We sought to understand foreign-born SAPs' impacts on higher education internationalization and what their professional experiences inferred about the level of international engagement in the field of…

New student affairs professionals are critical for higher education and yet institutions continue to suffer attrition rates as high as 60%. Using cross-sectional survey, this study measured relationships between wellness and intent to leave the profession. Results showed wellness levels were considerably lower than the general population and, as…

Institutions must adequately support Latinx first-generation professionals if we are to make significant progress in our racial equity work. While in the Educational Leadership doctoral program (CANDEL) at the University of California, Davis, my personal and academic experiences led me to conduct qualitative research on the experiences of Latinx…

Student affairs practitioners in higher education have been leaving the field at an alarming rate (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, 2022). As personnel working on the front lines in efforts related to student success and retention, early-career incumbents in these positions experiencing such high rates of attrition…