This article considers student affairs practice within the Completion Agenda by studying community college student affairs educators' beliefs about their work related to the value others attribute to it. The Completion Agenda's goals are largely economic, and community colleges have been asked to focus on speed rather than the quality of the…

The price of college is increasingly out of reach for many Americans. Although community colleges are affordable compared to other institutional sectors, many community college students have unmet need. Free college and promise programs are emerging around the country as a solution to make college more affordable. This article examines the Salt…

African American women in student affairs face negative experiences as they seek to move along their career paths, including discrimination based on race and gender, tokenism, and microaggressive behavior. This qualitative interview study explored the professional experiences of 25 African American women middle level managers (MLMs) employed at…

Employee engagement in higher education is very important, particularly in the Office of Admissions where staff interact with their managers, teams, external groups, and prospective students. Office of Admissions staff work with prospective students and their families by educating the admissions process and help navigate the paths to higher…

Since incorporation, the economic value of students to colleges has seen the language of 'risk' and 'drop-out' permeate the further education sector, placing retention and achievement high up on the agenda, with what appears to be little consideration for the consequences this might have for the students the terms describe. This study provides a…

Higher education in the United States is becoming more racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse. Given this increasing diversity, developing multicultural competence for current and preparing student affairs professionals (PSAPs) must become more intentional and clearly articulated within graduate preparation programs and further supported by…

Because the work of scholars and student affairs practitioners is primarily confined within colonial institutions of higher education, their ethics of research and practice are also primarily bound by the same colonial perspective. Colonial practices perpetuate white dominance and therefore harm students, specifically those from marginalized…

This paper explores the need to build a reciprocal partnership with Indigenous Peoples and develop culturally-relevant strategies that foster academic motivation among Indigenous youth. The objectives of this study were to describe education professionals' perceptions regarding: (1) the challenges Indigenous students face when transitioning to…

Little scholarship explores the attention to religious, spiritual, and secular identity in the graduate preparation of student affairs professionals. To address this gap, we undertook a phenomenological examination of the experiences of second-year graduate students in four elite master of education programs with respect to these identities. We…

While research has shown that the racial diversity of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) is increasing, the efforts of student affairs professionals to foster racial inclusivity are under examined. This case study discusses findings from student affairs professionals at one HBCU to understand what they are doing to foster a…

Although engagement in social and academic counterspaces has been studied as a strategy used by African American college students to withstand racially inhospitable campus climates, very little research documents the impact of professional counterspaces on African American women student affairs administrators. The purpose of this basic…

Student affairs professionals committed to principles of social justice continually seek ways to align their values with their professional practice. However, such commitments and aspirational goals are not enough to dismantle systems, policies, and practices embedded in the inequitable and oppressive structures often found in higher education.…

Colleges and universities looking to reduce cost often use non-tenure track instructional staff. One understudied group within the literature of non-tenure track instructional staff includes higher education and student affairs administrators who teach classes alongside their non-academic administrative work. This study leveraged critical race…

The book was written to assist those who plan to work as student affairs educators soon and those who are new student affairs educators to become competent in social justice and inclusion. It will provide trainees and new student affairs educators not only content knowledge and skills but also strategies and ways to develop competency in social…

The study explored the gendered racial identity status of Black female student-affairs professionals and how their identity status influences both their personal and professional experiences at predominately White institutions. The existing scholarly literature has focused on females in higher education in general; very few studies have focused on…