Higher education has operated in silos of faculty in academic affairs and staff in student affairs for decades with little intentional integration. Initiatives aimed at collaboration tend to draw clear lines and reinforce the perceptions of faculty as "thinkers" and staff as "doers." In the headwinds facing higher education…

Parasocial Relationships can mirror social relationships, particularly to individuals in isolation. Student Affairs practitioners were enormously impacted by the conditions of the Great Distress Era (the period that included the COVID-19 restrictions, racial violence and protests in response, political unrest). Many engaged in parasocial…

This study investigated the use of othermothering as a relationship building approach in student affairs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and its association with job burnout outcomes in HBCU student affairs professionals. Job burnout outcomes affect job turnover intention decisions (Michaels & Spector, 1982); therefore,…

The current workforce comprises a mosaic of generations, including Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and the newly emerging Generation Z. This qualitative study provides valuable insights into the professional needs of Generation Z employees in Student Affairs. The aim is to enhance understanding among their supervisors regarding this new…

Frontline student affairs educators' work puts them in close contact with students, both socially and emotionally, meaning that they may experience a unique pressure to balance and represent both the priorities of their organizations and students' needs and interests (Perez, 2016). Given that institutional policies and practices to respond to…

This article examines the potential effectiveness, benefits, and drawbacks of fully virtual interviewing, including the final interview process, for both candidates and search committees in student affairs and services. Interviews were held with those involved with searches during the pandemic to consider if a fully virtual interview process may…

There has been an increased emphasis for professionals within the field of student affairs to focus on programming that will engage and help support increasingly diverse student populations on (Odag, Wallin, & Kedzior, 2016). Bowman (2012) writes: "Many entering college students have had limited opportunities for meaningful interactions…

What do senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) expect from new professionals? What are emerging college educators learning in graduate preparation programs? Where is the gap, and how can we work together to fill it? As a vice president for student affairs (VPSA; Segar) and a faculty member in a student affairs and higher education graduate…

The purpose of this study was to examine the self-perceived competence levels of senior-level student affairs professionals. Additionally, the study aimed to learn about the experiences that contributed to the participants' competence levels. A qualitative study, consisting of semi-structured interviews, was conducted to address the research…

Student affairs professionals have often relied on the professional development of staff rather than innovative design approaches to fulfill the challenge of creating programs, services, and activities that serve today's global and multicultural students. In this article, Jordan Harper and Adrianna Kezar introduce Liberatory Design Thinking (LDT)…

Ximena was sure she would be appointed as the Director of Student Life at Aspirante University, a Hispanic-Serving Institution. As interim director, Ximena strove to enact servingness in her everyday practice. Her efforts to create a culturally responsive, relevant, and affirming campus environment for Latinx students were unparalleled. However,…

Increasing numbers of academically talented students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are accessing higher education. This is an underserved and understudied cohort of students, as their talents can mask their autism, or their autism can mask their talents. We conducted interviews with 11 professionals who support academically talented students…

The Student Financial Services (SFS) Benchmarking Report examines student financial services operations, including: unpaid student account balances; student accounts in collections; payment channels and methods; student refunds; third-party billing; and staffing and financial services operating budget.

This article describes the development of the Clinical Load Index (CLI), a new metric for accurately describing and comparing staffing levels across college and university counseling centers. The CLI was developed by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) with support from the Association for University and College Counseling Center…

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented disruptions in higher education, forcing swift changes to core operations, particularly within divisions of student affairs. A review of the literature reveals COVID-19 presented many unique challenges for students and student affairs professionals, including disruptions in traditional…