Asking college students how much they have learned or grown is a common assessment practice in student affairs and elsewhere. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that these self-reported gains do a very poor job of measuring actual student learning and growth. This paper provides an overview of the psychological process of how students likely…

These 18 self-assessment guides and training manual from the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) for Student Services/Development Programs translate the CAS Standards and Guidelines of 1986 into a format for self-study purposes. These self-study guides allow an institution to assure compliance with minimally-acceptable practice, gain an…

This handbook on student affairs administration contains the following papers: (1) "The Importance of Institutional Mission" (Lyons); (2) "Institutional Governance and the Role of Student Affairs" (Pembroke); (3) "Assessing Campus Environments" (Kuh); (4) "Fiscal Pressures on Higher Education and Student Affairs" (Schuh); (5) "Identifying and…

This chapter, aimed at both new community college student affairs professionals and experienced practitioners hoping to further develop their skills, provides resources and information about the expanding focus on student learning, translating student development theory into practice, and assessing student learning outcomes.

Profiles an academic model which permits all student affairs personnel to actively facilitate student development on campus. Describes three variations of the model, from three universities, which incorporate a series of courses focusing on identified student needs. Describes other related student development activities. (RC)

This paper explores the readiness of student affairs professionals to utilize adult development knowledge in everyday interactions with college students. Four types of knowledge about the adult development process (cognitive-developmental, psychosocial, person-environment interaction, and humanistic-existential) are briefly defined, with…

In order to more fully understand the student services function in the community college, this paper presents a historical overview of the community college movement and the emergence of the student services profession in the United States. A parallel is drawn between the community college mission and the student services profession. The paper…

This summary report presents a synthesis of discussions at a national colloquium on "Mastery Leadership in Student Development Services," sponsored by the American College Testing Program and the National Council on Student Development. Following introductory material on the colloquium,"Beyond Management to Leadership," by John S. Keyser, this…

The efforts of student affairs aimed at improving quality of life, integrating new student groups, and attracting and retaining students are becoming critical to colleges and universities. Student affairs organizations can respond to the changing conditions and take a leadership role in new institutional strategies; they can become…

This document contains standards and guidelines for postsecondary education student services and student development programs. The stated expectations are that all institutions with minimally acceptable student services, student development programs, or professional preparation programs must be able to satisfy the Council for the Advancement of…

This statement addresses the basic practices of student development professionals that help community colleges assure success on the part of their students in an effort to reaffirm and update the standards of practice that undergird the profession. Introductory material discusses the rationale, philosophy, and purpose of the statement; explains…

This monograph, addressed primarily to the concerns of practitioners, was written mostly by two-year college practitioners. Chapter 1, "Opportunities in Legacy" (Charles R. Dassance), discusses qualities of the two-year college, its special commitment to guidance of students, and its commitment to teaching as a primary thrust of educational…

Although much has been written in support of a student development role for the student affairs professional, research documentation is lacking on the contributions made by student affairs staff to the development of students. A simple research methodology, which could be easily replicated on college campuses, to begin providing these missing data…

Argues that such student services as counseling, financial aid, and student health be made available to all students at times and days necessary to accommodate full- and part-time, credit and non-credit students. Urges lifelong learning and student services professionals to exert leadership in developing appropriate student services. (DMM)

Although the role of the student development professional has changed along with the mission of the community colleges, the models providing a theoretical framework for the profession have remained relatively unchanged. In 1937, the American Council on Education published a statement which declared that student development professionals were to…