This qualitative study explored how supervisors in student affairs describe their supervisory learning journey. Supervision is an important facet of the student affairs profession, yet there is an apparent lack of intentional supervisory training and development for these professionals. This study endeavored to understand how supervisors in…

Early career professionals' attrition in student affairs have been reported at rates as high as 60% before year five in the last few decades of literature. Retaining these professionals is vital to the sustainability of the field (Winston Jr. & Creamer, 1997). This study explores experiences and retention in the field of student affairs,…

The purpose of this study was to explore how emotions and identity development create pathways for White deans of students to understand their responsibility in fostering a campus community that is equitable for all. From the frameworks of emotional intelligence and White identity development, I illustrated the nature of the varying, often…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of student affairs staff members, with no formal counseling background, in their work to support student care, defined at the site of this research as the spectrum through low-level well-being to high-level mental health concerns. Additionally, focus was given to the actions that could be…

The study aimed to achieve two main objectives: first, to investigate the presence and nature of emotional labor within student affairs; and second, to explore the correlations between emotional labor and both individual and organizational well-being among student affairs professionals. This research examines the intricate interconnections between…

This study explored the experiences of women leaders who graduated from a student affairs master's degree program, and advanced to positions of vertical movement to roles of increasing responsibility, wider influence, and greater accountability. Specifically, exploration of this progression, and the influences on their experience of lateral…

The purpose of this dissertation was to understand the experience of higher education crisis leaders while facing an unprecedented crisis. COVID-19 thrust senior student affairs professionals, who most often serve as crisis leaders on small college campuses, into the position of decision-maker guiding the campus response to the pandemic. The…

Decades of established research have focused on the attrition, workplace trauma, and career burnout of student affairs (SA) professionals working at colleges and universities (see N. J. Evans, 1988; Herr & Strange, 1985; Perez & Bettencourt, 2024; Walterbusch, 2019). The purpose of this generic qualitative research study (Khalke, 2016) was…

The intent of this narrative dissertation was to uncover how staff members in divisions of student affairs experience bullying, how it has affected their trust for the profession and their colleagues and supervisors, and how the power dynamic within workplace bullying has an effect on the experience for professionals. It is important to recognize…

The purpose of this narrative study was to understand the stories of senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) in New England in navigating their roles with multiple stakeholder groups during the closing of a college or merger with another institution. At the heart of this research was understanding the ways in which SSAOs made sense of their lived…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the perceived leadership behaviors of upper-level student affairs officers and levels of psychological ownership among entry-level employees working in student services roles in higher education in the United States. Specifically, this study identified whether there are leadership…

Little research has been conducted on the work engagement, subjective happiness, or perceived organizational support of student affairs professionals. In this study, 299 professionals in the American College Personnel Association were surveyed utilizing the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Subjective Happiness Scale, and the Survey of Perceived…