Although the literature is extensive on students' experiences within student affairs offices, programs, and functional areas, less attention has been given to students' interactions with student affairs staff members. In this qualitative study, staff interactions are assessed in an exploration of students' experiences within the student affairs…

This study examines how higher education professionals navigate intersectional failures in institutional, state, and federal support as advocates for undocumented students. Semi-structured interviews with these professionals reveal that they rely on college interventionists to fill the gaps in undocumented student support on their college…

Using a constructivist paradigm, this qualitative study investigated the impact of social identities on how professionalism is learned, practiced, and challenged by new professionals in student affairs. Collaborators in this study included 25 recent graduates of a student affairs professional preparation program. Findings suggest race, gender,…

Building on conceptual literature on the scholar-practitioner, this study explored higher education and student affairs practitioner's perceptions of what influenced their use of scholarship in practice and the role of doctoral education in their scholar-practitioner identity development. The resultant findings and discussion give particular focus…

There are over 2.7 million student-mothers pursuing associate and bachelor's degrees in the US higher education system. Although student-mothers' enrollment continues to grow, they report being misunderstood and underserved in higher education. In response, I offer a modification to Marcia Baxter Magolda's self-authorship entitled,…

This paper asks "how can higher education and student affairs (HESA) faculty influence the development of HESA practitioners outside of the reproduction of the present?" First, I develop a theory of alter-competence, the practice of nonrepresentational thinking, through wonder. This theory is put to empirical work in a GPP classroom…

Current American college administration has been charged with the development of the whole student, producing well-rounded, intelligent graduates ready to enter the workforce. Presently, mentorship and tutoring programs exist in many environments but have no cohesive aim to develop self-authorship. Untapped potential for promotion of college…

Few student affairs graduate preparation programs address deficit thinking. This study explored how an anti-deficit achievement framework was used to socialize scholar-practitioners in a graduate course on student success. Using narrative inquiry, this study addresses how exposing participants to anti-deficit research enhanced their understanding…

While research reveals weaknesses in preparation-program curricula, there are challenges with these studies due to incomplete data from program directories. This descriptive study offers the results of an exhaustive search for programs in the United States and examines how each program's required curriculum aligns with field standards. Findings…

Using an episode of a student affairs podcast for professional development, we engage in a critical discourse analysis to better understand what discourses the podcast host and guest rely on when discussing college students engaged in sex work. Further, we examine how the discourses the host and guest use contribute to particular logics about sex…

Utilizing interviews with 44 full-time HESA faculty members, this study explores how they describe planning for individual courses. Findings suggest a model of course planning in which faculty members enter the process with particular beliefs and then make decisions as they consider existing syllabi, course objectives, course content, and student…

This study develops and validates a model explaining how the organizational and human resources, advising and supporting, and personal and ethical foundations competencies influence leadership in student affairs. The most notable finding from this study is the overlooked and powerful influence of advising and supporting upon leadership. The…

We surveyed 441 senior student affairs officers to measure their perceptions of behaviors, attitudes, skills, and knowledge (BASK) important to their effectiveness. Most important was integrity. Women and People of Color scored higher on BASK factors than other SSAOs. Practice implications include discussing BASK in NASPA associate/assistant vice…

This empirical article presents student affairs and services practitioners' perceptions regarding the sense of accomplishment they feel in their job. Results show helping students, collaborating among colleagues, contributing positively to a broader community, and the autonomous and engaging nature of the work itself provided SAS staff across…

On May 4, 1970, four students were killed and nine were wounded when National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protestors at Kent State University. This case study explores the tragedy and the experiences of student affairs professionals at KSU leading up to and after the shootings. Although the field of crisis management did not exist in 1970,…