The ACPA/NASPA (2015) Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators (PCASAE) were intended to educate students and professionals as whole individuals while providing guidelines for specific knowledge areas and expected skill sets. They can be used for self-assessment, professional development, and staff training. Student affairs…

As diverse student populations in the United States continue to increase, the need to support culturally diverse student groups has become increasingly important, especially in postsecondary institutions. Colleges and universities have been relying heavily on student affairs professionals (SAPs) to provide services that inform and support diverse…

Seven campus fraternity/sorority life (FSL) professionals of color who are members of culturally based fraternal organizations (CBFOs) shared stories on how they advocate for students of color and CBFOs on their campus. College Student Educators International's (ACPA's) strategic imperative for racial justice and decolonization (SIRJD) was used as…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how supervisors at a four-year, public, Hispanic-serving institution in Southern California described their process for socializing new Student Affairs professionals. Data from interviews and documents were analyzed to describe how supervisors initiated opportunities for relationship…

Using the Applied Critical Leadership (Santamaría & Santamaría, 2012) framework to operationalize leadership and to celebrate the ways in which Black women Vice Presidents of Student Affairs (VPSAs) acquire institutional access to create real change, this study sought to identify what motivates Black Women to engage in creating supporting…

Black students with disabilities are multiply marginalized; they experience both racism and ableism. Many students are further marginalized by poverty, age, and gender identity. The toll of their intersectional identities impacts their academic experience, and the evidence is that Black disabled students have the highest attrition rates and the…

While higher education disability resource professionals are required to use considerable professional judgment to make accommodation-related decisions, there is a lack of guidance on how to make these decisions. Because disability resource professionals commonly ascribe to a "common-sense standard" when making accommodation-related…

This study focused on understanding how college student educators use The Student Affairs Professional Facebook group. Through descriptive and qualitative analysis of posts, shares, comments, and interactions, this study identifies central topics and issues discussed over a 14-month period. This research shows how college student educators use…

Recent research has shown that student affairs practitioners are characterized as leadership educators by experts in their field, but leadership education traditionally is not part of a student affairs preparatory program, nor is leadership education a commonly discussed professional competency. Using two simultaneous Delphi panels, Group A:…

This article articulates tensions, or strains, that occur within the context of the supervisory relationship, how they arise, and explores some of their interpersonal and organizational impacts. The authors conclude the article with offering strategies supervisors can use to mitigate these tensions.

Student Affairs Administrators have been in the business of monitoring and maintaining the welfare and well-being of the students they service at academic institutions around the world to extend university roles to produce global citizens with will contribute to an increasingly diversified workforce and society. This is a qualitative…

This study was conducted to understand the experiences of wellness among Latino first-year students at a four-year institution in the Southwest. The Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (Meyers, Sweeny, & Witmer, 2001, 2004, 2011) was utilized as an analytical tool to further draw upon interview questions and themes. In hopes to inform a body of…

Mid-level student affairs professionals are leaving the field at an alarming rate. Even though many studies have given considerable attention to the reasons employees leave, less attention has been given to the reasons they decide to stay. The purpose of this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study was to examine factors influencing mid-level…

The purpose of this study was to determine if an individual's level of grit can serve as a factor of persistence in master's prepared student affairs professionals in the higher education profession. While research exists on burnout and why people leave the field of student affairs, this study sought to explore if grit is a factor in persistence…

Institutions of higher education do not currently know the experiences of mid-level Women of Color who work in student affairs. This study provides a fuller understanding of the lived experiences of these individuals. It focused on the what influences Women of Color mid-level student affairs professionals to stay or leave their employment and…