Reflection on the Class:
This course did a great job creating a starting point for why Student Affairs exists on campus and looking at the historical context of student affairs. The course allowed me to really examine the operating structure of an institution and how the operating structure plays a major role into the development of the institution.
Higher education has many key stakeholders vying for a say in how an institution should run (Board of Directors/Trustees/Visitors, President and Cabinet, alumni, donors, faculty, staff, students, parents, state legislative officials), etc and with all of these key constituents wanting something from an institution, it becomes hard for an institution to determine what their identity is and how to best be everything for everyone.
I have always been told, “Shaun, you need a Master’s Degree.” I have known for a long time that having a master’s degree in Higher Education is more a formality, especially because a good majority of the work we do in student affairs is common sense practice. However, having taken this course, has given me a deeper appreciation for the need to have a Master’s Degree because it also has given me a deeper understanding of the role that Faculty play in academia and the challenges that Faculty go through on a daily basis. Struggling for power, struggling for resources, struggling for tenure and trying to validate the work they do is just like what Student Affairs practitioners do on a daily basis. For ages, the faculty were the torch-bearers of the institution, and for the most part will carry a major part of higher education because they are teaching classes and educating students, however student affairs practitioners do a lot in the development and education of the student and it is important for student affairs practitioners to not only have the same level of credentials as their academic colleagues, but also be able to back up the work they do through research and assessment.
Throughout the course, there were opportunities to examine the role of each of these constituents and to realize the power that each plays on the foundation of the institution. Recognizing that an institution of higher learning is all about a balance of power and that no one key constituent can control all the power because that is when the best interests of the institution and its students are no longer the focus of the mission of higher education.
The class was particularly beneficial because it allowed me to take one institution and trace the important aspects of what we were talking about throughout the class as if in a real-world scenario. I chose my alma mater, Maryville College. Examining the structure, mission, vision, goals, traditions and the culture of an institution and how it relates to how the institution functions was truly an eye-opening experience as to how truly complex the climate is for higher education.
To make matters more complex, there are many emerging issues that are becoming trends in higher education that are adding to the complexity such as the balance of cost vs benefit, online education, competency based learning, new and emerging technology in the classroom, privatization vs. public affiliation, and institutional autonomy in the face of a constantly changing and demanding landscape.
The reality, higher education is a complicated realm, it always has been and always will be, and what will be important is how everyone who works for institutions of higher education handle the challenges that area ahead of them in helping navigate the landscape for future generations. In the class, after having painted the picture of where higher education came from and where it is headed, I was asked to develop my philosophy on student engagement. This assignment was a rewarding opportunity for me to pause and reflect on why I do the work that I do and how I do it.
To me, working with students over the past nine years has been a great blessing and has brought about a lot of joy. To see when a student has an “ah ha” moment, or when a student discovers that they can do something they did not think was possible is a great opportunity to see the “humanness” of our existence. People in general have a long tradition of doing the impossible (traveling to the moon, discovering the cure for various illnesses, solving complicated mathematical equations) and being able to have even a small part in a student’s development provides a lot of fulfillment in my life.
So being able to actually stop and reflect on my student engagement philosophy was important to me. As I said in my philosophy,
“I pledge to do no harm (ACPA, 1992) to my students and always seek to help guide, mentor and advise them to be successful and to make a difference by challenging and supporting them to think outside the box, to question the status quo, and to develop a unique sense of who they are and what they believe as important to the world, their community and in their own lives.”
This course did a great job creating a starting point for why Student Affairs exists on campus and looking at the historical context of student affairs. The course allowed me to really examine the operating structure of an institution and how the operating structure plays a major role into the development of the institution.
Higher education has many key stakeholders vying for a say in how an institution should run (Board of Directors/Trustees/Visitors, President and Cabinet, alumni, donors, faculty, staff, students, parents, state legislative officials), etc and with all of these key constituents wanting something from an institution, it becomes hard for an institution to determine what their identity is and how to best be everything for everyone.
I have always been told, “Shaun, you need a Master’s Degree.” I have known for a long time that having a master’s degree in Higher Education is more a formality, especially because a good majority of the work we do in student affairs is common sense practice. However, having taken this course, has given me a deeper appreciation for the need to have a Master’s Degree because it also has given me a deeper understanding of the role that Faculty play in academia and the challenges that Faculty go through on a daily basis. Struggling for power, struggling for resources, struggling for tenure and trying to validate the work they do is just like what Student Affairs practitioners do on a daily basis. For ages, the faculty were the torch-bearers of the institution, and for the most part will carry a major part of higher education because they are teaching classes and educating students, however student affairs practitioners do a lot in the development and education of the student and it is important for student affairs practitioners to not only have the same level of credentials as their academic colleagues, but also be able to back up the work they do through research and assessment.
Throughout the course, there were opportunities to examine the role of each of these constituents and to realize the power that each plays on the foundation of the institution. Recognizing that an institution of higher learning is all about a balance of power and that no one key constituent can control all the power because that is when the best interests of the institution and its students are no longer the focus of the mission of higher education.
The class was particularly beneficial because it allowed me to take one institution and trace the important aspects of what we were talking about throughout the class as if in a real-world scenario. I chose my alma mater, Maryville College. Examining the structure, mission, vision, goals, traditions and the culture of an institution and how it relates to how the institution functions was truly an eye-opening experience as to how truly complex the climate is for higher education.
To make matters more complex, there are many emerging issues that are becoming trends in higher education that are adding to the complexity such as the balance of cost vs benefit, online education, competency based learning, new and emerging technology in the classroom, privatization vs. public affiliation, and institutional autonomy in the face of a constantly changing and demanding landscape.
The reality, higher education is a complicated realm, it always has been and always will be, and what will be important is how everyone who works for institutions of higher education handle the challenges that area ahead of them in helping navigate the landscape for future generations. In the class, after having painted the picture of where higher education came from and where it is headed, I was asked to develop my philosophy on student engagement. This assignment was a rewarding opportunity for me to pause and reflect on why I do the work that I do and how I do it.
To me, working with students over the past nine years has been a great blessing and has brought about a lot of joy. To see when a student has an “ah ha” moment, or when a student discovers that they can do something they did not think was possible is a great opportunity to see the “humanness” of our existence. People in general have a long tradition of doing the impossible (traveling to the moon, discovering the cure for various illnesses, solving complicated mathematical equations) and being able to have even a small part in a student’s development provides a lot of fulfillment in my life.
So being able to actually stop and reflect on my student engagement philosophy was important to me. As I said in my philosophy,
“I pledge to do no harm (ACPA, 1992) to my students and always seek to help guide, mentor and advise them to be successful and to make a difference by challenging and supporting them to think outside the box, to question the status quo, and to develop a unique sense of who they are and what they believe as important to the world, their community and in their own lives.”
