New Perspectives for Student Affairs Professionals

Book excerpt: The efforts of college and university student affairs professionals, who aim to improve student life, integrate new student groups, and attract and retain students, are becoming critical to institutions attempting to maintain enrollments of qualified students, ensure academic achievement, place graduates, and develop supportive alumni. Changes in student affairs contexts and clienteles are evidenced in uneven success with students from underrepresented groups, demographic shifts, expanding use of information technologies, increasing violence, the burden of debt, and new emphasis on accountability. An expanded role for student affairs is demanded, which would require creatively and collaboratively integrating the theory and practice of student affairs, integrating the academic and student affairs communities, and integrating campus and society. Challenges for the student affairs professional in this new role include developing vision, streamlining the administrative decision making process, developing comprehensive strategies, and recommitting to student development. The new role for student affairs calls for changes in the programs and services offered, the professional skills employed by student affairs professionals, and the content of the preparation and continuing development of professionals. (Contains approximately 250 references.) (JDD).