When making decisions that impact student learning, college educators often consider previous experiences, precedent, common sense, and advice from colleagues. But how often do they consider theory? At a recent state-level educators' meeting, the authors of this article asked 50 student affairs educators about the use of theory in their practice.…

Collegiate athletics has exploded into a multimillion-dollar enterprise that has brought with it a host of issues, including the exploitation of student athletes, concerns about student athletes' academic success and low graduation rates, cheating by student athletes and staff, and misbehavior and crimes committed by student athletes, coaches, and…

Dana is a graduate assistant in the second year of a master's program in student personnel. In a class discussion of assistantship issues, Dana reveals that he has decided not to enforce the university's policy of "writing up" all underage students who are in a residence hall room where alcohol is present. He says that in his opinion the punitive…

Kathleen Manning identifies seven philosophical positions in relation to the broad issue of difference. Recognizing and understanding where they stand in this matrix allows educators to work more effectively with students, faculty, and staff about the complex and sometimes contested issue of difference.

This article describes the author's cross-pedagogical approach to co-teaching with student affairs colleagues. The central goal of this approach is to help students create meaning for their lives. The author also gives an account of an incident that occurred in one seminar and illustrates the benefits of a crossover approach.

Most individuals who work in higher education seek the same outcome: student learning. Knowing that partnerships between faculty and student affairs educators offer the best hope for students' experiencing the kind of learning that higher education promises, individuals at Baylor University are taking small steps toward building and sustaining…

In this article, the authors share an approach to enriching student learning through building on relationships among faculty, student affairs educators, and administrators. As their examples suggest, campuses where academic and student affairs educators work together most effectively have broad representation on campuswide committees and other…

In this article, the author describes how she challenged her class to think critically about multicultural competence and to analyze objectively the liberal perspectives of Allan G. Johnson and conservative ideas of Dinesh D'Souza using Raechele Pope, Amy Reynolds, and John Mueller's characteristics of multiculturally competent student affairs…

"Who is responsible for developing, ensuring, and assessing learning outcomes--student affairs, academic affairs, or both?" This question yielded a spirited debate between faculty members and student affairs professionals in the author's course Disability in Higher Education and Society. The author was prompted to learn more about this issue at…

The authors interviewed two dozen educators at several institutions who were responsible for administration of the survey on their campus to better understand how data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) were (or were not) being used. The project managers they interviewed had successfully used strategies to make sense of NSSE…

This article offers a brief discussion on the Assessment Skills and Knowledge (ASK) Standards. The ASK Standards provide a consistent framework that outlines the skills and knowledge that should be advanced in educational sessions. It also recognizes the critical importance of assessment in the roles and responsibilities of student affairs…

Student affairs educators and academic faculty continue to respond to demands that they become more accountable; conduct better assessments of learning outcomes; and demonstrate, through evaluation, the contributions they make to institutional missions. In this article, the authors bring together multiple resources selected for their potential to…

In 1995, in "Shifting Paradigms in Student Affairs," this author and her colleagues called for all educators, including those in student affairs, to see their central task as enhancement of student learning. At about the same time, scientists and practitioners began to understand that learning is a contextual process of knowledge acquisition,…

Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, faculty members and student affairs educators often believe that the answers they seek about assessment are secrets kept by an all-knowing, powerful person. If they can just find the Wizard of Assessment and be granted the secret assessment formula, all will be well. The student affairs educators at California…

Interest in creating conditions that enhance student learning and support students in achieving their educational goals is at an all-time high. The pool of prospective undergraduates is larger and more diverse than ever, and four-fifths of high school graduates will require some form of postsecondary education to acquire the knowledge and…