Professional identity is one outcome of successful socialization. The purpose of this study was to understand how socialization in graduate programs contributes to the development of professional identity for new professionals in student affairs. Via survey, we found significant relationships between program qualities, standards, activities, and…

This qualitative study of 20 student affairs master's students explored their career plans and perceptions of the field. Five themes emerged from interviews with participants who considered leaving student affairs to pursue other careers: (a) distance from the institutional mission, (b) student affairs as devalued work, (c) lack of…

This qualitative study examined the experiences of entry-level men in student affairs, with particular focus on the function of mentors and role models. Through semistructured interviews and a focus group, 22 participants shared their thoughts and experiences regarding mentorship. Results indicated mentorship to be instrumental in recruitment and…

This article advances the notion that undergraduates may be considered student-customers whose relationship with and loyalty to their institutions can be managed by college educators. The Student University Loyalty Instrument administered to 1,207 undergraduates at three comprehensive Midwestern institutions assessed the predictors of student…

The Office Consultation Project is an innovative capstone project that partners graduate students in student affairs preparation programs with academic and student affairs practitioners. It provides an opportunity for students to apply research and scholarship to practical settings, while giving practitioners new insight into their units,…

This article reviews empirical studies of the role of college roommate relationships in students' mental health and college adjustment. We propose a systemic conceptualization of roommate relationships that highlights roommates' interdependence and origins of roommate relationship dynamics. We discuss practice implications for student…

The study of competencies in student affairs began more than 4 decades ago, but no instrument currently exists to measure competencies broadly. This study builds upon previous research by developing an instrument to measure student affairs competencies. Results not only validate the competencies espoused by NASPA and ACPA, but also suggest adding…

Case management is a functional area in higher education and student affairs that emerged after the mass shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007. Although new to higher education, case management emerged from established social work practice. This article compares social work theory and case management standards with a new case management model for…

The study reviewed 17 years of research extending the work of Lovell and Kosten (2000) on student affairs competencies important for professional preparation and practice. A meta-analysis was used to organize and present data on 22 articles concerned with knowledge, skills, dispositions, curriculum, multicultural competency, and professional…

This study explores student affairs capitalism as the alteration of professional practice towards the financial interests of institutions. Student affairs capitalism has the potential to create dynamics in which the interests of students become secondary to the institution's economic needs. This study examined this phenomenon from the…

The phrase "best practice" is used often in student affairs, but the term lacks a common and accepted definition. This results in the implementation of programs and services that are neither grounded nor assessed. A model is proposed here that suggests a best practice process that integrates foundational student affairs documents and applies the…

This study examined the relationships between color-blind racial ideology (CBRI) and social justice attitudes among a racially diverse sample of first-year college students (N = 431). Results indicated that CBRI scores partially mediated the relation between participation in campus diversity experiences and social justice attitudes for Black,…

Entry-level student affairs staff are the profession's future and seasoned professionals must lay a strong supervisory foundation. Supervision has received little attention in the literature even though practitioners spend substantial time supervising. Although an important role, many seasoned professionals are ill prepared for this task. This…

This study of student affairs leaders who have left senior roles used an interpretive qualitative approach to explore these lived transitional experiences. The context of the departure, its immediate impact, the ensuing emotions, the change navigation process, and the envisioned future appear to shape the departing leaders' perceptions of the…

Walter Dill Scott (1869-1955), tenth president of Northwestern University and pioneer of industrial psychology, is an essential architect of student personnel work. This study of his accomplishments, drawing on records from the Northwestern University archives, tells a story about the people he influenced and his involvement in codifying what was…