Overview of the History and Culture of

U.S. Student AffairsLarry D. Roper

Oregon State University

Context: American colleges and universities had the development of “the whole person” at the core of their missions. Consequently, commitment to the development of the whole person and support for the academic mission of our institution emerged as core elements of the student affairs profession

As the missions of our colleges and universities have expanded and the profiles of those seeking higher education have diversified, so too has student affairs work diversified and expanded.

Responsibility for student life (student discipline) moving from the domain of faculty to becoming the responsibility of “personnel workers” (student affairs);

Emergence of extracurricular life – literary societies, debate clubs, campus publications, athletics, fraternities and sororities;

Increased demands on college presidents; and

Changing faculty roles and expectations

Origins of Student Affairs Work

Emergence of the “dean” role Dean as disciplinarian; Dean serving in loco parentis In service to needs pushed to the periphery

Early Features

1. The Land Grant and public college movement (including community colleges);

2. Increased enrollments and heterogeneity in student populations;

3. Social, intellectual and political upheaval;4. Rise of co-education and increased educational

participation of women;5. Introduction of the elective system in the

curriculum;6. Traditional liberal arts come into competition

with vocational emphasis;

Factors contributing to the uniqueness of U.S. student affairs

7. Research-oriented faculty showing diminished interest in student life

8. Establishment of university systems (differentiation in public education);

9. Impact of science and scientific method;10. Impact of liberal immigration laws; 11. Passage of the GI Bill; and12. Federal legislation, involvement and

mandates

Factors contributing to the uniqueness of U.S. student affairs

Accelerated by dramatic changes in student needs and profiles following WW I, WW II and Civil Rights era;

Increased utilization of ability and interest inventories (growth of the testing movement);

Adoption of professional titles to describe emerging job responsibilities;

Appearance of professional associations; Development of professional preparation

programs; and Increased accountability

Professionalization and Specialization

Key documents have been commissioned and produced to provide direction, focus and challenges to student affairs work;

Emergence of student development theory as an area of scholarship and focus of practice;

Increased body of knowledge on the needs and experiences of historically under-represented students; and

On-going research on the student experience, student learning and program outcomes.

Research and Scholarship

Student Personnel Point of View (1937, 1949)◦ Described the work of student affairs as delivery

of services that enhance the experience of the college students;

◦ Defined the work of student affairs as embedded in the contexts of institutional and societal values;

◦ In later years a slight shift placing more importance on the experiences of students than on the mission and goals of institutions.

Historical Underpinnings

T.H.E. (Tomorrow’s Higher Education) project’s Student Development in Tomorrow’s Higher Education (Brown, 1972),

A Perspective on Student Affairs (NASPA, 1987),

The Student Learning Imperative (American College Personnel Association [ACPA], 1994)

Learning Reconsidered (NASPA et al.,2004, 2006).  

Literature Milestones

Defining the nature of student affairs work; Developing and expanding theories and

research to inform practice; Increasing, and responding to the diversity

of students; Demonstrating accountability for student

learning and success, and; Designing and ensuring professional

development for effective student affairs practice.

Common Themes in Foundational Literature

Shift from personnel work to student development;

Shift from student development to student learning;

The need to advance research that provides evidence of how students learn and develop;

Student services, student affairs, student administration, student development, student learning as used as organizational descriptors in various contexts.

Significant Professional Shifts

Theory-based practice; Graduate preparation based on a common

knowledge and skills base; Grounded in ethical standards and

principles; Involvement in professional organizations

and communities of interest; Advocacy on behalf of students; and Engagement in mission-focused work.

Dominant Attributes of U.S. Student Affairs Professional Culture

1. Globalization2. Mass Demand for Higher Education 3. Achievement Gaps4. Technologies 5. Economic Fluctuations and Higher

Education

Current Dynamics

Rethink Roles And Structures Consider Success For All Students Create Partnerships Without Borders Make Data-driven Decisions Rethink What Is The “Campus.”

Redefining Student Affairs Workfor the Future

Environmental turbulence is unprecedented; Opportunities to bring new and unimagined

value; Opportunities to re-imagine, reinvent and

re-create; Opportunities for new clarity and growth –

strengthen who we are, why we’re here and, what we hope to get done.

The Promise of the Future