It is important for student affairs professionals to be aware of various issues that affect students in higher education and to be well-informed of the current research in their field. The purpose of this course is to provide a knowledge base concerning issues and trends in the field of higher education administration, specifically the area of student affairs. Candidates will also begin to consider areas of interest for their own future research.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the candidate will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the candidate is required to provide a thread in response to the provided prompt for each Discussion. Each thread must be 300 words, demonstrate course-related knowledge, and support assertions with at least two scholarly citations in APA format. In addition to the thread, the candidate is required to reply to two other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 150 words and incorporate at least one scholarly citation in current APA format. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Course Project Assignments (6)

The candidate will research a topic of interest related to the student affairs profession and analyze how a curricular approach can be applied to support student learning and development. This project will be completed in stages throughout the course. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Course Project: Part 1 – Institutional Overview and Topic Assignment

The candidate will complete the Overview portion of the course project in which they will briefly describe an institution of higher education and its mission statement, as well as describe a functional area of student affairs related to a chosen topic that will be the focus of the project. (CLO: A)

Course Project: Part 2 – Educational Priority Essay Assignment

The candidate will research their topic and use their findings to determine an educational priority statement. This statement will be used as a framework for establishing more specific learning goals and outcomes. (CLO: B, D)

Course Project: Part 3 – Student Development Theory Assignment

The candidate will incorporate a relevant student development theory into the project in order to ensure that their educational priority and learning goals are appropriately aligned with students’ needs and abilities in the context of higher education. (CLO: B, C)

Course Project: Part 4 – Learning Goals and Outcomes Assignment

The candidates will develop specific learning goals and outcomes to address a topic in student affairs. The learning goals and outcomes will be derived from the educational priority and informed by student development theory. The learning goals are rooted in the educational priority but are more specifically linked to individual student learning. The outcomes provide a way to assess whether students are achieving each learning goal. (CLO: B, C, D)

Course Project: Part 5 – Biblical Integration and Summary Assignment

The candidate will summarize the information from the previous parts of the project and explain how their research would support a meaningful curricular plan to support student success in the context of the institutional mission and a biblical worldview. (CLO: A)

Course Project Part 6 – Final Draft Assignment

This assignment is the culmination of the first steps of the curricular process to address an issue in student affairs and incorporates a biblical basis for pursuing best practices through this method. Student affairs educators can take the skills learned through this process into the field to help better support students in higher education institutions. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Personal Reflection Essay Assignment

The candidate will reflect on what they have learned in the course and discuss how their research will impact their current professional practices in a 300-500 word essay. This essay should also include citations from 3-4 sources. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E)

Quizzes (3)

Each quiz will cover the Learn material for the assigned module(s): week(s). Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain multiple-choice and true/false questions, and have a 2-hour time limit (CLO: B, D).