An Integrative Literature Review of Student Affairs Competencies: A Meta-Analysis

The Digital Age of Student Affairs

“…More recently, student affairs work also has required balancing internal and external needs and demands, including expanding federal, state, and local regulations (Dungy & Gordon, ). Their roles in the academy have blended as practitioners, educators, and counselors, requiring a range of competencies including multiculturalism, student development, assessment, legal issues, and budget and finance (Herdlein, Riefler, & Mrowka, ).…”

“…Each competency is broken into three competency area levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) to allow for learning on a continuum. Surprisingly, even with these and other higher education standards, there still lacks a widely accepted higher education or student affairs competency in digital and social technology (Herdlein et al., ). The only association that has a competency focused on technology is ACUI, which defines this competency as the ability to understand the overall intent of digital tools and to choose from appropriate tools, equipment, and procedures for service delivery and problem solving.…”

Development of the Global-Self Through Collegiate Recreational Sports

“…advanced skill levels (Herdlein, Riefler, & Mrowka, 2013). While using competencies to measure professional excellence is not universally accepted (Eaton, 2016), they remain a tool that the profession uses to set standards of performance and behavior.…”

Experiences of supervision skill development among new professionals in student affairs

“…One of the findings of the Herdlein et al (2013) meta-analysis was that, as higher education becomes more diverse, technologically sophisticated, and financially challenged, institutions are focusing more on an administrative and managerial approach rather than on counseling and interpersonal skills. Herdlein et al noted that, with this shift in focus, "research data with preparation program curricula where coursework on research and assessment, legal issues, leadership and supervision, and strategic planning and budgeting are far from uniform in both required and elective courses" (p. 266).…”

“…With this change in preparation programs, there is more emphasis on expectations of the preparation programs to focus on competencies needed for successful practice in first professional positions. Herdlein et al (2013) also took into consideration suggestions related to the different competencies that had been researched and identified in the previous 17 years, particularly the development of competencies in student affairs. This study helped not only in narrowing the research in the area of development of competencies in student affairs but also in identifying research gaps, such as professionals at two-year institutions, lack of new professional voices as it relates to their preparation programs, and the voice of the supervisors in competencies needed for success in the first professional positions.…”