The Effects of Student Interactions With Student Affairs Professionals on College Outcomes

Abstract

In their seminal works cataloging three decades of research on the effects of college on students, Terenzini (1991, 2005) illustrate that experiences both inside and outside of the classroom influence how students learn, develop, and grow during the college years. Their synthesis of research overwhelmingly suggests that what happens outside of the classroom during college, traditionally the purview of student affairs programs and services, can have a beneficial or detrimental effect on students. Further, scholars have identified the tremendous influence that faculty and peers can have on students' growth during the college years (e.g., Astin, 1993).Although scholars have identified how out-of-class experiences can affect students and how faculty or peers affect students, little research has explored the direct relationship between student affairs professionals and student learning and development. The purpose of this chapter is to present a new line of inquiry that seeks to address this gap in our understanding of the role of student affairs professionals in student development during the college years. Using findings from the Wabash National Study (WNS), this chapter will explore the direct impact of students' interactions with student affairs professionals on a variety of college outcomes including critical thinking, academic motivation, academic curiosity, attitude toward literacy, and social responsibility with a primary focus on applying these findings to student affairs practice. Guiding Values in Student AffairsAttending to the "whole student" has been a cornerstone of student affairs work since the beginning of the student personnel movement in the

A Comprehensive Wellness Program for Veterinary Medical Education: Design and Implementation at North Carolina State University

“…Where appropriate, CVM faculty will be encouraged to use the houses whenever they need to divide the class into sections so as to create a more intimate learning environment. Relatedly, it is often lost upon many institutions that research has also long noted that mentors and other influential people often emerge from a variety of roles, such as student affairs personnel, college administrators, college staff, peers, employers, and so on (Parks, 2000;Baker & Griffin, 2010;Martin, 2013;Martin & McGee, 2014). Our model seeks to provide students immediate access to a wide variety of individuals, each of whom may have a tremendous impact on the student.…”