Professional Development Focus
Engagement
Diversity
Community Awareness
Area Specific Training
Timely Topics
Leadership
Motivate Team
Empower Students
Represent UNI
Regional Expert
Management
Budget
Staffing
Team Building
Localized Knowledge
WHAT NASPA OFFERS:
NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health, and sustainability of the student affairs
profession. We serve a full range of professionals who provide programs, experiences, and services that
cultivate student learning and success in concert with the mission of our colleges and universities. Founded
in 1919, NASPA comprises more than 12,000 members in all 50 states, 29 countries, and 8 U.S. Territories.
Through high-quality professional development, strong policy advocacy, and substantive research to inform
practice, NASPA meets the diverse needs and invests in realizing the potential of all its members under the
guiding principles of integrity, innovation, inclusion, and inquiry.
NASPA members serve a variety of functions and roles, including the vice president and dean for student life,
as well as professionals working within housing and residence life, student unions, student activities,
counseling, career development, orientation, enrollment management, racial and ethnic minority support
services, and retention and assessment.
Mission
To be the principal source for leadership, scholarship, professional development, and advocacy for student
affairs.
Goals
Build the capacity to create knowledge and use data to provide evidence that will support excellence in
practice.
Lead advocacy efforts that shape the changing landscape of higher education.
Launch an Initiative to collaborate with student affairs worldwide.
Strengthen NASPA by making it a more responsive, vital, and sustainable organization.
Presentation Archives - NASPA professional development archive materials were submitted by educational
session presenters from various conferences, institutes, workshops, and other professional development events.
These materials are available as a benefit to NASPA members. Please include appropriate citation and credit for
authorship in all use of these materials, not limited to, but including presentations, papers, research, or verbal
addresses.
NASPA Knowledge Communities - NASPA Knowledge Communities (KCs) provide an opportunity for
NASPA members to access information and resources in a specific subject matter that pertains to the student
affairs profession and come together through common interests in ways that support the NASPA mission,
vision, and goals. Knowledge Communities create and share knowledge through the delivery of educational
research, programs, and products; through the use of technology; and by way of face-to-face meetings,
workshops, and/or conferences. Knowledge Communities provide an entry point to the association for
graduate students and new professionals, and offer a structured organization for new and continuing
members to confirm their commitment to and passion for the profession through their common interests.
Knowledge Communities build credibility through activity, consistency, and the quality of knowledge
generated. It is important to note that the concept of Knowledge Communities is more than information and
dissemination thereof: Knowledge Communities are about gathering and generating information in a specific
interest area; discussing the information; looking for examples of practicing the information; and critiquing,
evaluating, and making some judgment about the worthiness of findings before disseminating findings as
knowledge.
NASPA Publications - NASPA publications range in content from scholarly research to timely articles on the
most pressing issues in student affairs. The association publishes books, journals, magazines, newsletters,
and other interactive learning tools.
Professional Development - The core of NASPA's mission is to provide professional development for student
affairs educators and administrators who share the responsibility for a campuswide focus on the student
experience. Educational programs at NASPA include a variety of conferences, workshops, and online learning,
providing participants with access to the leading experts in higher education, student affairs, and other
relevant fields.