Professionalizing Higher Education
Student Affairs and Services…..An International Perspective
Keynote Address
Inaugural Conference of the
Southern Africa Federation of
Student Affairs and Services in Higher Education (SAFSAS)
Durban, South Africa
4 August, 2014
Roger B. Ludeman, PhD
IASAS President Emeritus
Eugene, Oregon, USA
Also, Honorary Citizen of South Africa!
Email: iasas@hotmail.com
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Title of UNESCO/IASAS Book - 2nd Edition
(2009)
STUDENT AFFAIRS AND SERVICES
IN HIGHER EDUCATION:
GLOBAL FOUNDATIONS, ISSUES,
AND BEST PRACTICES
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001832/183221e.pdf
Several universities use as text for student affairs course.
3
Characteristics of a Profession by Bob Kizlik
• 1. Professions are occupationally related social
institutions established and maintained as a
means of providing essential services to the
individual and the society.
• 2. Each profession is concerned with an identified
area of need or function (for example,
maintenance of physical and emotional health,
preservation of rights and freedom, enhancing
the opportunity to learn).
Characteristics of a Profession, cont.
• 3. The profession collectively, and the professional
individually, possesses a body of knowledge and a
repertoire of behaviors and skills (professional culture)
needed in the practice of the profession; such knowledge,
behavior, and skills normally not possessed by the
nonprofessional.
• 4. Members of the profession are involved in decision
making in serving clients. These decisions are made in
accordance with the most valid knowledge available,
against a background of principles and theories, and
within the context of possible impact on other related
conditions or decisions.
Characteristics of a Profession, cont.
• 5. The profession is based on one or more undergirding
disciplines from which it builds its own applied knowledge
and skills.
• 6. The profession is organized into one or more
professional associations, within broad limits of social
accountability, are granted autonomy in control of the
actual work of the profession and the conditions that
surround it (admissions, educational standards,
examination and licensing, career line, ethical and
performance standards, professional discipline).
Characteristics of a Profession, cont.
• 7. The profession has agreed-upon performance
standards for admission to the profession and for
continuance within it.
• 8. Preparation for and induction into the profession is
provided through a protracted preparation program,
usually in a professional school on a college or university
campus.
Characteristics of a Profession, cont.
• 9. There is a high level of public trust and confidence in
the profession and in individual practitioners, based upon
the profession's demonstrated capacity to provide service
markedly beyond that which would otherwise be
available.
• 10. Individual practitioners are characterized by a strong
service motivation and lifetime commitment to
competence.
Characteristics of a Profession, cont.
• 11. Authority to practice in any individual case derives
from the client or the employing organization;
accountability for the competence of professional
practice within the particular case is to the profession
itself.
• 12. There is relative freedom from direct on-the-job
supervision and from direct public evaluation of the
individual practitioner. The professional accepts
responsibility in the name of his or her profession and is
accountable through his or her profession to the society.
Seven Characteristics of a Professional
by Dianne Walker
What makes someone take the leap
from being a regular employee to being
a professional?
Do you consider yourself a regular
employee or professional?
Seven Characteristics of a Professional
by Dianne Walker
1. Possess specialized knowledge based on
extensive preparation. Being a professional
does not happen overnight. It requires many
hours of study and preparation. Professionals
are expected to maintain a high knowledge
level and expertise. Organizations
compensate professionals for their
knowledge.
Seven Characteristics of a Professional
by Dianne Walker
2. Participates in ongoing training and
development. A professional firmly
believes in staying current in her/his
field. This means that a professional is
committed to continued training and
development.
Seven Characteristics of a Professional
by Dianne Walker
3. Accepts responsibility. Professionals seek
and accept responsibility. They can be
trusted and given high levels of
responsibility within the organization. A
professional is handed tasks at such a high
level, that poor performance can reflect
poorly on the entire organization not just the
individual.
Seven Characteristics of a Professional
by Dianne Walker
4. Have a sense of ownership of their
work. Professionals feel a sense of ownership
and pride in everything they do. Professionals
work, not to just meet organization standards,
but most importantly, meet the standards of
their own pride in their work. Professionals
work for the organization as if they were
working in their own business.
Seven Characteristics of a Professional
by Dianne Walker
• 5. Maintain a collective networking spirit
outside of the organization. Professionals
understand that their work is not limited to
their organization. They understand the
importance of professional relationships
outside of work with others in the same
field.
Seven Characteristics of a Professional
by Dianne Walker
• 6. Maintains high standards of ethics and
integrity. Professionals are driven by a code
of ethics. They have a strong sense of right
and wrong. Their integrity ensures that they
adhere strongly to a set of values about
how they do their work. Integrity leads
management and others to trust the
professional. They say what they will do
and do what they say.
Seven Characteristics of a Professional
by Dianne Walker
• 7. Maintains high standards of
performance. Professionals have high levels of
expectations both of themselves and others. They
are determined to always do the right thing and
do it well. Doing a job well is more important to a
professional then the number of hours that they
log on the clock. A true professional is unsatisfied
with poor performance. While money may be
important, it is not the driving force behind the
professional’s desire to put forth exemplary work.
Examples of a Viewpoint:
“Profession” or Not a “Profession”
So, let me take a look at a few
country examples and explain why
I place them in the professionbased category or the nonprofession category
Clearly do not follow a professional model (by choice),
but still strive for quality in everything they do
• France – organized by government outside of
university. See themselves as civil servants
• Germany – Most efficient of all, but clearly see
themselves as legislative and not profession
based. Public employees
• China and Japan – have the look of profession
but not organized and no required specialized
qualification
• Mexico (with one exception: ITESM)
• Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Chile – just emerging
• Brazil and Venezuela – nothing yet.
Those striving toward a Professional Model
• Ecuador – want to organize
• Hong Kong – long history of being organized, no
specialized qualification
• Italy – Two groups are organized, but no specialized
qualification
• Japan – have organized in the international area
(JASSO) but no specialized qualification
• Lebanon – have begun meeting
• Lithuania – trying to organize
• Malaysia – meet regularly, but no specialized
qualification
• South Africa – you tell me, but later during discussion
Clearly follow a Professional Model
• Canada – organized nationally, setting out
standards, hire mostly people with student
affairs related degrees (varies by
province)
• Australia/New Zealand – similar to
Canada
• United Kingdom – similar to CA/AU/NZ
• United States – more detail later
History and Evolution
of Student Affairs
Slides prepared by Dr. Marcia Caton,
LaGuardia Community College,
City University of New York
History and Evolution
• Student personnel services or college
student personnel, or student services
or student development or student
affairs: a field with a long/complicated
history in the United States
• Roots in the 17th century and became
a 20th century phenomenon
History and Evolution
• The Beginning: Early 1600’s –Early 1900’s
• Emerged with the creation of the colonial
residential colleges (modeled after Oxford
and Cambridge)
• Morrill Act of 1862 & 1890 that created the
Land Grant institutions (colleges of the
people – Agriculture and Science
History and Evolution
• Development of public colleges
and universities (William and Mary,
North Carolina, Georgia were first
in late 16th century)
• Rise in coeducation and the
increase in numbers of women
History and Evolution
• Rapidly growing heterogeneous
student population needing assistance
in other than curricular matters
• Institutions becoming more complex,
new types of students, changing
expectations, and need for new
services
History and Evolution
Student Affairs Philosophy Emerged from:
• Colonial Residential Colleges
• Students needed to be housed and fed
• Paternalistic Faculty assumed the role of parent
(Loco Parentis)
• Faculty were responsible for the academic and
social dimensions of students
History and Evolution
Student Affairs Philosophy Emerged from:
• Faculty focused on moral development,
building character and ensuring
responsible future leaders
• Faculty began shifting their focus from
research to training of the student (German
Model)
History and Evolution
Student Affairs Philosophy Emerged from:
• Staff were hired to reduce the faculty’s
burden of managing students, the
“unpleasant duties”
• This was the beginning of the divide
between faculty and student affairs
(specialization and silos)
History and Evolution
The Birth of a Profession: 1900-WW II
College Student Personnel Movement Began
• Changes in purpose of institutions, faculty’s roles/
responsibilities, and in types of students
• New organizational structure
• New professional organizations
History and Evolution
The Birth of a Profession: 1900-WW II
• American Council on Education appointed a
committee to study student personnel practices in
colleges and universities
• 1937-ACE published The Student Personnel Point
of View emphasizing the importance of looking at
the student as a whole
History and Evolution
The Birth of a Profession: 1900-WW II
The Student Personnel Point of View Identified 23 specific
functions that should be in the job description of student
personnel professionals:
• Use research to understand the individual needs of
students
• Become experts at management of programs and
services
• Synergy between student personnel programs and the
mission of the institution
History and Evolution
The Birth of a Profession: 1900-WW II
• 1949- Revised “The Student Personnel Point of View”
• Emphasizes of importance of including student growth
and development, administrative, organizing, and
governance issues
• Again, research on students and their development was
seen as critical
• All these new expectations of student personnel workers
meant that specialized graduate study programs needed
to be developed to turn employees into professionals
History and Evolution
The Birth of a Profession: 1900-WW II
1945-1975
• GI Bill
• Activism and demand for access
• Change in social policy through federal legislation
• Demise of loco parentis-court struck down this concept
paving the way for viewing a student’s tertiary education
experience as the pathway to independence
History and Evolution
1960s
• Significant changes in student affairs – Vietnam
War, Civil Rights, Women’s Rights
• Organizational structural changes – emergence
of vice president for student affairs positions
• Rise of the student consumer or contractual
model
History and Evolution
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From Personnel to Student Development
Emergence of student development theory
Chickering Seven Vectors of Development
Cross Model of African American Identity
Helm’s Model of White Identity
Tinto’s Model of Student Engagement
Astin Model of Input/output
Research to theory to developing models of practice
New role: Student Development Educator
responsible for the affective and cognitive
domains of students
History and Evolution
Unintended Consequences
• Student Affairs staff blamed for
campus unrest
• Competition between student affairs
professionals and teaching
academics regarding resources
History and Evolution
1990’s-Call for Accountability
Retention and Throughput became big issues
Student Affairs staff were asked: What are
you doing to help students be successful and
graduate (throughput)?
History and Evolution
1990’s-Call for Accountability
Then came the biggest philosophical breakthrough of
the 20th century:
1994-ACPA’s The Student Learning Imperative and its
Implications for Student Affairs
Student Learning Goals/Outcomes became the focus
of our work. How does student affairs contribute to
student learning and success?
This paradigm was built to narrow chasm between
Academic Affairs/Student Affairs
PARADIGM IS BEING REVISITED/REFINED AS WE SPEAK
“And those who were seen
dancing were thought to be
insane by those who could
not hear the music!”
Friedrich Nietzsche
Professionalizing Student Affairs & Services :
There IS a place for Us IF we secure it ourselves!
So let’s dance to the music!
Roger B. Ludeman
First President/Executive Director(Now retired)
International Association of Student Affairs and
Services (IASAS)
1270 Brickley Road
Eugene, Oregon 97401
Tel: 541-484-0706
Email: iasas@hotmail.com
IASAS Website: www.iasasonline.org