Why a Master’s Degree in Student Affairs? Tamara Yakaboski & Saran Donahoo Southern Illinois...
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Transcript of Why a Master’s Degree in Student Affairs? Tamara Yakaboski & Saran Donahoo Southern Illinois...
Why a Master’s Degree in Student Affairs?
Tamara Yakaboski & Saran DonahooSouthern Illinois University Carbondale
Presentation Overview• Topic Origin • Student Affairs (SA) graduate students • Anecdotal experiences• Dated literature on SA choice and motivation
• Foundational Research • Structure and data collection • Research results • Implications
• Strategies • Moving beyond this case study • Improving recruitment and socialization of SA
graduate students
Topic Introduction• Recruitment, Motivation, and Expectations of
Master’s Students • Who enters Student Affairs
• Preparation of New Professionals
• Socialization into Student Affairs
• Dated Literature
– Doctoral student focus
– Dominant view of Student Affairs • A ‘Hidden Profession’
• Fall into it by accident
• Undergraduate leadership experience
Research Design• Research Questions • Why do students choose to pursue a
master’s degree in student affairs?• What are student’s motivations and
expectations for entering a master’s degree in student affairs program?
• Study Scope• Master of Education in Student Affairs
degree students • 21 students at the beginning of their
program
PopulationSex
57%38%
5%
Female
Male
No response
Race
14%
23%
5%
58%
Bi-racial
Black or African-American
Multi-racial
White orCaucasian
70% graduated from undergrad between 2000-2009
Data CollectionOpen ended questionnaire administered on Survey Monkey• 2 surveys administered within first three weeks of first
semester and first 3 weeks of second semester • First survey
– Undergraduate goals and experiences– Approach and attraction to graduate education– Perspective of Student Affairs
• Second survey– Experience of first semester’s introduction to SA– Change in perspective of SA– Changes in career goals within SA
• Student narratives from Introduction to Student Affairs seminar on perceptions of student affairs
The Undergraduate Influence• Unrelated, specific career goal at the
undergraduate level• Changes during undergraduate due to:– Negative experience in first chosen field:• “I no longer wanted to accept the
competitve nature of journalism.” - Kappa
– 40% Decision to attend graduate school– Surprise absence of undergraduate
academic leadership roles/conferences/work
Role of Involvement• 65% attended undergraduate
leadership conferences - mostly Greek or general leadership
• 65% held undergraduate leadership roles - mostly Greek or housing
• Connection to college environment:– 90% On campus work experience,
primarily in student affairs offices or departments
Influence of SA’s Profession/Professionals• Student Affairs leadership
offices/positions• Job descriptions required masters in SA• Clerical or paraprofessional SA work
experience• Desire to prevent negative experiences:
• “I enjoy working with students and I want to make sure my students have an advocate and needed support, where it was lacking for me here.” – Beta
Entering Student Affairs• Still a “Hidden Profession”• Students stumbled into the program• Found it by “accident”
• Ability to pursue more education while working in a supportive environment• “I love learning and I wanted to pursue
education further.” – Lambda • K-12 as a career path to Student Affairs• “As a K-12 school counselor I did not feel
that my skills matched with that age level. I was volunteering as an advisor to a sorority and realized that my skills fit much better in a college environment.” – Alpha
Role Models and Mentors• Positive interactions and role models
• “Working with the Vice President of student affairs, the Coordinator of Residence Life, and Student Involvement, I wanted to do the job they were doing, and to affect student’s lives.” – Gamma• “Particularly my experiences as an
Orientation Leader. I had great mentors who helped me decide it would be a good field for me.” – Sigma
Growing the Field• Early information about SA careers
• “I was in a college student affairs group, put together by some hall directors.” – Epsilon • “Many of the individuals I went to
undergrad with have pursued their Master’s degree in student affairs/college student personnel.” - Mu
• Desire to impact other students• “I wanted to be able to give students the
same leadership opportunities that I experienced.” – Nu
Undergrad to Grad to Student Affairs Transition
• 95% planned to still pursue student affairs • 62% have the same career goal that they
entered with• Pursuing a PhD or EdD in SA:
33%
19%
43%
5%
Yes
No
Unsure
No response
Underestimation of Transitions• Role change/transition:– “My transition into graduate school is
the most significant lifestyle transtion I have chosen in many years…the transition from full time worker to full time student is more challenging than I imagined.” – Gamma
• Academic expectations:– “stressful”; “writing expectations”;
“theory to practice”
Implications• Validation
SA as a good investment of campus resources Lasting value of SA programs and professionals Impact SA has on students
• Needs o Exposure to the SA Profession not just
professionals oMarketing what we do and how we came to do ito Deliberate recruitment efforts
Strategies
• Guiding Questions• How do programs identify
prospective students?
• What competencies and experiences do pre-professionals need to enter careers in SA?
• How do we present graduate programs and SA professions to a wider audience?
THANK YOU!
Tamara Yakaboski & Saran [email protected] [email protected]