Why a Master’s Degree in Student Affairs? Tamara Yakaboski & Saran Donahoo Southern 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

Population 70% graduated from undergrad between

Data Collection Open 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:

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 o Marketing what we do and how we came to do it o 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 Donahoo