Student Affairs Preparation Programs: Reported Learning Outcomes by Recent Graduates

Professional preparation is important for individuals in any profession, as well as the profession itself. It is one of the hallmarks of any profession. Many sets of standards for the curriculum of student affairs preparation programs have been promoted throughout the years. Most recently the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) published a set of standards that outline areas of competency for student affairs professionals. The purpose of this study was to measure the degree to which recent graduates of student affairs preparation programs reported learning about the important foundational elements of the profession. I examined learning based on standards for student affairs preparation programs defined by CAS and compared amounts of reported learning from alumni based on the programs' adherence to the CAS standards (compliant v. non-compliant). To that end, I administered a 67 item questionnaire to recent graduates from student affairs preparation programs. The findings of the present study reveal that a majority of alumni from student affairs preparation programs report having a clear understanding of 57 of 60 identified foundational learning outcomes. Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference between reported learning of alumni from CAS compliant and non-compliant programs based on these foundational learning outcomes on 58 of the 60 items. Data suggest that alumni from CAS compliant programs are more likely to feel confidence in their preparation in 48 of the 60 outcomes presented in the survey. Additionally, the results indicated that alumni from non-compliant programs were more likely to report higher levels of learning based on involvement theory and understanding the level of data a variable in quantitative analysis.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Department dc:contributor.department

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Young, Dallin George

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Janosik, Steven M.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Muffo, John A.
• Creamer, Donald G.

• college student personnel
• Graduate Students
• Learning Outcomes
• CAS
• Student Affairs Preparation Programs

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-03172005-171920

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/31486