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 Donahootamarad@siu.edu donahoo@siu.edu