M.S. in College Student Personnel

• Overview
• Admission
• Curriculum
• Internships
• Faculty

Mission, Vision, Values, and Beliefs

Mission

The mission of the College Student Personnel program is to prepare reflective practitioners for professional careers in student affairs.

Vision

Our vision is to engage one another in an extended community of co-learning relationships that inspire optimal development and promote growth in leadership, all based on creating and sustaining the best practices in college student personnel preparation and professional work.

Values

The values foundational to our program are a blend of not only those historically associated with a student personnel point of view but also those reflective of the dynamic nature of higher education. Qualities and behaviors that we value include honoring each person’s uniqueness and potential, mutual respect and trust, social justice and equity, integrity, ethical behavior, servant leadership, collaboration, freedom to take risks, constructive conflict, and change.

Beliefs

Our basic assumptions and beliefs include the following:

• The holistic development and learning of adults participating in higher education need to be considered in sociohistoric and systemic contexts.
• Student affairs practitioners assist people in realizing their unique potentials not only for the betterment of self but also the enrichment of society.
• Meaningful relationships that promote both individual and societal transformation are enhanced when they occur in multicultural communities that embrace and respond effectively to a diversity of people, ideas, and processes.
• Growth and learning are life-long processes.
• Communities develop in dynamic, systemic contexts.
• As collaborative partners in the educational process, student affairs practitioners have positive effects on the learning and development on individuals as well as communities through the intentional uses and creative applications of theory-assessment/research-practice cycles.
• Preparing people to serve as professionals in college student affairs requires an intricate blending of awareness, knowledge, and skills; individual and group interventions; organizational development; leadership; cultural competence; and assessment, evaluation, and research.