Student Affairs

Running head: WHY CONSIDER THE GRADUATE PROGRAM OF STUDENT AFFAIRS? 1
Why Consider the Graduate Program of Student Affairs?
Rylee Junk
University of Northern Iowa
Author Note
This paper was prepared for Cornerstone, Section 03, taught by Professor Young.

WHY CONSIDER THE GRADUATE PROGRAM OF STUDENT AFFAIRS? 2
Why Consider the Graduate Program of Student Affairs?
The role of a Student Affairs professional is to complement what goes on in the
classroom and help students to put into practice what they learn (Lipka, 2012). According to
NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (2015), “Student learning doesn’t
just happen in a classroom. Opportunities for teaching and development exist everywhere and at
all times on campus and it’s [a Student Affairs professional’s] job to seize these moments.”
(Who We Are section, par. 1). Student Affairs is an amazing profession for an undergraduate
student to consider. Student Affairs can take you many places, and there are so many advantages
to possessing this graduate degree.
Student Affairs is the graduate program offered here at UNI and many other colleges.
Love (2003) said:
Are you looking for a meaningful career? A career in which you can make a difference in
the lives of other people? A career where you could work at a small liberal arts college, a
community college, or a big university? A career where you will be challenged to
develop skills in a variety of areas, such as leadership, advising, administration, or
supervision? (para. 1).
If that is the case, a career in Student Affairs may be suited for you. Any individual passionate
about student progress and assisting students in any way should consider this professional route.
When asked to define what Student Affairs was all about, Ellie Hail, Residence Life Coordinator
for Rider Hall at UNI, replied, “Student Affairs is about helping students be successful in
whatever that is that they want to be successful in” and she added, “If you want to help students,
there’s a spot for you” (E. Hail, personal communication, March 27, 2015). On that note, there

are a wide variety of careers and departments that an individual possessing this master’s degree
can get into. When asked what jobs are available, McKenzie Flick, perspective student for this
graduate program, informed me, “You can work in athletics, Academic Advising, new student
programs, the Registrar’s Office, Admissions, Residence Life, Financial Aid . . .” (M. Flick,
personal communication, March 27, 2015). For those who are aware of the resources available
here at the University of Northern Iowa, every professional working in Gilchrist went through
the graduate program of Student Affairs somewhere. Roxie Tucker, Residence Life Coordinator
for Noehren Hall, stated the jobs available specifically at UNI best as, “Literally anything on a
college campus with higher ed . . . really anything on a college campus that’s a full time job. So,
admissions, financial aid, housing, everything in Gilchrist, a lot of deans go through programs
like this, sometimes presidents-it’s a path they could have come up through . . . dining
managers…student activities office . . .” (R. Tucker, personal communication, March 26, 2015).
Student Affairs professionals have a prominent and permanent spot on all college campuses. This
is a career that can last you a lifetime. Now that we are aware of many of the different
departments that Student Affairs professionals have careers in, let us take a look at what
attributes a Student Affairs prospective should possess.
Britt Hudson, Residence Life Coordinator of Campbell Hall, described the type of person
suited for this professional route:
I don’t think there’s a certain type of person [for this degree] . . . I think that
stereotypically, people believe that people in Student Affairs have to be extraverts,
outgoing, willing to talk to people, and that’s not always the case. I’ve met some very
incredible Student Affairs professionals who are introverts and internal processors who

need their “their time”, but the general thing is just having a love and a passion for
student success . . . (B. Hudson, personal communication, March 26, 2015)
Therefore, there are jobs available in this field for individuals who possess a wide variety of
attributes. An individual who tends to be on the quieter side and not as outgoing as a Student
Affairs professional is stereotyped to be have opportunities as well. A Student Affairs
professional can choose to work very directly or indirectly with the students. There are careers
working in the Department of Residence; one of these careers is the Residence Life Coordinator,
who assists all students residing in their building daily and lives in the building as well. All three
of the Residence Life Coordinators I spoke with told me there is no ‘typical day’ for them, which
makes their careers very interesting and keeps them on their toes. Britt beamed, “One thing that I
do love the most is just watching students grow up and watching them kind of develop . . .
having the opportunity to see that and to watch that and to help them along that journey.” (B.
Hudson, personal communication, March 26, 2015). On the other hand, there are careers working
much more indirectly with students, one example being in the Office of the Registrar; one of
these careers is the University Registrar, who handles student records and works indirectly with
students. With there being so many career paths available for an individual with this degree,
everyone can and should consider going into Student Affairs. As noted by McKenzie, “Different
aspects of the job require different personality types.” (M. Flick, personal communication, March
27, 2015). Now that we know there is a career for any person interested in assisting students, we
will focus on the different programs available, both at UNI and other colleges.
The graduate program of Student Affairs at UNI mainly focuses on preparing the students
to work in all areas of Student Affairs; they want them prepared to handle all services that

students may access (E. Hail, personal communication, March 27, 2015). After speaking to all of
my interviewees, I am under the impression that it is actually best for a UNI undergraduate
student to attend a different college for their graduate program. This is because the student needs
to experience a college different than their own, because not every place they may work will be
like UNI (M. Flick, personal communication, March 27, 2105). I think Roxie added best to this
point when she informed me, “You need to go to grad school somewhere that is the opposite of
any experience you’ve ever had, because that’s where you’re going to learn the most.” (R.
Tucker, personal communication, March 26, 2015). This program is available at most any
institution that offers graduate programs, because they realize the need for these professionals at
all places of higher education. Through learning at different colleges, you will discover the pros
and cons of working at these different types of colleges. Roxie told me about one difference
between working at a university like UNI and a private school, which is that at a state school the
salary of the faculty and staff is state-mandated, while at a private school they have the flexibility
to set what their employees earn (R. Tucker, personal communication, March 26, 2015). Roxie
herself got her undergraduate degree at a private institution, but after she got her graduate degree
at a public university, she realized that path was better suited for her. This is the reason it s
recommended that an individual interested in Student Affairs attends a graduate school that is the
opposite of their undergraduate, so they can better decide where they would like to pursue a
career after receiving their degree. After a perspective decides where they would like to attend,
this individual must apply. According to UNI’s website on Student Affairs, it seems fairly simple
to apply, but my guess is that it is much harder. It appears all one must do is have an
undergraduate grade point average of 3.0, write a short essay, and fill out an application. Once

admitted to the program, not only do students have the opportunity for tuition assistance through
scholarships, grants, and loans, but they also have the opportunity for assistantships. According
to the University of Northern Iowa College of Education (2015), “As an admitted full-time
graduate student to the Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs program, you are highly
encouraged to hold a Graduate Assistantship while enrolled.” (“Assistantships”, par. 1). This
position gives a student financial assistance and field-based work experience for their resume.
There are some institutions that offer full tuition compensation, like Roxie told me, “Most
institutions do some sort of tuition remission. So, I worked for the Department of Housing at
Western, so all of my tuition was compensated.” (R. Tucker, personal communication, March 26,
2015). Ellie, with her experience at UNI’s graduate school, added, “Probably like a quarter of
our credits were actually practice-based, so it was credit for doing an internship or a practicum or
just applying what we were learning in the classroom to working with students in the field.” (E.
Hail, March 27, 2015). Though graduate school tuition may seem very high, tuition assistance
helps quite a bit, especially for Student Affairs graduate students. To see the successes of some
recent graduates of the UNI program, you can visit: http://www.uni.edu/coe/departments/
educational-leadership-postsecondary-education/postsecondary-education/placem. To sum up the
search for the right graduate school, McKenzie made a good point: “It’s like coming to college
all over again, so you need to find what you want.” (M. Flick. March 27, 2015). Along with all
of the great opportunities this graduate degree possesses, there are some downsides that we will
address.
Student Affairs is no cakewalk. Britt discussed with me why there are people who decide
not to go into Student Affairs, because they do not realize all the work that is involved until they

begin looking into the field. Britt told me about a lot of the work I did not realize she has,
because I only see her for part of my day:
It is a lot of work . . . There are a lot of things happening behind the scenes that people
don’t get to see, and it can seem really easy because certain people only see certain
things, but there’s a lot of stuff always going on (B. Hudson, personal communication,
March 26, 2015).
An individual considering going into the profession of Student Affairs needs to consider some of
the parts they will definitely find to be challenging. The workload can be overwhelming when
your time off is very limited when working with students:
It can be stressful, especially if you are working in a department or area of Student
Affairs where you spend a lot of time at work, like housing, student activities, or
admissions where you don’t always have weekends off (B. Hudson, personal
communication, March 26, 2015).
Ellie explained to me that the Student Affairs professionals that most undergraduates come into
contact with seem like they are carefree cheerleaders; they appear this way as to help the student,
when in all reality they have a lot of work going on (E. Hail, personal communication, March 27,
2015). These professionals have various responsibilities dependent upon their departments.
Many of these individuals have several scheduled meetings they must attend regularly; so one
downside is your time is very tight and structured. You need to be quite organized to be
successful in this field. Not only is there a lot of behind-the-scenes personal work one must
accomplish, there are many “scary” parts, according to Britt:

You deal with a lot of students who have a whole heap of issues . . . It can be kind of
scary to think about all the things that certain people go through with mental health
issues, suicide ideation, like all of that stuff. It’s scary, so [you have to] kind of [brace]
yourself to know that stuff is going to happen (B. Hudson, personal communication,
March 26, 2015).
If scheduled meetings and aiding students with their personal issues does not scare you off, this
may be the career path for you; but even if it does, there is training through the graduate program
that will prepare you. While studying for this master’s degree, you will be taught the skills
necessary to organize your life and emphasize with students. If working with students is
something you are passionate about, you can definitely be taught the proper way to do so and
make a career out of it. At the same time, do not forget you also have the option with this
graduate degree to not work so closely with students, if that sounds uncomfortable to you. There
are so many paths you can take with this degree. Now that the more challenging areas of Student
Affairs have been addressed, we will address the more rewarding aspects.
Why go into Student Affairs? If the evidence thus far has not convinced you, maybe these
personal testimonies from my interviewees will. Britt said some passionate things about her
career, some being: “Prepare yourself for also having some of the greatest times of your life,”
“It’s an amazing experience,” and “Your students are going to teach you things every day” (B.
Hudson, personal communication, March 26, 2015). Roxie gave some great testimonials as well:
“I don’t ever feel like I’m going to work, when I go to work,” “I love what I do,” and my
personal favorite of Roxie’s:

It’s so cool to watch someone come in as a freshman and be like lost, and want all these
things but don’t know how to get them, and then by senior year they’re like winning
awards and crossing the stage . . . that’s so cool for me over the course of time to
shepherd them through that. It just makes me so happy (R. Tucker, personal
communication, March 26, 2015).
Britt and Roxie both spoke a lot about how many times (if not all the time) their jobs did not feel
like jobs. That is the ultimate goal for most individuals when deciding their career. If you work
at a job that you love, you will never really work a day in your life. If that is your intention when
deciding your career path, Student Affairs should be on your roster. When I interviewed Ellie,
she seemed most passionate about helping students to connect with each other and form
communities:
Every day is different, and I think that’s what makes my job so exciting and interesting
and something I want to come to every day, even when it’s hard, even when the days are
long, because I get to work with students that want to be students and they want to be
here for a reason, and I get to work with the other students who aren’t sure, and I get to
help them figure out how they can get to being on board with being here, being part of a
community (E. Hail, personal communication, March 27, 2015).
As a Student Affairs professional, you will lead students to being successful adults in whatever
they so choose, and that is a rewarding career. You can become a more marketable Student
Affairs professional starting now.
Though there is no undergraduate degree for Student Affairs, there are activities one can
pursue during their undergraduate to make them a more marketable candidate for the graduate

program and for employment beyond. All interviewees were in agreement on this, for when
asked how to become more marketable during your undergrad, they responded: “Be involved . . .
Learning about all that a university has to offer helps set you up for being a good person in
Student Affairs” (B. Hudson, personal communication, March 26, 2015); “I would say campus
involvement is helpful, in that it’s something that can maybe help you understand what Student
Affairs is” (E. Hail, personal communication, March 27, 2015); “I think involvement is what’s
going to make you marketable” (M. Flick, personal communication, March 27, 2015); and Roxie
mentioned involvement being helpful, as well. The reasoning behind getting involved is that you
learn the inner-workings of a college campus. The more knowledgeable you are in this area when
applying to your graduate program, the more likely you are to be accepted. Many people assume
this means being a Resident Assistant, but it is much more than that. Get involved in the area you
are interested in, or better yet explore all areas of Student Affairs. This will give you a better idea
of where you would like to go with your graduate degree, when the time comes. Getting involved
will help you to become more marketable in the profession of Student Affairs.
Student Affairs professionals are the aid for students outside of the classroom. Britt told
me, “You just don’t think that so much stuff can happen within a year, but it does” (B. Hudson,
personal interview, March 26, 2105). All of the details that go into a year running smoothly for
students happen because of the Student Affairs professionals that work on college campuses.
There are multiple colleges, departments, and careers that an individual possessing a Student
Affairs Master’s degree can pursue. It’s a lot of work, but it is certainly worth that effort to
impact a student’s life and see them succeed. Ellie told me, “Every day is different, every day is
awesome” (E. Hail, personal communication, March 27, 2015).

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