Educators or Checkboxes? Elevating the Work of Student Affairs Professionals

Am I actually an educator, or am I just a checkbox? Does my work matter? Through the student affairs profession, I generally find that people working in the field do so because they believe their work matters. Many student affairs professionals had impactful experiences as undergraduate students, themselves, and they want to facilitate those same opportunities. They believe their work is meaningful to students’ experiences and is also valued by institutions. They characterize themselves as educators, imparting life and developmental lessons explicitly from their faculty counterparts. So if that is what motivates many student affairs professionals, what happens when they begin to believe their work doesn’t actually matter?

Am I actually an educator, or am I just a checkbox? Does my work matter?

I recently researched how student affairs professionals make sense of themselves as educators. Foundationally, the study considered how the field of student affairs has evolved since its inception, with early student affairs documents demonstrating overt differentiation between student affairs professionals and educators, to the present standing by the profession's leading organizations that student affairs professionals are educators alongside their faculty peers.

This was a phenomenological study with 12 participants, each completing three interviews with me. The three interviews focused on getting to know the participants, understanding their professional identities, and understanding what it means for student affairs professionals to be educators. There was a variety of ideas posited by the participants. Ultimately, on a large scale, the study revealed that the participants did deeply identify as educators on an intrinsic level, with the word “educator” meaning much more than simply a job. However, the study also revealed the participants felt unable to fully embrace and express their identities as educators because the “student affairs educator” is often not accepted as an educator, especially among people outside of student affairs.

This was fun research to conduct. As a student affairs professional myself, questions about how I am or am not an educator have lingered with me ever since I first heard student affairs professionals are characterized as such. At times, I viewed myself as something more than an “administrator,” providing meaningful learning opportunities for students; then again, at other times, I felt like I was simply a cog in a machine, fulfilling some kind of quota necessitated by the standards of American higher education. Of course, one of those perspectives was more fulfilling to me, both personally and professionally, but both were present throughout my career, especially in the beginning. It was interesting to hear how others have made sense of similar quandaries as student affairs professionals.

Through the research, I learned a lot about my participants. I will candidly say that the overwhelming sense of the participants’ innate identities as educators not being able to be actualized and fulfilled was among many disheartening elements brought forth. Among the ideas conveyed, numerous participants suggested being treated and viewed as fulfilling checkboxes; as being necessary expenses by the school to appease students and present a positive image for the school to society at large. By the end of the research, I began to wonder: do our presence, our work, and our students actually matter to the schools, or are we just fulfilling checkboxes for what is “expected” of a higher education institution?

… the overwhelming sense of the participants’ innate identities as educators not being able to be actualized and fulfilled was among many disheartening elements brought forth

Ariel Gilmore went into the profession after being “saved” by student affairs from her own self-destructive tendencies. She wanted to provide the “love” that she received from her hall director to others. She felt like this profession would fulfill her calling to be an educator. During her interviews, she characterized herself not as an “educator” but rather as a “manager” providing customer service to students who “do not want to learn.” This was reinforced by her university's leadership when discussing learning opportunities for students within residence life: just “give them what they want.”

She felt like this profession would fulfill her calling to be an educator

Ian became a student government advisor with gusto, having been a student body president himself and having made substantial impacts on his peers and his university. He encouraged his student body president to be the voice of the students. He coached him on how to meet with the university president and educated him on key tactics for developing change. However, when his student met with the university president, the conversation began with a resounding, “I don’t see the point of us meeting like this… What can you do to help me and the university?”

Andre became a student support specialist after his family's struggles throughout their undergraduate experiences. His parents had graduated from college but not without hardships, in part because of their first-generational student identities. He wanted to carry on the torch of being an educator after the work he saw his mom engage in with students with disabilities. But, despite knowing that the profession characterizes him as an educator, he was wary of doing so, considering “educating” to be “the wheelhouse of the faculty members” who may take offense to administrators considering themselves involved in that process.

Examples such as these were throughlines of this research into identity-as-educator for student affairs. Each of these people was relatively fresh (generally around four years of professional experience), educated (masters or higher), and enthusiastic student affairs professionals, especially when they entered the field. Over time, though, they all ran into systemic and environmental aspects that seemingly blocked either their capacity to be or their belief in themselves as educators. Each one of them expressed the concern that if they are not educators making a difference in their students’ lives, then perhaps that makes them and their work something less, something unimportant, something inconsequential, not that of valued educators. The participants expressed becoming disenchanted in the field as it had not lived up to their desires. They demonstrated burnout and lessening care due to their identities as educators not being fulfilled.

… they all ran into systemic and environmental aspects that seemingly blocked either their capacity to be or their belief in themselves as educators

… student affairs professionals need to better understand their work and how it fits into the broader landscape of education

It is clear that work needs to be done throughout higher education to elevate the work of student affairs professionals. Among leading organizations and institutions, the field of student affairs is touted as one composed of educators, and yet most of the participants in my study clearly felt their desires to be educators stifled by their environment and their work. When coupled with decades of research into identity that demonstrate the importance of alignment between an individual's personal identity and the identity espoused on them, with misalignment negatively impacting satisfaction, efficiency, and effectiveness, it is easy to connect the dots between the participants’ sentiments and their circumstances.

It is especially important to note, too, that this is not simply employee satisfaction for its own sake: student affairs work matters. Research into student affairs has consistently demonstrated the positive impact student affairs can have on students and institutions when done properly, whether that is, among others, enhancing a sense of belonging from out-of-classroom professional relationships, providing mental health wellness through formal and informal counseling, or nonclassroom growth from leadership in clubs and organizations. Without these things done well, students, schools, and society are ultimately the entities who suffer and lose potential.

Enabling student affairs professionals to overtly express themselves as educators and cultivating this identity will pay dividends toward students’ educational and collegiate experiences. This is a task that must be addressed by both student affairs professionals, themselves, and their institutions.

My research demonstrated that to understand themselves as educators, student affairs professionals need to better understand their work and how it fits into the broader landscape of education. What educational philosophies do student affairs outcomes fit with? What pedagogical styles are student affairs professionals exhibiting to maximize learning and engagement? What curriculum development models are being implemented on a daily basis? This may simply sound like language, but it is language that matters to student affairs professionals being able to define and articulate their work as educators, both to themselves and to others. Not only would this change how the profession speaks about itself and its work, but it would also improve the field's means of assessment and evaluation. Student affairs professionals’ work should be measurably tied to meaningful educational outcomes that they should be able to elegantly articulate when describing themselves as educators, and this language provides a means to do that. Represented in this study and something I have observed in my own career, too often assessment is tied to existence; that is, if a program is held, it is successful. But how should the educational component of a program be measured to truly gauge its success in terms of education? If our field ever hopes to tout itself as a profession of educators that can go toe-to-toe with professorship and traditional teaching, we need the tools, language, and know-how to legitimately understand how education is happening through our efforts.

Beyond simply this research, as a student affairs professional myself, I can personally relate to how this understanding of education beyond the standard notions of student affairs can transform one's perspective. While my graduate program in student affairs did an excellent job of teaching me the ins and outs of higher education administration and student development theory, I learned very little in the way of “education” as a whole. And yet we were encouraged to see ourselves as educators. I believed this to be true and identified as such, but I did not have an understanding of how my “brand” of education fit with the rest of education. I also did not understand education pedagogy or curriculum development. It was only after my years in a curriculum and instruction PhD program that I truly began to understand my place in education and more thoroughly make sense of how what I was doing was not only supporting traditional educational endeavors but also providing distinct educational opportunities for students. By student affairs professionals understanding more about education and how it fit within educational philosophy and traditions, this will empower them to approach their work in new ways and to better embrace their often innate identities as educators.

If our field ever hopes to tout itself as a profession of educators that can go toe-to-toe with professorship and traditional teaching, we need the tools, language, and know-how to legitimately understand how education is happening through our efforts

This change cannot only be from the initiative of student affairs professionals. Although they can learn about education and disregard their reluctance to overtly express their identities as educators, their environments must also be receptive to these changes. Higher education leaders have to alter the learning environments to view student affairs professionals as educators. Of course, they cannot force their institutions to see student affairs professionals as educators, but they can take steps to create fewer disparities between traditional educators and student affairs professionals. Leaders can ensure that language throughout their institutions properly reflects educator vernacular when speaking about student affairs professionals. They can provide additional training for their universities demonstrating how student affairs is an educational field. Leaders can develop and implement new assessments in their institutions to demonstrate the educational impact student affairs have on their students.

Leaders can develop and implement new assessments in their institutions to demonstrate the educational impact student affairs have on their students

While the suggestions for university leadership so far have been cerebral and cultural to institutions, there are also quite simple ways to elevate student affairs professionals as educators: compensation and employment structure. It should be unacceptable that full-time professionals in master's-required positions sometimes struggle to make rent, particularly in more expensive cities, but that is absolutely the case. Furthermore, these same individuals often have limited upward mobility at their universities, with hope of advancement coming in the well-timed departure of a superior. If institutions expect student affairs professionals to be committed educators meaningfully contributing to students’ success and feel valued while doing so, they have to invest serious support into student affairs professionals, particularly as it relates to pay and professional opportunities. This will, no doubt, alter how student affairs professionals are viewed and able to express themselves throughout higher education.

If student affairs professionals focus on identity-as-educators via their own professional development and enhanced assessment practices, while at the same time, institutions work to elevate student affairs professionals’ identities as educators and meet the professionals’ callings as educators with adequate compensation, student affairs professionals will undoubtedly be more committed and connected to their work as educators. In turn, programs hosted will be substantially improved, resources will be better allocated, and, perhaps most importantly, students will hugely benefit from enhanced opportunities for learning, growth, and development. As previously noted, the downside of continuing to allow student affairs professionals to question their value, to potentially see themselves as simply checkboxes, is steep: in following up with some of my participants, more than one have since left the field of student affairs, citing burnout primarily due to feeling undervalued and unable to fulfill their calling as educators.

We are all in this work for different reasons. Above all else, I suspect that most (if not all) of us believe that the work happening in higher education has rippling effects felt geographically and temporally well beyond our short, brief reaches. That is an inherent aspect of our identities that each of us brings into our roles. I cannot imagine any person feeling good about their work if they truly believe that it is nothing more than a checkbox being fulfilled for the sake of its existence rather than its impact on students. It certainly was not the case for the majority of my research participants, who overtly questioned their ongoing desires to continue working in the field if they were going to be viewed as doing work no more meaningful than fulfilling a checkbox. It is heartbreaking to think how many good people are not educated to their potential because they feel similar to the participants in my research. It is imperative that leaders in higher education are taking steps to ensure people are not feeling this way.

I cannot imagine any person feeling good about their work if they truly believe that it is nothing more than a checkbox being fulfilled for the sake of its existence rather than its impact on students

Without question, I believe this call to action is long overdue, with the field of higher education having not done enough to recognize, cultivate, and elevate student affairs professionals as educators. Now more than ever, though, feels like this is absolutely essential for the well-being of our professionals. The lingering effects related to COVID-19 have placed a great amount of additional stress on educators, with student affairs professionals being no exception. Like many other people, student affairs professionals are grappling with balancing care for their students with care for themselves and their families. If there was ever a time to find new ways for student affairs professionals, who do so much for their students and their communities, to connect with their profession, the time is now, or else more professionals, like those from my study, will leave the field for good.

If there was ever a time to find new ways for student affairs professionals, who do so much for their students and their communities, to connect with their profession, the time is now …