EDU-547 - BENCHMARK Student Affairs Strategic Plan
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School
Grand Canyon University *
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547
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English
Date
Apr 3, 2024
Type
docx
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7
Uploaded by kruegerelk94
Erin L. Krueger
College of Education, Grand Canyon University
EDU-547: Student Development
Dr. Kim Spencer
March 6, 2024
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Thesis Development and Purpose
There is a correlation between student success and student engagement. Within higher education, it is critical for student affairs professionals to develop a plan to enhance and encourage student involvement, including both on and off campus. Students involved in academic and co-curricular activities can provide opportunities for students to receive real-world experiences and resources, improving their overall college experience and encouraging student success.
Department Overview
Higher education institutes have both mission and vision statements. A mission statement
informs others of a common purpose, and what the common goal that everyone is trying to accomplish within the university or department. In short, it is the here and now, purpose of the university. In comparison, a vision statement informs others of where the university or department wants to be in the future (Young, 2019).
The mission and vision of a student affairs department can help professionals assist students in their educational journey at a higher education institute. Student affairs professionals’
goals are to help guide students to reach their full potential by cultivating an environment where students feel safe and connected with their university. The vision and mission statements of a student affairs department should foster academic, personal, and professional growth of students.
An example of a mission and vision statement for a student affairs department could be:
Mission Statement -
Pledge to support development of students, provide resources and encourage programing to give students opportunities to reach academic, personal and professional goals, while assisting students to become contributors to society.
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Vision Statement -
Strive for providing student-centered programs, while growing and supporting a diverse population of students. Provide student affairs professionals with opportunities of professional development to support student and staff needs.
These statements encourage student affairs professionals to keep students at the forefront when fostering opportunities for students on campus. By having a mission and vision statement for a student affairs department, it encourages student involvement while attending higher education.
Department Goals
Having goals set in place for a student affairs department that help develop and enhance students’ engagement can manifest a campus community. Student affairs professionals can work to contribute to students’ overall success by implementing various goals to create a welcoming, engaging environment for students. Some goals of a student affairs department could include creating a student-led council on campus, improving student involvement through social media outlets, and developing a first-year experience office where a diverse population of students is represented.
Goal 1: Create a Student-Led Council
One goal of a student affairs department should be to create a student-led council on campus. Whether this be online or in-person, student councils and forums can help create a welcoming environment for the campus university, thus enhancing student success. These students would meet once a month, expressing concerns and ideas to enhance student engagement on campus. Councils allow students the opportunity to grow their campus community through developing ideas and voicing their opinions with changes that would be 3
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beneficial on campus (admin, 2023). Through these councils, students can build a community amongst each other through problem-solving and collaboration. Student-led councils can also be a place where students and staff can turn to, seeking support and assistance. Student affairs professionals can help guide these forums, helping with possible solutions to create a better learning environment for students. Student affairs professionals can also utilize this student-led council to learn about what resources need to be more available for students to help them be successful while attending higher education.
Goal 2: Improve Social Media Outlets
Another goal that a student affairs department should work to attain is improving social media outlets to encourage student involvement. Social media outlets, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X, can provide a marketing platform for various campus activities, organizations, and clubs. Student affairs professionals can utilize the use of social media to highlight different upcoming campus events or different opportunities students have on campus. When students are aware of the different events on campus, they will be more likely to attend those events, thus encouraging campus involvement (Rasheed et al., 2020). Student affairs professionals can also use social media to celebrate different successes of various departments or
students on campus. Bringing attention to successful programs as often as possible, encourages involvement within those programs. This helps foster a collaborative environment where students, staff, and community can see what the campus has to offer, highlighting various opportunities for student involvement. Student affairs can use social media to market a wide range of individuals, bring attention to what the university offers students, and provide interaction with the campus community.
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Goal 3: Develop a First-Year Experience Office
One more goal that student affairs professionals should try and reach is creating a first-
year experience office within a student affairs department. This office would offer individualized
support to help assist students with the transition from high school to higher education. This office can help foster student engagement both on and off campus, showcasing various student organizations and community outreach programs. While students are living on campus, it is important for students to feel comfortable and safe. To aid in providing a campus community for all students of all backgrounds, student affairs departments can encourage students to become involved with and utilize the first-year experience office to ensure students are successful while attending higher education. Within this office, a diverse population of students would be represented, where there would be resources and support available for international students, first-generation students, transfer students, LGBTQ+ students, etc. This first-year experience office would provide students with opportunities and programs both on and off campus. This will
encourage student engagement, ultimately leading to student success. By allowing first-year students a place where they can gather information, collaborate with organizations on and off campus, and learn about resources available for them, it will manifest further engagement beyond their first year (Chandra, 2021). This can also serve as a resource that student affairs professionals can utilize to continue student growth and engagement.
Promoting Individual Self-Efficacy
If these three goals are met, it will promote individual self-efficacy within higher education, which will increase student engagement and improve campus community. Self-
efficacy is the idea that if students believe in themselves, then they can be successful (Linnenbrink, 2003). The greater the belief in themselves, the greater the chance that students 5
will engage and become active on and off campus. Student-led councils allow for students to have a voice and the idea that they can make a difference, encouraging self-efficacy. Improving social media outlets showcases student successes, which will spark interest in various campus and community events and organizations. This will allow students to develop self-efficacy because they will be engaged and involved in something that they are passionate about. First-
year experience offices will provide students with the resources necessary to gain confidence in themselves, improving their self-efficacy. With these types of programs, students will be encouraged to become involved and engaged in their campus community, boost their self-
efficacy, and collaborate with others. This will help students have a more positive, successful experience while attending higher education.
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References
admin. (2023). Why is it important to have a student council at schools?
Tips Global. https://tipsglobal.org/why-is-it-important-to-have-a-student-council-at-schools/
Chandra, S. (2021, July 27). 12 tips to support first year students on your campus
. CampusGroups. https://blog.campusgroups.com/campusgroups/2021/5/25/tips-to-
support-first-year-students
Linnenbrink, E. A., & Pintrich, P. R. (2003). The role of self-efficacy beliefs in student engagement and learning in the classroom. Reading & Writing Quarterly
, 19
(2), 119–
137. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573560308223
Rasheed, M. I., Malik, M. J., Pitafi, A. H., Iqbal, J., Anser, M. K., & Abbas, M. (2020). Usage of
social media, student engagement, and creativity: The role of knowledge sharing behavior and cyberbullying. Computers & Education
, 159
(1), 104002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.104002
Young, B. (2019). Creating a living vision and mission for your program | childcareexchange.com
. Exchange. http://www.exchangepress.com/article/creating-a-
living-vision-and-mission-for-your-program/5024518/
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