Constructing effective campus

partnerships to support student success

and inclusive excellence

Dr. Lua Hancock

Vice President, Campus Life

& Student Success

Stetson University

lhancock@stetson.edu

Session Learning Outcomes

• Consider the different cultural perceptions,

lenses, priorities and structures of various

University Stakeholder groups

• Reflect on opportunities to proactively build

strategic relationships on your home campus

• Determine specific actions to promote

structural initiatives and individual outreach

with faculty partners towards increased student

learning, inclusion, and belongingness

WHY focus on

partnership?

Impact of Partnerships:

Outcomes for StudentsAcclimation to the

institution

• Effective transitions

• Sense of community

• Persistence in college

Engagement

• Campus involvement

• Academic engagement

• Civic engagement

• Interactions with

faculty and students

Student learning

• Making connections

• Thinking critically

• Taking responsibility for

learning

• Understanding self

• Understanding others

Academic and career

decisions

• Choice of college

• Choice of major

• Choice of career

(Nesheim, Guentzel, Kellogg, McDonald, Wells, Whitt, 2007)

Impact of Partnerships :

Additional Outcomes• Demonstration of impact/Accreditation

• Shared resources/Fiscal stewardship

• Positive campus community/climate

Belonging, Meaning and Learning

What CHALLENGES do

we encounter in

establishing

partnerships?

Cultural LensesFaculty/academic

Student Affairs

Institutional

Students

Alumni

Board of Trustees and Advisory

Boards

Academic Structures, Priorities & Perspectives

• Teaching, Research & Service

• Tenure

• Rank/Promotion

• Instructor

• Assistant Professor

• Associate Professor

• Professor

Student Affairs Structures, Priorities &

Perspectives

• Co-curricular involvement and leadership

• Out of class student learning

• Hierarchical organizational structures

• Holistic student development

Some Differences Between

Student Affairs and Academic Affairs

Activity Faculty Student Affairs

How time is spent

Communication

Priorities

Interaction with students

Typical work schedule

Employment status

Meetings/email/etc.

Perceptions of where learning

occurs

Organizational structure

Decision-making processes

WHAT does effective

partnership look like?

Coordination versus Collaboration

Based on Blake & Mouton,

1964

Reflecting on a New Mission for Student Affairs

• What does it really mean to redefine student affairs work

in meaningful ways?

• What do our institutions need most from us right now?

• What relationships and partnerships must be cultivated if

the potential of student affairs is to be fully realized?

• What thinking and behaviors must change if student

affairs is to exercise the leadership needed of us?

• How prepared are we to welcome a new future?

• What new knowledge and skills will be needed to realize

a new mission, and what will this mean for professional

preparation and ongoing professional development?

• (Porterfield, Roper & Whitt, 2011)

Taking Your Institutional Temperature

Where on this continuum does your campus philosophy

associated with student affairs partnering with

academic affairs fall?

Good

fences good

neighbors

Contiguous

with some

intersections

Very Fluid

Cultural Considerations

Elevate and align

efforts with research

What do Student Affairs and

Academic Affairs Have in Common?

Student Affairs

Academic Affairs

“Groups are far more likely to work together if they share a compelling aim and understand that it can be better accomplished through collaborative alignment across the institution” (pg 94)

“Although single programs or leaders cannot create or sustain such a culture, individual actions can contribute to a campus ethos that values student learning” (pg 147)

Target of

change

1st order

change

2nd order

change

Individual Awareness Paradigm shift

Group Membership Restructuring

Institutional Programmatic Systemic

“…it is not enough to simply espouse multicultural and equity values. Instead we must demonstrate our commitment through action” (p. 3)

“…institutional culture and context are shaped by campus climate and the presence or absence of cross cultural dialogue.” (p. 104)

Organizational Aspects That Support

Partnerships• Institutional mission and priorities

• Institutional culture and values

• Focus on learning

• Structures that respect multiple manifestations of leadership

• Assessment & data driven decisions

• Shared structures and resources

• Rewards structures

• Support from senior leaders

This list is informed by combined works of Whitt, Nesheim, Guentzel, Kellogg, McDonald, Wells, 2008 and

Kezar, 2006

• QEP/FSEM

• High Impact Practices

• Professional development

• Shared Governance

(Academic Leaders)

• Campus Climate and

retention by each VP

• SGA open forums

ReferencesArminio, J., Torres, V. & Pope, R.L. (2012). Why aren’t we there yet? Taking personal

responsibility for creating an inclusive campus. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Association of American Colleges and Universities (2011). The LEAP vision for learning:

Outcomes, practices, impact and employers’ views. Washington, DC: AAC&U.

Felten, P., Gardner, J.N., Schroeder, C.C., Lambert, L.M., Barefoot, B.O. (2016). The

Undergraduate Experience: Focusing institutions on what matters most. San Francisco, CA:

Jossey-Bass.

Guentzel, M., Guentzel, M., McDonald, W., Kellogg, A., & Whitt, E. (2007). Outcomes for

students of student affairs – Academic affairs partnership programs. Journal of College

Student Development, 48(4), 435-454. Retrieved from

http://muse.jhu.edu/content/crossref/journals/journal_of_college_student_developmen

t/v048/48.4nesheim.html

Keeling, R. (2006). Learning reconsidered 2: A practical guide to implementing a campus-

wide

focus on the student experience. Washington, DC: NASPA.

Keeling, R., & Dungy, G. (2004). Learning reconsidered: A campus-wide focus on the student

experience, (pp. 1-43). Washington, DC: National Association of Student Personnel

Administrators, American College Personnel Association.

References

Kezar, A. (2006). Redesigning for collaboration in learning initiatives: An examination of four

highly collaborative campuses. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(5), 804-838.

Kezar, A. (2009). Supporting and enhancing student learning through partnerships with

academic colleagues. In G.S. McClellan & J. Stringer (Eds.), The handbook of student

affairs administration (pp. 443-453). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Kuh, G. D. (2005). Documenting effective educational practice (project). In G.D. Kuh, J.

Kinzie,

J.H. Schuh, & E.J. Whitt (Eds.), Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter

(pp. 10-17). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Newell, W. (1999). The promise of integrative learning. About Campus, 4, 17-23.

Newell, W. (2010). Educating for a complex world: Integrative learning and interdisciplinary

studies. Liberal Education, 96, 6-11.

Pope, R. L., Reynolds, A. L., & Mueller, J. A. (2004). Multicultural competence in student

affairs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

References

Porterfield, K.T., Roper, L.D., & Whitt, E.J. (2011). Redefining our mission: What does higher

education need from student affairs? Journal of College & Character, 12(4), 1-7.

Task Force on the Future of Student Affairs, Appointed jointly by ACPA and JASPA (2010).

Envisioning the future of student affairs. Retrieved from:

https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/Task_Force_Student_Affairs_2010_Report.pdf.

Whitt, E.J., Nesheim, B.E., and Guentzel, M.J., et. al. (2008). Principles of good practice for

academic and student affairs partnership programs. Journal of College Student Development,

49(3), 235-249. Project MUSE. Web. 21 Jan. 2011. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/.

Questions?