Partners: Barnard College (New York); Brevard Community College (Florida); Depaul University (Illinois); George Mason University (Virginia); North Carolina State University (North Carolina); Portland Community College (Oregon); Prince George's Community College (Maryland); Saint Mary's College (indiana) (Indiana); University of Missouri - Columbia (Missouri); Villanova University (Pennsylvania); Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia).
Partners: Barnard College (New York); Brevard Community College (Florida); Carson-Newman College (Tennessee); DePaul University (Illinois); DePauw University (Indiana); William Rainey Harper College (Illinois); George Mason University (Virginia); Messiah College (Pennsylvania); North Carolina State University (North Carolina); Portland Community College, Cascade Campus (Oregon); Prince George’s Community College (Maryland); Saint Mary’s College (California); Siena College (New York); University of Arizona (Arizona); University of Maryland College Park (Maryland); University of Missouri-Columbia (Missouri); Villanova University (Pennsylvania); Virginia Tech University (Virginia).
The Boyer Center at Messiah College coordinated an assessment of partnership programs between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs (AA&SA) that directly impact student learning in diverse institutional contexts. Initiated in 2001 to address research gaps regarding academic and student affairs partnerships, the specific purposes of the study were: 1) to identify and describe characteristics of effective student affairs-academic affairs partnership programs, and 2) to assess student, educator, and institutional learning outcomes of these programs.
Our project identified seven principles of good practice for academic affairs-student affairs partnership programs. Specifically, good practice for partnership programs: 1) reflects and advances institutional mission; 2) embodies and fosters a learning-oriented ethos; 3) builds on and encourages relationships; 4) recognizes, understands, and attends to institutional culture; 5) depends upon specific partnership outcomes and ongoing assessment; 6) uses resources creatively and effectively; and 7) demands and cultivates multiple manifestations of leadership.
We identified outcomes for students, including: 1) acclimation to the institution, 2) engagement 3) student learning, 4) academic and career decisions, and 5) personal growth and skill development. Educator involvement provided for personal growth, scholarly and professional development, rejuvenation, satisfaction, collegial interaction, and interaction with students, while at the same time an increased demand on time and energy. Finally, impacts and outcomes for institutional hosts included: 1) opportunities to address a concern and achieve national and regional recognition; 2) enhanced commitment to institutional mission and student learning; 3) leadership development for educators and students; 4) an enhanced sense of institutional community; and 5) collaborative working relationships.
Project Leadership: The Boyer Center at Messiah College provided leadership for this project. Research team members included Cynthia A. Wells (Boyer Center, Messiah College), Bill McDonald (Presbyterian College), Elizabeth J. Whitt (The University of Iowa), Melanie Guentzel (The University of Iowa), Angela Kellogg (The University of Iowa), Becki Elkins (Cornell College), and Glenn R. Bucher (Elizabethtown College).
Our final sample of 18 institutions included four community colleges and 14 four-year institutions, including six public and eight private ones. Types of partnership programs represented included first-year transitions, service learning and community service, living-learning communities, academic support, interdisciplinary courses, community cultural programming, and leadership development.
ONLINE REFERENCE:
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Cynthia Wells
Project Director
Messiah College
Box 3024 The Boyer Center
One College Avenue
Grantham, PA 17027
Tel: 717-796-5077
Fax: 717-796-5081
William McDonald
Project Co-Director
Presbyterian College
503 South Broad St.
Clinton, SC 37760
Tel: 864-833-8378
Fax: 864-833-8516
Elizabeth Whitt
University of Iowa
N. 368 Lindquist Center
Iowa City, IA 52242-0001
Tel: 319-335-5290
Fax: 319-335-5291
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