Master of Education Program in College Student Affairs,
(recently, the program added one more course requirement and changed the degree to Master of Science in College Counseling and Student Development. I completed the additional course: Career Counseling and Development in Feb. 2010)
Essential Competencies for Student Affairs Practitioners of the 21st Century
The Mission of the College Student Affairs Graduate Program
The graduate program in College Student Affairs at Azusa Pacific University exist for the purpose of preparing individuals to become student affairs educators whose special interest is college students and the environments that affect their development as whole persons and as scholar-students
Expanded Mission Statement
Fundamentally, the focus of the student affairs profession is students–that they be appropriately served, aided, supported, and challenged in the college or university environment so that they are better able to maximize the educational and developmental benefits of their higher education experience. College student affairs stands as a multi-disciplinary field–fusing information, theories, and approaches gained from such fields as education, human resources, counseling, psychology, sociology, business administration, theology, and human and organization development. Its basic processes involve the assessment of student and institutional needs, the development of reasoned goals to address identified needs, and the implementation of programs, policies, and services to accomplish such goals. The uniqueness of the College Student Affairs graduate program at Azusa Pacific University is that it seeks to accomplish this mission within the context of a Christian world view.
Core Values and Beliefs
- Servant leadership is a liberating force that enables individuals and organizations to be their best;
- A Christian worldview enables leaders to serve organizations with compassion, integrity, and purpose and leads to a commitment to social justice and an appreciation for human diversity;
- A strengths perspective enables leaders to become more effective by utilizing their individual talents and strengths as well as those of the people and organizations they serve;
- The development of human talent is the primary purpose of graduate study;
- Academic rigor is produced when students are challenged to reach their individual potential and supported throughout the process of doing so;
- Students are best served when they are expected to assume ownership for their own learning and their development as professionals.
Student Outcomes
Because the specific roles of student affairs practitioners will vary greatly across functions and institutional types, the graduate preparation program at Azusa Pacific University seeks to prepare student affairs educators who have a generalist perspective of the profession and who possess the basic competencies necessary to be successful in a wide range of circumstances. Specifically, upon completion of the graduate program students should be able to demonstrate competence in these areas.
1. Moral, Ethical, and Spiritual Compass
2. Visionary Leadership
3. Quality Programming
4. Assessment and Evaluation
5. Counseling and Personal Development
6. Budgeting and Fiscal Management
7. Fostering Student Learning
8. Legal and Ethical Issues
9. Effective Campus and Community Relationships
10. Managing Conflict and Crisis
11. Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills
12. Technology