A New Philosophy
When looking at the individuals who made an impact on my college experience, all shared the same characteristic of being a role model. With being a good example of values, knowledge, and outlook comes accountability. Though these people were busy, they never let me down and displayed excellence in all aspects of their lives, since I got to know them outside of the classroom or office as well. The Principles of Good Practice (1997) states that we, as professionals must set "high expectations for student learning". With this being said, I say, in order to set expectations we must meet expectations of our students, community, staff, and faculty. This may be in the way we dress, the actions we do, or the words we say. Though never to push our values on students it is important to live by a moral code of ethics. These will help guide our practices and set those high personal aspirations and expectations. Accountability should be included in this ethical code. Students and faculty should be able to depend on professionals to conduct quality practices in higher education.
Through creating a voice, it allowed me to draw upon the theories in order to dissect Noor and create recommendations to assist her on her journey. When using theories, I believe, that a balance must be struck between context, personal theory, and proven theory. One should not solely rely on theory because it is recent or has been tested. A student affairs professional should be a reflective practitioner in order to see what theories assist in working with the wide variety of students in higher education. If theory is used incorrectly, individuals can be stereotyped and boxed into situations that may not be the most appropriate technique to use in counseling or advising. Theory can be used as a frame of reference and with personal theory, can help customize practices that are conducted with students. Whenever possible, the student affairs professional should be an active scientist in working with colleagues to progress the field of education in hopes to update and create a better context for theory to be conducted. A professional must wear many hats. One of being a listener, reflector, scientist, teacher, and role model in order to use theory and experience to best assist students.
A third component to the updated philosophy is that of collaboration. As stated in the Student Learning Imperative (1996) student affairs must "complement the institution's mission". In higher education this collaboration can take place with faculty, staff, students, the community and others. It is important to remember that the intent of higher education is to advance student learning. Understanding and empathizing is a large part in the collaborative process. Much like the voice project, being courteous and trying to understand another culture is helpful in showing pro-activeness in achieving goals. Faculty culture may be one of the most prevalent that student affairs officials will face. Departments in colleges are set up very differently, some may be loose while others may have many pieces but each should have a goal to help the student progress. One must be respectful of the time constraints, finances, and past experiences with student affairs in order to receive the best results. Collaboration takes effort and the most importantly is for one to be patient, observant, ask questions, and timing.
One of the more relevant points learned from the voice project was to become an advocate for students. When Millenials are coming in with a sense of feeling diverse it doesn't mean that they think about diversity on a daily basis. Students may not be aware of the hegemony that is happening daily and creating an awareness for students to be advocates allows them to think communally about situations. Student affairs should be promoting accessibility, when it comes to advocacy. Centers, office hours, and programming should have the opportunity to be available to all students. When relating to my voice, adult learners make up a large amount of the present day student population and student affairs is going to need to accommodate to their needs. Another important component is empathy and most underrated, the ability to listen. Being able to listen to a situation with intent and have an open mind can help oppressed groups reveal to professionals the real need of the students. Asking questions and creating opportunity for critical thinking can help students with the opportunity to solve their own problems. The voice project showed the depth in which one can empathize with a group or individual. Though it can't go to this length for every student, professionals can come up with personal methods to assist themselves understand others.
The final cornerstone to this mantra is the ability to be pro-active in the field of higher education. Apathy and stagnancy is a silent killer in many situations and this will only affect our constituents; students. Being pro-active shows the willingness to change, to progress, and to take chances within a career or programming setting. But each move that is made must be made with intent and have a search for a desired outcome. Being pro-active allows a person to explore all aspects of a situation but intent allows a person to make a commitment.
Each of these components are going to help build a foundation that I hope to expand throughout my time in student affairs but also provides goals that I will try to use within my assistantship. Each of these cornerstones comes with a level of optimism, which I believe, help tie these together. Student affairs is looking to help student learn, develop, and growth and I believe that staying positive will help keep priorities straight and the outlook to be searchers in the field in order to provide the best product for our students.
Recommendations
When reflecting on my voice, it could have easily been broken into the female Muslim and adult learner. Each provided a unique challenge that ended up being a relevant to today's current issues. For student affairs to work with a diverse body of students it is important to conduct voice-like projects in order to keep up with student needs.
For the adult learner, the two main factors that contributed to successful were those of timing and location. Timing meant that places on campus were accessibility for the student and these centers had materials relevant to their needs. Location was another component which helped again with the concept of access. Through the researched programs, the ones that were successful in the location sense were the most aware of using what was around the institution and managed their resources well.
Another aspect of the adult learner is the complexity of them. How potentially more complex are they to other students? The adult learner may come in with additional stressors. On top of regular issues an adult learner may have child care problems, marriage problems, and handful of other stresses that can create inconveniences for adult learners. Successful programs allowed adult learners to network with others and create support groups for these unique types of students. Again timing and location played a major part in the success of these programs.
One of the most important items that I learned was that the life experience of adult learners may be beneficial or not at all. Unlike traditional college-aged students, they come with the misconception that they have achieved identity because they are an adult. These students are going through just as much development as others and it is important that student affairs professional recognize these developments and understand their unique needs at the same time.
When turning to the female Muslim part of my voice, the factors come down to creating an awareness of culture including understanding the religious devotion of many of these students. As mentioned in one of my first posts, a large part of this planet is devoted to the Islamic culture. Unfortunately, due to modern events, the culture has been tainted with doubt, zealots, and ignorant views that hurt many Muslim student before they are understood as a whole person.
One of the most important things for being an advocate of Muslim students is to get correct information. The Koran can be interpreted in many ways and just reading books can only take a person so far in their quest for the truth. The first hand experience provided me with contacts and first-hand accounts of students living in today's world. One should be aware that the "truth" is contextually, always changing, and it is up to the student affairs professional to be aware of this in order to relate this to a particular institution. Being aware of customs, foods, and religious rights are some of the more key things to be open to when experiencing a new culture.
Much like the adult learner, Muslims may have certain needs. Bowling Green State University have made these accommodates by providing a prayer room on campus and with the diverse student population, a Muslim group has been a great source of community for student living both on and off campus. Allowing students to form these groups are great but each must be able to contribute to the larger college campus and also learn to seek out advocates within the community. Just like any student, it is important that these groups develop an identity (mission statements perhaps) and continue to grow whether it is in numbers or programming.
Looking back on this experience it has helped lead me into becoming a more insightful practitioner. It allowed me to empathize on a level that was never done before and the theories gave me the tools to help assist this voice grow and develop. More importantly, this project gave me experience in being pro-active in finding students to help understand the culture of a current college campus.
