Student affairs outcomes: An exploratory assessment

This research traces the historical roots of the profession of student affairs from its modest beginnings in American higher education to today's theoretical base, student development theory. The dissertation addresses the problem of the lack of clear, tangible goals for student affairs in higher education. From the student development literature, 17 key developmental and organizational outcomes are identified. The dissertation proposes that all student affairs programming, staffing, and training should be designed on these comprehensive outcomes.;The major result of the thesis is the creation of a comprehensive set of student affairs assessment instruments. These tools and methods, in the form of surveys, interviews, document examinations, and focus groups, were tested at one small private college. The Author conducted a two and one half day on-site, exploratory assessment visit, and analyzed and reported the data in the form of a report which was sent to the institution. Based on feedback from the president and dean of students as well as the clarity and quality of responses, and the usefulness of the data collection process, the instruments and methods were revised. The product of the dissertation is the first comprehensive, student affairs, literature based, outcomes assessment.