Moving On: Voluntary Staff Departures at Small Colleges and Universities
-
Carrie A Kortegast
Although voluntary departures are frequent among new professional student affairs staff members at small colleges and universities, there is little systematic study of the processes involved in departing a job at one campus to accept a student affairs position at another. Potentially awkward dynamics surrounding staff departures can complicate professional relationships and reputations, and unanticipated staff departures often result in increased work demands for staff members who remain. This study explored professional and developmental dimensions of voluntary departures of student affairs staff members at small colleges and universities using aspects of the transitions model (Schlossberg, Waters, & Goodman, 1995) and the synergistic supervision model (Winston & Creamer, 1997) as principal theoretical frameworks. Findings indicate that supervisors and graduate faculty members can assist new professionals and junior colleagues to regard voluntary departures as predictable occurrences related to career advancement and/or personal fulfillment that, in cooperation with dedicated supervisors, can be professionally managed. Ideally, supervisors and supervisees should have early discussions about departure expectations and processes.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Table of Contents
- A Portrait of Culture in a Contemporary America
- Decreasing Use of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs on a College Campus: Exploring Potential Factors Related to Change
- Moving On: Voluntary Staff Departures at Small Colleges and Universities
- The Clery Act, Campus Safety, and the Perceptions of Senior Student Affairs Officers
- Reflections on Personal Responsibility: Sorority Members At Risk for Interpersonal Violence
- The Integration of First-Year, First-Generation College Students from Ohio Appalachia
- Varying the Frequency of Intentional Communication Between Student Affairs Personnel, First-Year Students, and Their Parents
- The Status of Crisis Management at NASPA Member Institutions
- Parental Engagement and Contact in the Academic Lives of College Students
- Review of "The gender gap in college: Maximizing the developmental potential of women and men"
- Review of "Student services in community and technical colleges: A practitioner's guide (4th edition)"
- NASPA Journal Volume 46, Issue 2
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Table of Contents
- A Portrait of Culture in a Contemporary America
- Decreasing Use of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs on a College Campus: Exploring Potential Factors Related to Change
- Moving On: Voluntary Staff Departures at Small Colleges and Universities
- The Clery Act, Campus Safety, and the Perceptions of Senior Student Affairs Officers
- Reflections on Personal Responsibility: Sorority Members At Risk for Interpersonal Violence
- The Integration of First-Year, First-Generation College Students from Ohio Appalachia
- Varying the Frequency of Intentional Communication Between Student Affairs Personnel, First-Year Students, and Their Parents
- The Status of Crisis Management at NASPA Member Institutions
- Parental Engagement and Contact in the Academic Lives of College Students
- Review of "The gender gap in college: Maximizing the developmental potential of women and men"
- Review of "Student services in community and technical colleges: A practitioner's guide (4th edition)"
- NASPA Journal Volume 46, Issue 2
