Volume 47, Issue 3

This Editor’s Note contains Michael Segawa’s opening session speech from the 2010 NASPA National Conference. Mr. Segawa outlined the importance of legacies within the student affairs field and traced his personal history as a way to discuss this important aspect of the student affairs field.

Success within today’s challenging economic environment mandates that senior student affairs officers in higher education possess a sophisticated financial and budgetary skill set. Limited research addresses avenues through which professionals might best acquire the financial acumen needed. To address this gap, 19 senior student affairs officers participated in a qualitative, interview-based study exploring the breadth and depth of their campus-based fiscal responsibility and their professional preparation experiences. Participants recommend ways current and future senior administrators can best prepare for the complex fiscal challenges and responsibilities required of student affairs leaders.

Two studies investigating the meaning and articulation of multiple identities among Black college students revealed shifts in the findings from the 2001 study to the 2005 study. This theoretical review explores the role of the researcher as instrument within the constructivist research paradigm as a possible explanation for some of these apparent differences. Implications and suggestions for researchers and graduate preparation are offered.

This qualitative study explored the conditions that support assessment practice and the impact of the accreditation process on assessment practice in student affairs divisions at three small colleges and universities in the southeastern U.S. Findings indicate that the role of the senior student affairs officer directly impacts staff perceptions of and attitudes toward assessment. Specific characteristics of small colleges also influence how student affairs professionals conduct assessment on their campuses. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

This study described mental health and substance use referral practices of resident assistants (RAs). Interviews were conducted with 48 RAs at three campuses. RAs generally had positive attitudes toward helping residents, and believed that existing norms supported their referral actions. However, many perceived referring residents to be emotionally burdensome, and they were not confident referrals would lead to positive outcomes. RAs reported referring residents for professional assistance only when problems were judged to be severe, essentially engaging in a form of clinical evaluation to make referral decisions. Recommendations for enhancing the continuum of care provided to distressed residents are discussed.

National survey data from 594 African American college students were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate statistical techniques to measure the impact of diversity on educational outcomes. Two research questions guided the present study: (a) How do interactional diversity experiences affect learning and development outcomes for African American undergraduates attending 4-year institutions? (b) Does this relationship vary between Black men and women? Results suggest that interactional diversity experiences are positively associated with perceived student learning across all six domains; interactional diversity is one of the strongest, consistent predictors of perceived learning included in the statistical models. Models explain different proportions of the variance in dependent variables, ranging from 16% to 23%. Implications for future policy, practice, and research are discussed.

Whether indirectly from governmental and non-governmental organizations or directly from higher education institutions, students receive messages that they should study abroad. Studying in a foreign country is considered essential if students are to be marketable to future employers and prepared to lead the U.S. into a new era. Despite the presence of such messages, the understanding of what it means to be absent from the undergraduate student population willing and able to study in a foreign country is severely limited. Importantly, what are the perceptions and experiences of students who repeatedly hear the value of study abroad and who, at the same time, are not willing and/or able to participate? The purpose of this critical qualitative study was to seek answers to this question by exploring the perceptions and experiences of a population that continues to experience low rates of study abroad participation: Latina/o undergraduate students.