As a first step in that direction, the Student Learning Imperative articulated the need for an emphasis on student learning and the value of student affairs educators working collaboratively with students, faculty, academic administrators, and others. The next step is identifying practices that will move our profession forward in its focus on learning and guide us in meeting the challenges with which we are confronted. For this purpose, we have identified principles to guide the daily practice of student affairs work. Defining Principles of Good Practice for Student Affairs In 1986 in the wake of reports critical of undergraduate education, the Lilly Endowment and the Johnson Foundation sponsored an effort by higher education leaders to identify the most effective approaches to educating undergraduates. These principles established a concise statement of behaviors associated with high quality undergraduate education that practitioners, scholars, and the general public could understand and use.
Student affairs lacks a comparable statement of good practice.
If we are to collaborate with others in higher education to advance student learning, we need clear and concise guidelines for how to proceed. The two sets of principles share a commitment to student learning, but the primary audiences for each document and the scope of learning activities addressed are different. Contexts of Student Affairs Practice Student Affairs Commitments and Values To be meaningful, principles of good practice for student affairs should be consistent with our core values which have been documented throughout the literature of the profession. Since 1937 when the American Council on Education published the first Student Personnel Point of View, our field has produced many documents about student affairs work. These works span seven decades, examining student affairs from different perspectives and for different purposes.