College Student Affairs
College Student Affairs
The Penn State Higher Education Program College Student Affairs Track prepares higher education professionals to provide educational services and programs, facilitate student achievement, and create growth-enhancing environments. Intentionally-designed learning outcomes, the infusion of a social justice perspective throughout the curriculum, and a balanced focus on scholarly practice combine to create a unique and powerful learning experience for graduate students.
The HI ED program (CSA track) at Penn State has three overarching objectives:
- Provide a theoretical background—grounded in a social justice perspective—related to college students, the higher education context, and the student affairs profession.
- Provide guided and supervised experiences that allow students to intentionally apply theoretical knowledge to professional situations.
- Provide academic training and experiences that prepare students for further education and for professional lives as scholar-practitioners.
To assist students with achieving these objectives, the CSA faculty has identified six Learning Outcomes which serve as the foundation for the curriculum. It is expected that students will work with their advisor to purposefully plan curricular and co-curricular experiences that will allow them to achieve the Learning Outcomes.
The Master's of Education (College Student Affairs Track) can be completed in four semesters of full-time study although students may choose to enroll in additional summer session coursework to lighten their academic load and/or complete internship experiences.
This memo from Dean David Monk, Dean of the College of Education, and Damon Sims, Vice President for Student Affairs, details the new design for the study of college student affairs at Penn State.
