Creating Campus Collaborations Between Academic and Student Affairs Chris Carey, Temple University Filip Pongratz, Temple University

Session Outcomes Understand the need to enhance student learning according to literature and ACUI goals Learn potential challenges and recommendations regarding collaborating with faculty Discuss potential perspectives of faculty members Provide examples of successful collaborations among Student Activities, Student Center Operations and members of the Temple University faculty

Learning Reconsidered and Learning Reconsidered 2 Student Affairs should be a partner in the curriculum. Educating the whole student. Calls for a combination of the ideas of student development and academic learning.

Role of the College Union “As the center of the college community life, the union complements the academic experience through an extensive variety of cultural, educational, social, and recreational programs. These programs provide the opportunity to balance course work and free time and cooperative factors in education.” Adopted by the Association's general membership in 1996, this statement is based on the Role of the College Union statement,

Demystifying the Faculty Understanding the roles and responsibilities of faculty. – Junior faculty vs. mid-level – Small liberal arts colleges vs. research focus universities The demands, cultures, and nuances of collaborating with faculty before proposing partnerships.

Demands of Faculty Research Publishing Advising Grant writing Service to institution Academic organizations

Cultures Collegial – Dominant at major research universities/elite liberal arts colleges. Managerial – Urban catholic and community colleges. Developmental – Bridging gap between collegial and managerial. Negotiating – Collective bargaining units Bergquist, 1992

Nuances The academic calendar Faculty life cycle – New faculty & tenure requirements – Mid-level faculty looking to impress – Senior faculty

Be aware! Communication, both written and oral, should reflect scholarly insight. Academic freedom doesn’t necessarily apply to you!

Potential Barriers Cultural-historical – Lack of respect or understanding – Origin of student affairs Bureaucratical-structural – Lines of authority/decision making Leadership – Buy-in from senior administration Kuh & Banta, 2000

Barriers (cont.) Independent academic departments No rewards for faculty participation (tenure) High turnover in student affairs Communication barriers: we don’t always speak the same language Martin and Murphy

Recommendations for Success Effort likely begins with you. How is collaboration or experiential learning supported by institution’s mission or goals? Use common language: during first meetings, explain viewpoints and experiences. Don’t use Student Affairs jargon. Consider Gen Ed programs as a place to start Utilize research and best practices (Chickering & Gamson, 1987).

Recommendations (cont.) Concentrate on important problems and core activities. No one has time to start from scratch. Provide incentives and limit disincentives – Thank you notes to a dean can go a long way. Benchmark other schools that do collaboration well

Recommendations (cont.) Start with mid-level faculty Approach faculty you know on an individual basis. Understand what motivates faculty Create understanding of student development theory.

Ideas Collaborate in teaching a seminar course Include co-curricular components to a gen ed course Solicit faculty to engage in research on student activities and improving engagement and retention. Durst, 2007

Student Activities & School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Partnership Began in Spring Identified a key faculty member Schedule meeting with planned goals Utilized Academic Strategic Compass points and goals Discussed mutual benefits Set clear action steps for each department Executed timely follow up

Results Summer internship position Late night programming event coordinators Shadowing projects Event consultants for student organizations

Student Center Operations & School of Medicine (TUSM) Collaboration Medical Education Research Building (MERB) Need for event space Policy & procedure creation Faculty versus administration – Common language – Best practices Management of space

Other Examples from Student Activities Professor presentations at Memorable Moments program. Academic speakers in the Service Immersion Program. Speakers at freshmen seminars Student organization workshop presenters

Other Examples from Student Center Operations School of Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM) – Heritage within SCO across student to full-time personnel Tyler School of Art – Graduate assistantships in Graphic Media Center College of Health Professions & Social Work (CHPSW) – Academic classrooms in student centers

Questions?

References Bender, B. (2007). Understanding the role and work of faculty. In Ackerman, R. (Ed.), The mid-level manager in student affairs: Strategies for Success (67-79). Waldorf, MD: NASPA Publishing. Durst, M. (2007). Campus Collaboration: A Faculty Perspective. In Ackerman, R. (Ed.), The mid-level manager in student affairs: Strategies for Success ( ). Waldorf, MD: NASPA Publishing. Kuh, G. & Hinkle, S. (2002). Enhancing student learning through collaboration between academic affairs and student affairs. In Diamond, R.M. (Ed.), Field guide to academic leadership: A publication of the National Academy for Academic Leadership ( ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.