On The Administration Mode For College Student Affairs In New Period Based On Cognition Theory

As an extremely important component in the field of higher education, student affairs administration plays an irreplaceable role in the growth and development of the undergraduates. In recent years, with the transformation of society and economy, as well as the popularization and socialization of Chinese higher education, the students enjoy diversity in age, personality, experience, enrollment motivation and so on, which brings many unprecedented confusions and challenges to the present student affairs administration system in universities and colleges, resulting to a difficult situation. Therefore, it is necessary to set up a student affairs administration system to meet the need for students’ characteristics in this new period, strengthening targeted work and timeliness, so that it can enhance the students’ personal growth and integrated development.Based on the cognitive theory, following the study approach of posing, analyzing and solving problem, this research dissertation begins with cognitive structure and characteristic of undergraduates nowadays, generalizing the student affairs administration mode of today’s universities and colleges, as well as analyzing the undergraduates’ acknowledgment and requirements for student affairs administration in the new period by use of case analysis, comparative study and positive investigation. Also, it establishes a new student affairs administration mode at the university and college level which not only accords with the characteristics and development law of undergraduate’s cognition, but also meets student’s requirement for pluralistic development.First, this research dissertation analyzes features and some challenges in the student affairs administration in the new period. Depending on this logic, led by present problems of student affairs at universities and colleges, the empirical study can be conducted to analyze self-cognition of undergraduates and their cognition about the student affairs in the new period. After handling about4000samples from17universities and colleges, it shows that there are many deviations about the self-cognition of undergraduates and their cognitions about student affairs have not been so ideal. For example, some students say they don’t like or feel it unnecessary to get in contact with the student affairs administration workers. Moreover, some students lack a sense of group work and organizational commitment. Others say there is a big gap between the reality of student affairs administration and their own hopes, etc.Second, from the perspective of cognition, this research dissertation analyzes and generalizes the mode and characteristic of students’cognition in the new period. For example, the initiative of cognition is rather highlighted, and the cognitive need becomes diverse, technical, visual, etc. Combining the above empirical investigation and the analyses of the related cases, it can be found that the difference of role cognition between the students and the administrators is an underlying reason to make the student affairs confused. Therefore, there is an urgent problem for the universities and colleges to think and solve both in theory and practice, to help undergraduates form positive cognition, to make students actively take part in the student affairs instead of reacting negatively, and finally, to set up a student affairs administration mode consistent with the cognitive features and need of the undergraduates.Third, this research dissertation establishes a new mode of student affairs administration based on cognitions, which contains target concepts, organizational structures, basic elements, operation practices, operation modes, job evaluations and feedback mechanism, etc. The new mode, of which the starting point is to satisfy the cognition requirements of undergraduates, focuses on guiding students’growth, suggesting cognitive development and promotion, leading study and providing service for life by setting up the interactive cognition way between undergraduates and the staff. By doing this, it can better serve for the cognition, study and integrated development of the students. Speaking to the target perspective of this mode, its management goal subordinates to the university and college, revealing the university spirit and the university idea. Based on the cognition of the university students, it respects their cognitive development theory and cognitive development need. Speaking to the structure of the mode, it consists of the organization module, the function module and the workers module of the student affairs. Speaking to the basic elements of the mode, it contains five points:leading the ideals and ethics, guiding and helping the study, directing the vocational ability, serving the life and the daily routine. Speaking to the operation of the mode, it executes the professionalism and specialization management, its operating rule concentrates on the active involvement, and meets their satisfaction of rational need. The operation mode conducts in a dualistic way. In other words, it means to set the university module and the college module in vertical way in order to better enhance both the two level management from the university and the college, while thinking about improving the communication between the universities and students horizontally, like setting a module to student affairs consultation, service and guide; therefore it balances the relationship among every student affairs administration. Speaking to the rating and feedback, it is needed to establish the integrated evaluate system focusing on the core element of service, development and study. On the basis of the known cognitive features and needs, the obligation goals of the student affairs must be well-defined and the work pattern must be adjusted continuously according to the project and service achievement of the student affairs administration.This research is very significant for it can promote the application of social cognition theory in the student affairs management, reinforce further the theoretical basis of the student affairs administration, and expand the horizon of the student affairs administration. What’s more, it brings some important issues in the practice, and it gives new thoughts and great reference for the practice of the student affairs administration in Chinese universities nowadays.