| The Student Affairs literature contains numerous approaches and strategies for bridging the gap between Student and Academic Affairs on college campuses. The use of student affairs professionals as instructors of credit-bearing courses is one example of such collaborative efforts. The student affairs literature identifies student affairs professionals as educators. While most college campuses use student affairs to teach courses, few student affairs professionals teach credit-bearing courses. As a phenomenological study, this research examines the culture, structure and politics of Departments of Student Affairs as seen through the experiences of Chief Student Affairs Officers. An electronic survey was administered and determined that demographic data alone was not enough to determine whether or not a Department of Student Affairs would have professionals teaching a course. Follow up telephone interviews of Chief Student Affairs Officers from 40 different colleges and universities included in the electronic survey were interviewed about the division that they oversee, and any courses taught by student affairs professionals to determine what role culture, structure and politics play in determining if student affairs professionals teach credit-bearing courses. Requirements for participation in the study included the course be provided be included in the undergraduate curriculum, the course award college credit for completion and the course content focus on Student Affairs theory and/or practice.;This research found that there is no unique set of organizational elements shared by those institutions that have student affair professionals teaching or by those that do not. A set of descriptive information such as the types of classes that are offered, the percentage of professionals from a department of student affairs that teach, the academic departments the courses are often affiliated with and the title and status of the instructors was identified. Rationale for why those colleges that do not offer student affairs taught courses is provided, as are recommendations for further action. |
