Higher Education Student Affairs Administration

Program begins Fall 2013; with program director approval, elective coursework may be taken on a non-matriculated basis prior to the formal start of the program

The Master of Science in Higher Education Student Affairs Administration (HESAA) prepares its graduates for careers in a range of academic, residential, and co-curricular settings. By taking a longitudinal view of student development within a socio-cultural and historical context, the program provides future higher education professionals with the skills and understanding they will need to guide, mentor, and support college students so that those students can shape their futures in proactive and healthy ways. The curriculum as a whole, and many of the individual core and elective courses, provide an opportunity for the dynamic integration of numerous disciplines and perspectives that can be brought to bear on understanding the college student experience. Course work can be drawn from a range of disciplines including but not limited to management, psychology, education, social work, and the humanities.

Graduates of the HESAA program will be prepared to become service providers and professionals within a variety of higher education settings including but not limited to the following: Residential Life, Enrollment, Admissions, Advisement, Career Services, Financial Aid, Student Activities, Civic Engagement, and First Year Experiences. Through their work in the program graduates will develop the ability to focus on the needs of students while assessing, supporting, managing, and communicating those needs to colleagues.

The program will:

• Prepare students to serve as effective staff and administrators in Student Affairs, with combined strengths in collaborative management, fiscal organization, and student life in a higher education setting.
• Enable students to investigate and appreciate the importance of various contexts on students’ academic and co-curricular experience, including developmental, economic, ethnic, gender, religious, sexual preference, and historical influences that affect college and university experience.
• Emphasize an empirical approach to organizational assessment, research, communication and intervention.
• Offer internship/practicum opportunities to apply and integrate academic with experiential, practical learning.

Program Director
Diane Enerson, Ph.D.

PROGRAM ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

1. Completed Online Application
2. Completion of the professional statement as described on the application
3. Official transcripts from all colleges attended
   
   • Applicant must have completed, or will be completing, a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with a cumulative index of 3.0 and a “B” average in the major field by the start date of the desired term.
     • An applicant who does not meet these grade point average expectations must address them in his/her professional statement; please see the Professional Statement section of the admissions application for further information.
   • All students in the program must demonstrate proficiency in basic statistics by successfully completing an undergraduate statistics course with a grade of “C” or higher. In addition, an applicant who selects the “Management & Organization” electives cluster must also show completion of MGT 212 (Organization and Management) or its equivalent with a grade of “C” or higher.
     • Applicants who do not meet these prerequisite requirement(s) prior to application can fulfill the requirement by completing the necessary course(s) by the end of first year of graduate study, either by enrolling in them prior to matriculating or concurrently during the first year of graduate study.
4. Two letters of recommendation
5. Resume
6. Applicants who are selected for an interview will be contacted by the departmental admissions committee.

Application Deadline
February 1  for Fall Term
October 1 for Spring Term
Applications received after the stated deadline will be processed on a space-available basis.

Recommended Course Sequence (note - core HESAA courses and formal admission to the program will begin Fall 2013; elective options are available immediately on a non-matriculated basis with program director approval)