University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Contents

MA in college Student Affairs

Mission

The mission of the College Student Affairs Program is to provide entry level professional development to qualified individuals who have special interest in college students and the higher educational environments that affect their development. Graduates of the program are prepared to function effectively in a variety of positions in the field of College Student Affairs in two-and four-year institutions of higher education. In addition, this program enables working professionals to increase their skills, knowledge, and abilities to compete for professional positions of increasing responsibility and scope. Program graduates are prepared to assume professional roles as coordinators, directors and assistant directors in such specialty areas as academic advising centers, admissions, financial aid, career services, disability offices, Greek affairs, judicial affairs, international student programs, minority affairs, orientation programs, offices of residence life, student life/activities offices, and offices of alumni affairs.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet the general requirements for admission to the UALR Graduate School and may apply to the program at any time during the year. Students must complete and provide the following items:

Application for admission to the Graduate School and the Master of Arts in College Student Affairs

Biographical information form

GRE (2-part) score of 900 or 396 on the MAT

Official transcripts from colleges previously attended with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale

Two-page, typed, and double-spaced explanation of the reasons for applying to the program and the goals the students expect to achieve.

Candidates who have at least an overall GPA of 2.5 and if only one criterion is achieved (the required test score or required GPA), the student may present a profile demonstrating progressively successful professional development experience beyond the bachelor’s degree and successfully complete the interview with the program faculty to be admitted conditionally to the program. Upon successful completion of six hours, the student may receive regular admission to the program.

Following a review of the application materials, students sit for an interview with one-two faculty members as part of the admissions process.

Objectives

To enhance the leadership skills of entry-level college student affairs administrators

To provide thorough grounding in the knowledge and understanding of college student affairs philosophy, perspectives, functional areas, and ethical and legal standards

To provide thorough grounding in the knowledge and understanding of college student development

To enhance student understanding and appreciation of the legal foundations and constraints, which affect College Student Affairs practice.

To enable graduates to design and implement quality and multi-faceted programs.

To enable graduates to deal effectively with interpersonal conflict and campus crises.

To enhance student attitudes, beliefs, values, and self-awareness necessary to serve students who are culturally different from themselves.

To enable graduates to use technology in their interactions with college students.

Curriculum

The MA in College Student Affairs is a 36-hour program consisting of three components:
Foundational Studies-the study of the foundations of higher education and student affairs
Professional Studies–student development theory, student characteristics and effects of college on students, individual and group interventions, organization and administration of student personnel services in higher education, and assessment, evaluation, and research
Supervised practice consists of one or two semester-long internship/practica in two distinct areas.

The program design follows the standards and guidelines for the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) and meets the minimum curricular requirements set by Commission XII of the American College Personnel Association.
For more information about UALR and its programs:
http://www.ualr.edu
http://www.ualr.edu/coedept

Coordinator

Masters Degree information can be obtained from:
John A. Kuykendall, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
College of Education
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Dickinson Hall 419
Little Rock, AR 72204-1099
501.569.8932 (0) 501.569.3547 (Fax)
email jakuykendall@ualr.edu

Financial Aid

Graduate School Information and Student Services/Graduate Assistantships and Applications or General Information can be obtained from:
Sharon Clowney, Assistant Dean
UALR Graduate School
2801 So. University Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72204
Telephone: 501-569-8781
e-mail: swclowney@ualr.edu

Financial Aid Information can be obtained from:
UALR Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
2801 So. University Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72204
Telephone: 501-569-3318

Graduate Assistantships in the Department of Educational Leadership can be obtained from:
Dr. Elizabeth Vaughn-Neely, Chairperson
Department of Educational Leadership
2801 So. University Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72204
Telephone: 501-569-3367
e-mail: eivaughn@ualr.edu

Core Requirements (27 Hours)

HIED 7300 Higher Education in the US: An Overview
HIED 8343 Legal Aspects of Higher Education
HIED 7351 Intro to College Student Affairs
HIED 7352 Student Development Theory
HIED 7354 Organization & Leadership in College Student Affairs
HIED 7360 Practicum in College Student Affairs (min of 150 hours)
HIED 8350 American College Student
HIED 8353 Assessment & Program Evaluation in Student Affairs
EDFN 7303 Introduction to Research

Electives (9 Hours)

CNSL 7301 Theoretical Approaches to Counseling
CNSL 7302 Models of Techniques for Counseling Interviews
CNSL 7308 Cross Cultural Counseling
EDFN 7304 Basic Statistics
EDFN 7373 Qualitative Research Methods
HIED 8320 The Two-Year College in America
HIED 8331 College Instruction
HIED 8340 Organizational Behavior in Higher Education

Capstone Experience (Selective)

Comprehensive Written Exam
Academic Thesis
Portfolio