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CSA Program helps train college leaders of the future

By Andy Elder, Student Affairs Writer

Like so many career paths, student affairs professionals are seldom born. Rather they are developed, nurtured over time.

Robert Reason, Professor-in-Charge of the College Student Affairs Program at Penn State, knows this.

"Students don't go to college thinking they want to pursue a career in student affairs," he said. At Penn State, which has a national reputation for a first-class student affairs division, students quickly realize just how far-reaching and effective student affairs can be. Some of those students are compelled to pursue a career in which they reciprocate.

So, Reason said, six or seven years ago Penn State noticed the field was changing. Drawing on the university's nationally ranked Counselor Education and Higher Education programs, administrators created the College Student Affairs Program.

"It falls somewhere in between those two programs," Reason said. "It's a cutting-edge program that draws from both of them."

Penn State’s College Student Affairs Program is a collaborative program between the Counselor Education and Higher Education programs designed to educate and train professionals for careers in a college or university setting. Student affairs is a professional field in higher education that promotes student learning and development.

The curriculum for the College Student Affairs Program is designed to satisfy three major objectives:

1. Provide a theoretical background and knowledge related to college students, the higher education context and the student affairs profession.
2. Provide theoretical background and knowledge related to counseling college students.
3. Provide guided and supervised experiences that allow students to intentionally apply theoretical knowledge to professional situations.

Students can earn a master’s degree in College Student Affairs with an emphasis in College Counseling or Leadership and Administration.

The College Counseling emphasis focuses specifically on individual and group counseling skills and techniques. Students learn individual, group and institutional interventions designed to facilitate student development and create humane educational environments in which students from diverse backgrounds can succeed.

The Leadership and Administration option focuses on understanding students and student affairs in the larger context of higher education administration and policy. Leadership and Administration students study the role of student affairs in American higher education, focus on the outcomes of higher education for college students and refine their knowledge in specific areas through electives.

So far, one class has graduated with a master's of education in CSA. Two other cohorts are currently working toward completion. In sharing their thoughts and experiences in the program, three members of those cohorts — Dina Liberatore, Alix Felix and Julie Sanzone — confirmed Reason's contention that eventual CSA candidates shape their decisions over time and originate from varied undergraduate disciplines.

"I chose Penn State's CSA program because of the strong reputations of the faculty in counselor ed and higher ed, the emphasis placed on counseling and the fact that Penn State is a great school with a beautiful campus. Also, with 40,000 undergrads, it's really the best place to learn about student affairs on a large scale," Liberatore said.

"I had a really great experience as an undergraduate at Moravian. I had great advisors for my majors and was heavily involved, so after I graduated I decided that I wanted to help other college students create their own great experiences during college."

Sanzone's interest in a profession in student affairs started early in her undergrad days.

"I knew from my experience working in Residence Life as a resident assistant (at Ohio State) and hall director that I had a strong interest in the field of student affairs. I began as a computer engineering student, but after an internship the summer after my junior year, I knew I wanted to be in a role where I was more in touch with people. I loved being an RA and a leader in various student groups and philanthropy projects," she said.

"Specifically, my interest in Penn State's CSA program arose from my interest to be at an institution where students had a lot of school pride and, although Ohio State was an attractive option, I really wanted a new experience. Dr. Bob Reason, the faculty member in charge of the CSA program, was also instrumental in helping me make a decision. Our conversation about the program and the faculty combined with a visit to the campus really helped me solidify my decision."

For Felix, Penn State's reputation as a leader in counselor education and higher education helped shape the decision.

"In my summer between my junior and senior years at Gettysburg College, I stayed on campus. During that time I had the opportunity to work very closely with one of the associate deans of College Life. I became very interested in her job and started to research the way to go about getting the right credentials to obtain such a position," she said.

"After I became aware that there were graduate programs in student affairs, I began whittling down the list. Penn State was obviously a top choice because it is a coordination between two very successful programs, the counselor education and higher education programs. Additionally, I knew that I wanted a very different experience from my undergraduate experience. Gettysburg is a private, liberal arts institution ... much different from Penn State."

The formal CSA program might be relatively new, but Reason described it as "a brand-new program with a very long history." For most of those years, he said, it has been an emphasis in the counselor education program. But in that short time of being a formal program, CSA has expanded its sphere of interest.

"In the last three to four years, it's gone from being a regional program to being a national, even international, program," Reason said. But even as interest has turned global, the program, by design, has remained relatively small.

"Last year, we attracted more than 75 applications. We're planning on accepting seven or eight," Reason said. "We accept 10-12 new students every year. And that's about where we want to be. We're constraining our growth. We're really only two years old, so we don't want to grow too quickly. We want to provide the right experiences to our graduate students. It's an intricate balance."

Maintaining that intimacy has been partly out of necessity.

"We have three full-time faculty members dedicated to this. But we have very strong affiliate faculty members. They're full-time professionals at Penn State who hold doctoral degrees who have expressed an interest to teach, advise students, host graduate assistantships and internships," Reason said.

Those affiliate faculty members extend to the very top of Student Affairs. They include Vice President for Student Affairs, Vicky Triponey, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Philip Burlingame, and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Arthur Carter.

"Everybody's been great," Reason stressed. "We wouldn't be growing if it weren't for their support. We've built a great relationship with student affairs. Vicky and Philip have been actively teaching classes. Vicky has not only provided moral support, but financial support as well."

Triponey, Burlingame, Carter, and the CSA program have all combined to help spread the Student Affairs mission and vision. All of the CSA candidates, in addition to being full-time students, also are committed to 20-hour-per-week assistantships.

"They’re learning on the job while they are also a full-time student," Reason said. "Plus, they’re providing services to undergraduate students."

For Reason, whose first duty when he started in January 2003 was to finalize the paperwork to have the CSA recognized as a formal program, the personal involvement has been rewarding.

"I'm continually amazed at how high the quality of students is. They come in ready to be active participants in their profession. It's very exciting," he said. "It makes me feel good learning how we're providing services to students at Penn State. And I'm continually amazed at how the students handle everything we throw at them."

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