A recent study at the Boston College Center for International Higher Education indicated that "despite the massive need for capacity building, and the growing interest among providers to respond to this need, most programs train very small number of higher education managers and leaders. At the same time, the wide array of actors providing training programs largely fails to coordinate efforts. This presents a landscape of disperse, uncoordinated, territorial, and ultimately insufficient training opportunities and trainer expertise."
As numerous countries around the world strive to open or expand higher education opportunity to larger numbers of students, having the administrative/leadership expertise to do it effectively is key. Student affairs is certainly one of the areas of expertise that is lacking, primarily because it is often an unrecognized and ubiquitous aspect of student learning and development.
I recently spoke to the Latin American Summit on Education in Santiago, Chile. It was highly informative to visit five Chilean campuses as I completed final preparation for my lecture. My remarks, "Opportunities and Challenges of Enhancing Student Learning and Development," were perfectly positioned to complement the three speakers/panels that preceded me. The other speakers spoke of enhancing the student experience as if it only occurred in the classroom. The door was wide open to provide the evidence from U.S.A. higher education that out of class experiences are equally important and necessary if institutions want to have a deep impact on student learning.
Chile has demonstrated an interest and is building capacity in higher education leadership and it is paying attention to student affairs. The questions that lie ahead include; how will research/theory be adapted from the U.S.A. experience and what will be the most effective strategies for building professional capacity for leadership in student affairs? As can be seen in these pictures, facilities to accommodate more students with higher quality opportunity are increasingly available. What happens through the in and out of class educational initiatives will be the proof in the end; it was gratifying to be part of the conversation exploring this question.
As numerous countries around the world strive to open or expand higher education opportunity to larger numbers of students, having the administrative/leadership expertise to do it effectively is key. Student affairs is certainly one of the areas of expertise that is lacking, primarily because it is often an unrecognized and ubiquitous aspect of student learning and development.
I recently spoke to the Latin American Summit on Education in Santiago, Chile. It was highly informative to visit five Chilean campuses as I completed final preparation for my lecture. My remarks, "Opportunities and Challenges of Enhancing Student Learning and Development," were perfectly positioned to complement the three speakers/panels that preceded me. The other speakers spoke of enhancing the student experience as if it only occurred in the classroom. The door was wide open to provide the evidence from U.S.A. higher education that out of class experiences are equally important and necessary if institutions want to have a deep impact on student learning.
Chile has demonstrated an interest and is building capacity in higher education leadership and it is paying attention to student affairs. The questions that lie ahead include; how will research/theory be adapted from the U.S.A. experience and what will be the most effective strategies for building professional capacity for leadership in student affairs? As can be seen in these pictures, facilities to accommodate more students with higher quality opportunity are increasingly available. What happens through the in and out of class educational initiatives will be the proof in the end; it was gratifying to be part of the conversation exploring this question.
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