In Episode 23 of the EdUp Provost podcast, host Gregor Thuswaldner interviewed Amelia Parnell, President of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. Read an excerpt from the episode here:
EdUp Provost: What are some current trends in student affairs that provosts should especially pay close attention to?
Amelia Parnell:
One that comes to mind for sure is the evolution of the academic transcript. I'm mentioning that because the role of student affairs as facilitators of learning—I put that in the context of the provost because, obviously, academic affairs, learning, is at the top of the agenda. The trend that we're seeing very, very quickly increasing is that students are perceiving their learning as happening everywhere on the campus.
So whether they're in a club or activity experience, whether they're studying abroad, whether they're in a service-learning experience, or whether they're in the classroom studying something in their biology department, they're learning in all places. And so that's starting to show up in a new conversation about how the transcript or other official learning records—and capturing of skills and competencies and abilities of what students can do—is starting to evolve.
Student affairs is part of that, and we're probably going to see even more discussions of what's called now the Learning and Employment Record. Prior to that, it was called the Comprehensive Learner Record. Prior to that, it was called the Comprehensive Student Record. Regardless of the naming convention, the idea is that we're going to see more records that are going to be pulling in evidence of learning both inside the classroom and outside the classroom.
And I think that's important for provosts because provosts are going to be leading the strategy in many cases for how the academic pieces are captured and measured for the foreseeable future. But as more partners like student affairs get involved in the conversation, I think it's an opportunity to share some lessons learned and also find a place to make that narrative of what students are learning a pretty smooth and seamless discussion.
EdUp Provost.: As you know, many institutions have separate divisions for student affairs and academic affairs. How do you see these areas working together more effectively nationwide? Can you share examples of where this collaboration is working well?
Amelia Parnell:
I'm glad you asked this question. It’s probably the most popular question I get, other than what NASPA does. It’s truly one of the most essential relationships. Excellence, to me, is not just when a provost and a vice president for student affairs are partnering together as part of the cabinet but when that type of relationship flows across the whole division.
So you'll see faculty partnering with student affairs advisors, and so on. I like to think of it as a community approach. And, of course, there should be clear lanes for people to move in and specific roles for them to take on. But the dream that I have is that we will move away from the conversation of 'either-or'—which one is more important, which one’s more influential—and instead focus on one agenda.
A great example is the University of South Carolina’s 'Beyond the Classroom Matters' initiative. It’s an effort to not just capture student experiences but to document the learning that happens beyond the classroom in a verified and validated way that students can take with them after college. That’s a thriving partnership. Another example is Tarrant County College, where faculty and student affairs have partnered to use e-portfolios to capture student learning. These are just two examples of what’s possible when collaboration works.
Listen here to the entire conversation on EdUp Provost, the podcast of the Association of Chief Academic Officers in collaboration with The EdUp Experience. EdUp Provost is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
