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Heading into the 2024 fall semester, health, safety & well-being is the top area of focus for vice presidents for student affairs (VPSAs) and assistant vice presidents for student affairs (AVPs), according to a new survey report from NASPA.
Last week, the association released findings from its inaugural survey, 2024 NASPA Top Issues in Student Affairs.
The survey presented VPSAs and AVPs with over 50 issues within five key areas and asked them to rank the issues by level of importance at their institutions in 2024.
The five key areas included:
Administration and Governance Assessment and Evaluation Health, Safety, and Well-Being Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Technology and Innovation
“In thinking about the number of voices in the higher education field that can speak to the multitude and diversity of student experiences, student affairs professionals come to mind as a critical perspective at the table,” Dr. Jhenai Chandler, NASPA vice president of research and policy, told HigherEdJobs.
“The 2024 Top Issues in Student Affairs survey is an inaugural effort to provide a snapshot of where administrators see their campuses prioritizing student success efforts,” he continued. “We hope that over time, the survey will allow for comparative analysis and reflect the evolving realities of student affairs work across diverse institutional contexts.”
The top five issues that participants are focusing on are all among the health, safety, and well-being area, with the number one priority being to “provide students with health, safety, and well-being related education and training,” followed closely by “increasing awareness of and access to mental health services for students.”
These results are not entirely surprising. Student mental health has been a hot topic in recent years and many colleges and universities have opened wellness centers and launched cross-campus well-being programs. These efforts seem to line up with the findings of NASPA’s survey, which also revealed that student affairs professionals are seeking to increase “campus-wide collaboration and approach” to wellness.
While health and well-being may have topped the list of priorities, VPSAs and AVPs also have assessment & evaluation, as well as administration and governance, on the brain. This fall, they hope to “address funding challenges,” “hire and retain staff and faculty,” “use direct feedback from students to improve student supports,” and “use communication tools (such as dashboards) to help professionals make data-informed decisions),” among other goals.
“Nearly all survey respondents indicated both ‘using direct feedback from students to improve student supports’ and ‘including students in decision-making’ as issues that are either very important or somewhat important to their institutions this year,” Chandler said. “Now is a critical time to build sustainable mechanisms to meaningfully engage students, including those whose voices are often underrepresented in traditional governance platforms, who bring a diverse range of lived experiences, and are balancing multiple priorities outside of the classroom.”
NASPA’s survey also asked professionals how they are preparing to tackle these pressing issues. The responses had many common themes including “leveraging strategic planning, building staffing capacity, and engaging in cross-campus partnerships.”
Other topics that student affairs professionals are considering include:
Ways that AI might be used safely and ethically to improve operations How to secure federal and state grants to address health and wellness needs Using data dashboards and ensuring accessibility for key stakeholders How to navigate recent legislation related to DEI efforts and continue to support marginalized students
“We hope that these findings are affirming for institutions who have invested in efforts to address longstanding and emerging student needs, and that they underscore shared priorities and the potential to move the needle through collective action,” shared Alexa Wesley Chamberlain, NASPA director of research and strategy. “Now is a critical time to facilitate peer-to-peer learning about how administrators are driving change through collaboration, student engagement, and data-assessment.”
For a closer look at these pressing issues and possible solutions, see NASPA’s full report.
