Running head: FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL

From Hall Director to Professional: Assessing the Graduate Hall Director Assistantship Program

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL Abstract

This qualitative study examines the responses of new student affairs professionals as they reflect upon their experiences as graduate hall directors. The researchers employed semistructured interviews in order to ascertain what skills the participants believed they did or did not obtain from their graduate assistantships. Among these skills were work/life balance; time management; supervision; advising; conflict and crisis management; cultural competence; assessment, evaluation, and research; organizational politics; budgeting; and technological skills. The skills that the participants identified are grouped into three categories: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Professional. Based on the findings, the authors provide suggestions for graduate students, their supervisors, and student affairs graduate programs to increase the transferable skills that students develop. Introduction Many skills are critical for a successful first year student affairs profession. Multiple studies (Burkard, Cole, Ott, & Stoffet, 2004; Ostroth, 1981; Renn & Hodges, 2007; Renn & Jessup-Anger, 2008) examined the skills graduate students need to be successful as they move into their first full-time professional roles. In interviews with mid to senior level professionals who hire entry level student affairs professionals, Burkard, Cole, Ott, and Stoffets (2004) learned that these experienced professionals believed that among the most important skills for new professionals were administration and management, program development and planning, organization, leadership, goal-setting, budget management, technological, and research. Secondary to administrative and management skills, Burkard et al. (2004) observed that human relationship skills, teamwork, team building, counseling, multicultural competence, training students and staff, presentation and group facilitation, advising, conflict resolution and

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL mediation, supervision, crisis intervention, and consultation were integral to the success of first year professionals. They acknowledged that not all skills are taught, but the personal qualities

young professionals bring to the job aid in their success. Burkard et al. (2004) identified some of these important personal qualities as flexibility, interpersonal relations, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and assertiveness. Ostroth (1981) found similar personal qualities to be important, including interpersonal skills, cooperative working relationships, and administrative and organizational skills. Attrition among new student affairs professionals during the first five years is an ongoing concern. Renn and Hodges (2007) studied the attrition rate among new professionals and found that between 50% and 60% leave the field within five years. While it is not entirely clear why new professionals leave the field at these rates, Renn and Hodges (2007) suggested that the professional pressure of the first few years as a possible reason for the high attrition rate. Renn and Jessup-Anger (2008) found that first-year student affairs professionals believe that their assistantships, practicum experiences, and internships were some of the most essential experiences in their graduate preparation. Nevertheless, the gap between preparation and the ability to meet the demands of being a student affairs professional may be a source of disappointment and frustration leading some new professionals to leave the field and pursue a different career path. New student affairs professionals, defined as having five years or fewer experience, comprise approximately 15% to 20% of all student affairs professionals. (Cilente, Henning, Skinner, Jackson, Kennedy, & Sloane, 2006). This statistic included those who have attended student affairs graduate preparatory programs, those who came from other graduate fields and those who came into the profession with only a bachelors degree (Cilente et al., 2006). While many research studies focused on the skills that new professionals and supervisors

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think are critical for entry-level student affairs professionals, there is a surprising lack of research regarding the skills that new professionals believe are underdeveloped or neglected in their graduate preparatory programs. This is information is needed to fully understand what experiences new professionals did not receive in their graduate work that would have been useful to them as a new professional. Renn and Hodges (2007) discussed the importance of addressing the potential culture shock that graduate students may encounter when beginning their first professional role. Such discomfort could be especially prominent if graduate preparatory programs do not acquaint graduate students with the differences in organizational cultures and environments prior to graduation. They identified three themes about the experience of first year student affairs professionals that are important to their success. These are personal relationships, institutional and professional fit, and issues of competence and confidence. These themes occurred during the three phases of initial employment: pre-employment and orientation, transition, and settled in. The transition phase may present additional challenges for new professionals who do not acquire necessary skills in their graduate preparatory programs (Renn & Hodges, 2007). We undertook a qualitative study of the experience of eight first year professionals, all of whom had graduate assistantships as graduate hall directors and attended the same graduate preparation program, to learn what skills they thought were missing from their graduate preparation work in student affairs and how their assistantships aided in preparing them for their first positions as full time student affairs professionals. Our investigation was initially guided by the research question: What skills did new masters level, full-time student affairs professionals gain and are they missing that are necessary for their first professional job? This directly led to our investigation of the question: How do masters level student affairs preparatory program

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL assistantships prepare students for the demands of their first professional student affairs job? Method We employed a qualitative approach to our research because we believe it gave our participants the opportunity to express their thoughts naturally and organically. Since each individual interprets their skills and abilities differently, it would be difficult to assess these elements using quantitative methods. Furthermore, conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews so that our participants responses could provide enough breadth and depth for us to extract meaningful themes. Our participants were eight 2011 graduates of a student affairs masters program, all of whom held a hall director internship during their two years in the program. These alumni were contacted via email to determine whether they were interested in participating in our study. Out of these eight participants, five are currently working in residence life as Residence Directors, Residence Hall Director, and Residence Life Coordinators. The others hold positions as a Coordinator of Student Activities, Student Life Coordinator, and an Academic Advisor. Our participants graduated from a large, public research institution that adheres to the

Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (2006) for the foundations of its curriculum. The types of institutions at which our participants currently work vary considerably. Institution types include an urban private institution, an urban research university, a private religiously affiliated institution, a polytechnic institution, a public liberal arts college, and a public state university. Additionally, the participants supervise a variety of staff sizes ranging from zero to 23 undergraduate students, and one participant supervises a graduate student as well. We conducted the interviews in May and June of 2012. Therefore, the interviewees had

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL been working at their institution for about a year, as they had graduated in May of 2011. The interviews were conducted in-person, through Skype, and on the phone, and they were audio recorded. We used semi-structured interviews with a locally developed interview protocol

consisting of 15 questions and follow up prompts. We intentionally chose questions with answers that would indicate the skills specifically gained or not gained from the hall director assistantship. In creating the questions, we acknowledged that our participants had many contributing factors to their development in graduate school such as classroom learning and practical experience in offices outside of their assistantship. In order to account for these opportunities of additional learning, we asked questions that focused on these experiences as well. Examples of the questions we asked include:
o

What are three or four of the strongest skills you believe you learned as a hall director that have helped you with your current position?

o o o

What skills did you not learn that you wish you would have? Do you feel you had the technical skills necessary to do your current job? Do you feel that your position as a hall director at Rutgers adequately prepared you to deal with crisis management, conflict management, and mediation skills?

What do you feel you learned in the classroom that helped you with your current job?

In order to analyze the interviews, we used a combination of open and focused coding. We transcribed the interviews, and sent the transcriptions to the respective interviewee in order for the participants to check them for accuracy, give feedback, or provide clarification. Using the raw data, we open coded the transcripts to identify data most salient to our study. After completing the open coding process, we organized the information, compared and contrasted our

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL findings, and determined themes that emerged from the interviews. As with many similar studies, including Renn and Hodges (2007) study, one of the primary limitations of this study was in the characteristics and demographics of the participants. Our participants were all in one graduate program and all completed two-year graduate assistantship as a hall director. Clearly, there would be more variations in experiences if we interviewed people who had attended a different graduate program or held a non-hall director internship. Additionally, the method we used to contact our participants, in-person, phone, and Skype interviews, also provided some limitations in that a phone and Skype interview limits the researchers ability to read the participants body language throughout the interview. While our participants were encouraged to be open and honest, there may have been some social desirability bias. We met some of our participants prior to the study at national and local conferences, so they may have wanted to continue to develop a positive rapport with us. Therefore, some of our participants may have been hesitant to identify aspects of the graduate program that needed further development. They may have consciously or subconsciously been concerned that we would look unfavorably on them based on their answers, which could have affected how they responded to our questions. Findings

Through our research, our participants identified many skills that were necessary for their first professional job in student affairs. Once those skills were identified, we organized them into three categories: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Professional (Table 1). Within each category there are multiple skills that participants discussed as either having been developed or lacking. The definitions that we developed and used throughout our focused coding are as follows:

Intrapersonal skills relate to a persons thoughts and ability to make meaning of

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL situations. These skills can be refined through personal growth and learned through experiences. These skills are inherent in how a person lives their life, but they can be learned and developed.

Interpersonal skills involve the ability to effectively interact and communicate with others. These skills can be learned in academic settings or developed through practice and reflection on past and current interactions with others.

Professional skills can be applied to certain jobs and adapted differently in every position. These skills can be learned conceptually, but they must be put into practice in a specific job.

Table 1: Intrapersonal Interpersonal Professional Skills Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Organizational Politics

Work/Life Balance Supervision Time Management Advising

Conflict and Crisis Management Budgeting Cultural Competence Technological Skills

Intrapersonal Skills Intrapersonal skills are rooted in peoples internal foundations and how they make sense of their environment. Our participants revealed how they transferred their experiences as graduate hall directors to work in their current position, both in success and failure. Overall, our participants noted that they felt positively about their experiences in their graduate program and prepared to fulfill the responsibilities of their current positions; however, they also

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL acknowledged that their time in the program was challenging and there were skills they were lacking and needed more development. When asked about Deenas (names are changed to preserve anonymity) overall experience, she said, Now that its over, I realized how much Ive gained from it. . . . I wouldnt be where I am, probably, without the experience. The graduate

hall director assistantship challenged participants to refine their personal practices regarding time management, adaptability and flexibility, and work/life balance. These challenges were necessary in forming the positive practices needed for their current job. In regards to time management, participants identified multi-tasking and prioritization as integral skills that they developed through the hall director assistantship. Sean noted: I think as a hall director you learn very quickly about multi-tasking and prioritization of what youre trying to multitask. . . . You learn to roll with any challenges that come up and also how to prioritize and handle things. Here, because of the small staff size, my office gets hit with a lot of random questions. . . . You learn to drop whatever youre doing. Deena echoed similar sentiments when she explained the difficulties she encountered due to the fast paced nature of her work. She explained how managing the administrative responsibilities of being a hall director could be challenging, and she added: I learned how to multi-task pretty well as a hall director and the emails you receive are unbelievable. . . . Should you miss a day, you miss something big and that I was able to translate to my current position where I get a lot of emails and Im on top of emails. I pride myself in that and getting back to students in a timely fashion because its not always easy to do, but I think again, that kind of, being a little fast paced, I tried to keep on top of everything.

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Participants also discussed the time management skills they developed in graduate school through managing the workload of their coursework, assistantships, and other activities. Multiple participants used the word juggling to describe their daily management of responsibilities. This indicates a sense of unrest and the demanding nature of their multifaceted lives. Rose said, There is obviously a lot of juggling of priorities and triaging of priorities just kind of making decisions about what needs to be done now and what can wait. So things I definitely learned is that the work will always be there tomorrow. Thomas made a similar statement: I think trying to juggle all of the different classes, grad schoolwork on top of that, and res life responsibilities. It really taught me how to focus in on one thing but not forget about everything else. If Im working on a specific committee that can have all my attention for whatever amount of time I have designated toward it, but I cant slack in that time because I know I have so much other responsibilities that need to get done. In addition to time management skills, our participants also focused on the struggles associated with finding a balance between work responsibilities and personal lives. Deena noted, What I wished I would have learned, that I didnt learn, in my hall director internship was having better balance. Honestly, I think this was something that wasnt really taught or expected or that was role modeled like how to have that balance. She elaborated: Balancing grad school and being a hall director was such a huge challenge and I feel that I can handle pretty much anything after that. Even the things that happen in my office, they can be very stressful and huge tasks but sometimes I think that being a hall director was harder. And not just that, but balancing school and being a hall director and personal life was harder. In knowing the demands of graduate school and the hall director assistantship, Deena highlighted

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her ability to handle what comes her way. Having this experience has taught her how important work-life balance is to her personally and what she can do to effectively manage her personal and work life. Rose expressed that being in student affairs, specifically residence life, is a lifestyle in which it is difficult, but possible, to achieve a good balance. She noted: I think this field is a lifestyle. I do truly believe that and it is something I definitely learned at [my graduate institution]. I was told that going in and I dont think I truly understood that until I worked as a hall director. You can easily make this your life and I think it is important to make it a balance just to keep your sanity. Interpersonal Skills Our participants also highlighted various types of Interpersonal skills that are necessary in a professional student affairs position. These skills include: supervision, advising, conflict and crisis management, cultural competence, and parental interaction. All of these skills require a high level of communication and interaction with people. These skills are vital to our participants success because all of their current positions require them to utilize Interpersonal skills to some extent. All of our participants had supervisory responsibilities as hall directors, and most currently have supervisory roles. Effective supervision of a staff is learned through personal experiences both as a supervisor and supervisee. Nancy said, The fact that I oversaw students in an RA position definitely relates to how I oversee see students now and understanding that theyre students first and sometimes thats more important than whatever you need them to do. Rose mentioned that she uses a synergistic style of supervision, which she explained as: The idea that supervision has to be two ways. So I can supervise you but if youre not

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL putting in your part then I cant have a positive relationship with your supervisee. So thats something I really try to instill from day one every time I get a new staff. Similarly, Ben explained that he learned a great deal from his experience supervising students as a hall director, and he has taken the skills he learned in graduate school to his new position. He said: Supervising undergraduates as a graduate student that was a beneficial experience in

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terms of now supervising undergraduates as a professional so that helped a great deal. . . . And I think also having a large staff and a large building at [my graduate institution] helped me work easily transition to a smaller staff and a smaller building so that I can also do all of the things I do outside of my building. Our participants identified that, though related, there is a distinct difference between supervising and advising students. In the context of our interviews, the definition of advising was multifaceted in that it can range from advising student groups to personal conversations and academic advising. Nancy went into detail about her experience in advising student government and explained that she views herself as a guide for her students. She related an anecdote of a conversation she had with her student government to illustrate how she helps her students reach decisions. I definitely spend most of my time trying to figure out how I can push them to think outside of the box and how I can ask them about how intentional they are with what theyre spending. Which is a question that is sometimes a doozie. When theyre like, We want to buy a huge television. And Im like, Okay, wheres it going to go? In the office.

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL Okay well theres 20 people who work in the office, so were using student funds to buy a television for the office. Do you see where Im going with this? So I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to push them to think beyond the obvious.

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Sean echoed Nancy when he said that advising does not only pertain to student groups, but also involves personal conversations regarding concerns students raise: I do student support, which Ill just keep broad. Its academic questions, personal questions, health questions, social questions. You know, any kind of support they need pretty much for any part of their life. With that though I will say theres a strong emphasis on the same issues that transfer students go through. I work with students who are spending a semester abroad, or a year abroad. So for most of them its a new experience. Also included in the Interpersonal skills category are conflict and crisis management, which are significant components of the hall director position. Our participants felt confident encountering any kind of incident has helped them in their professional positions. Aaron related: Duty was no joke. I think while I didnt always appreciate it the night before a paper was due and whatnot, and I really had experience. Whether it was a roommate conflict or mental health or just, you know, someone had a little too much to drink. . . . I think to this day I would not be the strong hall director that I am if it werent for my experiences. While some participants spoke about crisis management, others focused on conflict in terms of staff dynamics. By managing conflict between staff members, participants were more apt to address conflict in the workplace. Deena observed, I definitely have reflected on certain things that have happened especially with my staff, conflicts within my staff and things like that and it

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL has helped me to understand what is happening in my office. While many participants felt as though the graduate hall director position adequately prepared them to manage conflict and crisis situations that they have seen before, at least one participant expressed that she felt unprepared to deal with a crisis situation that she never experienced before. Rose explained: There is something in this past November, we had a fire so I was not prepared for that. There have been several drills but never a real one. So when I actually saw the flames bursting outside the building, its ok I feel like thats kind of a one off that doesnt usually happen.

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Nevertheless, Sean emphasized that he still felt prepared despite not having encountered every possible crisis situation. He said: I obviously havent run into every possible situation out there. You learn to have a little more, to put it eloquently, you learn to handle things with some dignity, and to go into it with grace. So that level of panic, even though you may be freaking out on the inside, your demeanor is very calm. I will say it does have a large impact on how I was able to present myself and how I can handle crisis and conflict and everything from now on. The last Interpersonal skill that our participants spoke about was cultural competence. They discussed that their position as hall directors exposed them to students from a multitude of backgrounds. Therefore, they learned how to create a welcoming environment for all students and openly discuss topics that are uncomfortable to many. Sean said: Another thing I got from being a hall director was actually being able to associate and relate to students in a diverse background, diverse socioeconomic situations, diverse locations. I can relate better [to students] than probably some other people in my position

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just because Im used to their situation of my background as a hall director as opposed to their peers who might not identify why certain phrases offend them, why certain actions they are not comfortable with. Its definitely something I value greatly. Ben echoed Seans assertion by explaining that he feels comfortable interacting with people from diverse backgrounds. Ben provided an example of how his experiences compared to his colleagues: We have some students that are transgender and for some [other professionals] its the first time working with students who are transgender. For me its not the first time, so I feel like I was exposed to it more [through my graduate assistantship], so its helped me here. Rose also discussed cultural competence as it relates to bias incidents. She said, At [my graduate institution], I responded to a couple of bias incidents that were very stressful at the time but put me in a good position to know and feel comfortable with dealing with something like that here. Rose expressed that her graduate assistantship prepared her to handle complex situations involving multicultural issues at her current institution. Professional Skills Professional skills are transferable, but must be tailored to a specific job. All of our participants graduated from the same institution and moved on to position at different institutions, which required each of them to adapt their skill set to a new environment. Some of these transitions were difficult, while other transitions were smoother. While some skills are more tangible, like budgeting and the ability to use technology, others are more abstract such as navigating office and institutional politics. In student affairs, assessment is emphasized as a driving factor in our work.

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL Accountability is becoming an increased focus in student affairs since stakeholders are

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demanding more data to back up the work they support financially (Kretovics, 2002). Formal and informal evaluation of programs and learning outcomes are essential to positive growth. Despite this, none of our participants identified assessment, research, and evaluation as a skill that they obtained from their graduate hall director position. However, as professionals, many of our participants conduct assessment. Most of our participants identified that at least one component of their current job is to work with assessment, evaluation, or research. When asked about assessment, they were only able to credit coursework as contributing to their foundational knowledge. Ben has multiple assessment responsibilities including the programs we do with our students, RA training. Everything we do on a daily basis we assess. William also conducts assessment in his current position. He said: I worked very closely with the faculty associates to launch a survey at the end of the spring semester to assess if we were successful with what we designed in our strategic plan and if not how were going to maybe change some of those goals for next year and how were going to change how we will implement those goals. All other participants, when asked about assessment, reiterated the importance of assessment in their current work. However, none of them attributed their knowledge of assessment and research to their hall director assistantship. Any prior knowledge they cited came from their course in research and assessment in graduate school. Another skill our participants expressed they struggled with in their first professional role was navigating organizational politics. Managing organizational politics is an important professional skill in the workplace. Our participants discussed issues regarding the management of organizational structure in their graduate program and adjusting to a new institutional culture.

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When asked what skills he though he lacked in his first year working in student affairs, William said: I think probably understanding how an organization works. Having done my grad work at a large institution and then now working professionally at a large institution, knowing how an organization runs, knowing a little bit about politics and how to maybe work with a department that has a lot of politics. Similarly, Thomas said that he did not learn how to network through his graduate assistantship. He felt that networking outside of his immediate department was critical to developing a broad understanding of the organization, but he did not have the opportunity to develop this skill as a hall director. He explained: I wish I would have learned more networking outside of the department. Because now that Im at another institution I dont really interact with people outside my department as much. I think I kind of took that for granted at [my graduate institution] because I knew a lot of people in other departments. I never really learned how to network with other people in student affairs but that I dont really get to interact with on a daily basis. New professionals must also navigate the cultural nuances of their current institutions. After a year of employment, the experiences of transitioning into the institution are still fresh in their memories. However, they felt that if they had been guided through these challenges in graduate school, they might have been able to adjust more smoothly when starting their first professional student affairs job. Rose succinctly summarized what many of our participants conveyed. She noted: I wish I would have learned more about the politics in an institution, that is something I really had to pick up quickly when I came to a new school. . . . Something that did take

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL me off guard was just the nuances of politics in higher education; I think it would have been nice to learn a little more about that. Just as organizational culture varies at every institution, the technological knowledge necessary to be successful in a position is unique to each institution. Burkard, Cole, Ott, &

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Stoffet (2004) wrote that technology is a foundational component of student affairs practice. Our participants also explained that technology is an important competency in their positions, but some of them felt that they did not learn general technological skills from their graduate assistantships that could be applied in their new jobs. Instead, they had only learned technology specific to their graduate institution, such as a disciplinary reporting system and a course management platform. William explained, I did not receive any kind of specific trainings that have transferred. I think its all been the same or something I already knew. I got trained in specific things when I got here. William considered himself to be tech savvy, but he still needed to be trained on the specific technologies when he arrived at his new institution. Since some participants did not receive training in their new jobs, they had to teach themselves or learn from other parties. Nancy revealed that it was her students who helped her learn the technological systems at her institution: Whatever I dont know how to do Im kind of teaching myself how to [use technology]. The only difficult thing when it comes to where I am in particular technical things I guess is because they are students they know so much more than I do technology wise. . . . So Ive never used drop box before and that was kind of new online technology I guess that has been happening. Its great, I love it but Ive never heard of it until they taught it to me. Unlike some technologies, the ability to use social media is a transferable skill. Some of

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL our participants felt that they did not learn this skill while in graduate school, even though understanding and using social media is increasingly necessary in student affairs. Sean said: I found that having that skills with social media is something that I cant even begin

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describe. . . . In all honesty, knowing how to communicate with people, how to get your point across. Email, Facebook, Twitter, Skype. All the communication that can be used as a hall director, Ive applied to my position here. I will say that the necessity, especially in this day and age, of knowing social media is something that is tantamount for what I do every day. While Sean said that he felt comfortable with social media going in to his first professional position, other participants did not have the same opinion. Thomas acknowledged that he did not receive sufficient training in social media, and he explained: I think it would have been cool to get experience with utilizing social media within student affairs or higher education. I kind of do that now with my job and Im kind of learning it as I go, so it would have been cool to experience that sooner. Roses response stood out because she was the least comfortable with using social media in her work, and she relies strongly on student workers when it comes to managing social media profiles for her job. She asserted, I have a communication intern who handles the PR stuff, Facebook and Twitter, and all that stuff that young people like to do and I never really had a Facebook. I am eternally grateful for her. She explained that her institution is planning to hire a full-time social media specialist. Discussion and Implications As mentioned previously in this article, Burkard, Cole, Ott, and Stoffets (2004) identified administration and management, program development and planning, organization,

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leadership, goal-setting, budget management, technological, and research as the most important skills for new student affairs professionals. However, our participants only identified leadership, goal setting, and technological skills as competencies they obtained from the aforementioned list. This implies that there is a lack of development of administration and management, budget management, and research skills developed through graduate preparatory student affairs programs. Burkard et al. (2004) also identified human relationship skills, teamwork, team building, counseling, multicultural competence, training students and staff, presentation and group facilitation, advising, conflict resolution and mediation, supervision, crisis intervention, and consultation as secondary to the administrative skills. Our findings reflect that graduate students are developing these secondary skills more than the primary set of skills that Burkard et al. (2004) identified. This is demonstrated through our participants discussion of supervision, advising, conflict and crisis management, cultural competence, all of which they felt had been strongly developed through their assistantships. Additionally, Burkard et al. (2004) expressed that graduate students should focus on the competencies that are critical for the specific type of job they are pursuing. Therefore, each graduate student may have different skill sets that require increased focus to supplement their graduate experiences. Renn and Hodges (2007) presented implications for preparing graduate students to assume professional roles, being a new professional, and supervising new professionals. In doing so, they identified the need for graduate programs to emphasize individual responsibility for students to engage in professional development, how organizational culture impacts new professionals, and the way positional power can shape influence. Our findings are consistent with Renn and Hodges (2007) findings, as we conclude that students would benefit from discussion about organizational culture and budgeting. Since graduate students inherently do not

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL have the same amount of responsibility as full time professional staff members, there are remedies that can supplement their experiences. Renn and Hodges (2007) also suggested that

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students should be proactive in enhancing their experience, and that supervisors can assist their transition to the professional world. Since our participants were not full-time professional staff members, they did not have the same opportunities to develop certain skills as student affairs professionals, such as interacting with parents, budgeting, and understanding organizational culture. Our participants identified a lack of autonomy as a leading factor for their lack of development of certain skills. Nancy said: I felt like there wasnt really a sense of full autonomy as a hall director. [Our supervisors] gave you the accountability to say This is my building and you can make of it what you want but then they also pulled back with something and said, no you cant do this and not really give a reason why. And I have a hard time not hearing the why. Nancy continued to explain that had she had more autonomy, she may have learned more about budgeting as a whole, beyond managing the small budget for her building. She stated: I would have liked to know a little bit more about budgeting. Because thats not something that I really ever needed to do as a hall director. We kept a budget, but our numbers were so small that we knew we were never going to spend really anything and we knew we had the support of the residence life office. Nancy said that her supervisor managed the bigger budget and she was able to ask for extra money at any point. Therefore, she did not learn to look at the bigger budget and understand how the budget for her residence hall fit into the bigger picture. Sean echoed similar concerns when he said that being at the bottom of the hierarchy as a

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL graduate student kept him from having autonomy and learning from having to make tough decisions. He explained:

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There was a large structure for a hierarchy when issues came up. Which is a good thing, you have somebody above you that you can go to ask questions. Somebody you can ask when you dont want to be accountable for something, you can pass the bigger situations up. Based on our findings, we believe there are specific actions that supervisors, students, and graduate programs can take in order to enhance the experience of students in graduate programs. Supervisors of graduate students have a unique position in that they are often looked to as mentors by their supervisees. Supervisors can take several steps to support them in their journey to becoming new professionals including evaluating the skills students are lacking and how such skills can be developed in their current assistantships. By identifying weaker skills, the supervisor can intentionally develop their graduate students proficiency in those areas. It would also be helpful to provide supervisees with regular feedback so they are aware of areas for improvement and cognizant of what they are doing well. We believe our participants reflection process is highly significant. Through reflecting, they are able to identify areas of personal strength and weakness and remember this experience if they become supervisors of graduate students in the future. Another step that supervisors can implement is to explain the organizational culture of the institution. In doing so, the graduate student may feel more comfortable to ask questions and be more willing to take advantage of future opportunities. Supervisors can also explain effective methods of communicating within the department and how to relay concerns. Creating and sustaining relationships and explaining how the organization functions is helpful for a student

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affairs graduate student. Since supervisors are assisting in the process of preparing the graduate student for employment, it is important that supervisors support their students professionally. Additionally, there are multiple steps graduate students can take to enhance their experience while in school. It can be extremely helpful for graduate students to find a mentor who can help them pursue opportunities and advance their career. Another concrete step that graduate students can take is to attend conferences both within and outside of the functional area of their assistantship. Since they may not be interested in or able to work in the same functional area after graduation, it is important to network with a variety of professionals and develop skills and competencies that are necessary for many types of professional positions. Graduate students can also network on an individual basis by setting up meetings with student affairs professionals. These meetings can be informal and exploratory, and students can ask professionals to meet over coffee to discuss their career goals and ask for advice. This will help graduate students network and understand what skills need more development to work in other functional areas. Lastly, in order to improve the graduate student experience, we believe that student affairs preparatory programs can encourage graduate students to incorporate additional internship and professional development experiences. Programs can also provide adequate flexibility for students to take advantage of such opportunities. For instance, programs can offer credit for independent studies, which provide students with practical experience. Additionally, graduate programs can facilitate networking events that help connect graduate students to the university community and organizational culture. Finally, we believe that it is vital for graduate programs to align their mission and goals with The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (2006) in order to ensure that graduate students develop the competencies and skills necessary to excel professionally. In order to adhere to the Council for the Advancement of

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL Standards in Higher Education (2006), graduate programs should regularly assess the extent to which critical competencies are being addressed within curricular and co-curricular aspects of the program. While our findings reflect that graduate students develop critical skills through their assistantships, it is important that future research on this subject is explored. Our study focuses on the experiences of eight graduate students who all completed graduate assistantships as hall

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directors, but research should also be conducted on graduate students with assistantships in other functional areas. Our study raises additional questions regarding how graduate students can supplement their graduate program curriculum with additional experiences that lead to further skill development. Further inquiry that considers the holistic graduate preparatory experience and acknowledges the growth that students experience both inside and outside of the classroom may provide additional insight.

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL References

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Burkard, A., Cole, D. C., Ott, M., & Stoffet, T. (2004). Entry level competencies of new student affairs professionals: A Delphi study. NASPA Journal, 42(3), 283-309. Cilente, K., Henning, G., Skinner Jackson, J., Kennedy, D., & Sloan, T. (2006). Report on the new professional needs study. Washington, DC.: American College Personnel Association. Retrieved December 13, 2012, from http://www.myacpa.org/research/newprofessionals.php Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. (2006). CAS professional standards for higher education (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Evans, N. J. (1988). Attrition of student affairs professionals: A review of the literature. Journal of College Student Development, 29, 1924. Janosik, S. M., Creamer, D. G., Hirt, J. B., Winston, R. B., Saunders, S.A., & Cooper, D. L. (Eds.). (2003). Supervising new professionals in student affairs: A guide for practitioners. New York: Brunner-Routledge. Kretovics, M. (2002). Entry level competencies: What student affairs administrators consider when screening candidates. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 912920. Lovell, C. D., & Kosten, L. A. (2000). Skills, knowledge, and personal traits necessary for success as a student affairs administrator: A meta-analysis of thirty years of research. NASPA Journal, 37(4), 353369 Magolda, P. M., & Carnighi, J. E. (Eds.). (2004). Job one: Experiences of new professionals in student affairs. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. Ostroth, D. (1981). Competencies for entry-level professionals: What do employers look for when hiring new staff? Journal of College Student Personnel, 22, p 5-11.

FROM HALL DIRECTOR TO PROFESSIONAL Palmer, C. J. (1995). Graduate preparation of residence hall directors: The addition and subtraction dilemma. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 25, 58.

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Renn, K. A., & Hodges J. P. (2007). The first year on the job: Experience of new professionals in student affairs. NASPA Journal, 44(2), 367-391. Renn, K. A., & Jessup-Anger, E. R. (2008). Preparing new professionals: Lessons for graduate preparation programs from the national study of new professionals in student affairs. Journal of College Student Development, 49(4), 319-335. doi: 10.1353/csd.0.0022