Running head: AREAS OF GROWTH LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE

Areas of Growth Learning Outcome Narrative

Tiff Hayes
SDA Portfolio
Spring 2015
Seattle University

AREAS OF GROWTH LEARNING OUTOME NARRATIVE

Considering my experiences and development during the SDA program, I see most of the
significant change has been in understanding context and improving my scholarship. My
growth in these areas can be seen through my experiences and development in navigating
politics, incorporating best practices, and understanding law, policy, finance, and governance.
Navigating Politics: LO 1 & 10 | Artifacts B2, C1, C2 & C3
Understanding and knowing how to navigate politics in higher education is one of the
areas I needed development in when I started the SDA program. Although I worked
professionally in the field for some time prior to my time at SU, I was very focused on the
practice piece of my role, and not on how to work within the system I was in. I believe much of
my growth in this area is attributed to L.O. #1: Understanding the foundations and emerging
nature of the Student Affairs profession and higher education, and more specifically through
understanding the history of student affairs, understanding emerging trends in student affairs,
and spotting issues as they arise.
SDAD 577: Foundations of the Student Affairs profession, a required course in the
program, and one I took in my first quarter, was crucial to my beginning to understand the
history of student affairs. We spent time in class learning about how the field of student affairs
has developed and changed over the years. Knowing this history helps me understand the context
that I work in today and has shown me how much the field has changed which gives me hope
that it will continue to change, bend, and adapt as our students do. My professional mission
statement (Article B2) demonstrates why this is important, I know the system I have chosen to
engage in benefits some while marginalizing others I will work to provide access to those
whose voices are not heard and empower them along the way (Hayes, 2015).

AREAS OF GROWTH LEARNING OUTOME NARRATIVE

Understanding emerging trends is also essential in navigating politics, understanding
context, and understanding the foundations of Student Affairs. Emerging trends can give clues as
to which groups of students need the most support, and many times, can offer guidance in how to
make policy and procedure changes to be sure changes happen as smoothly as possible. In
completing my best practices course (SDAD 5750) independently, I visited a campus in
Brooklyn, New York that serves almost all low-income and first-generation students. Because of
their population, Kingsborough Community College thrives by adapting and changing services
and support for students depending on emerging trends and assessing what their students need. In
the Scholarly Reflection (Artifact C2) I wrote after visiting the KCC campus, I discussed this at
length. The majority of Kingsboroughs students identify as first-generation students of color,
so the college places a great deal of importance on frontloading services and giving students
more information and support than they might need so that they can see how many resources are
available to them (Hayes, 2014). Because Kingsborough understands emerging trends of the
field and of their students, they have been successful at retaining many at-risk students.
Spotting issues as they arise is also extremely important in navigating politics and
understanding the foundations and emerging nature of student affairs. In EDAD 570: Leadership
in Education, we learned about the concept of tuning, which is the ideas that people are,
powerfully influenced by [their] surroundings and history (Heifetz et al., 2009, p. 195), which
I discuss in the leadership philosophy I wrote in the same course (Artifact C3). Tuning is the
key to spotting issues as they arise, because it requires that we have established relationships
with our teams and students and can sense when emotions or people are a bit off. I have learned
how vital it is for a healthy team to have good tuning skills because they enable them to spot
issues as they arise and deal with them before they grow into larger problems.

AREAS OF GROWTH LEARNING OUTOME NARRATIVE

The other piece of navigating politics that Id like to discuss is L.O. #10: Establishing
and enhancing professional identity. My understanding of this learning outcome has grown
during the SDA program in many ways through sharing my professional pathway, growing my
network, and understanding my impact on others and the student affairs profession.
During the SDA program I have come to learn the importance of stories and how
important they are in building relationships, establishing who we are, and understanding our own
identities. The autoethnography I wrote (Artifact C1) in SDAD 578: Student Development
Theory, Research, and Practice showcases the process I went through in examining my story and
some of my identities and connecting them to the work I have done, am currently doing, and will
do. The experiences and identities I discuss have shaped mewriting my autoethnography and
sharing my professional pathway have helped to establish and enhance my professional identity.
Another aspect of understanding context through navigating politics and establishing and
enhancing my professional identity is how much I have grown my network during the SDA
program. Because I spent 5 years in the field prior to the program, I was already connected to
professionals in the area prior to the program, but I have been very intentional during these two
years to expand my network and meet folks in different functional areas. Serving as the SUSDA
Internship and Networking chair this year is one way that Ive done this successfully. In
coordinating the Internship and Networking Fair I was able to connect with SDA alums and
community partners working in the area. The fairs success is an example of how my
professional identity has developed during my time in the SDA program.
A big part of navigating politics and establishing and enhancing professional identity is
understanding my impact on others and on the student affairs profession. My development in
this area took place all throughout the program, but was highly concentrated in my experience as

AREAS OF GROWTH LEARNING OUTOME NARRATIVE

an Academic Advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences, which has been my graduate
assistantship during the program. My impact on my students is direct and immediately visible.
The conversations I have with them are focused on their needs and enhancing their growth and
development. It has been wonderful to see the kind of impact I can have on my students, even
though I only see most of them once per quarter for 30 minutes. Understanding the context in
which I am working and they are living and learning in has been crucial in these conversations,
and has helped me strengthen my professional identity as a student advocate. Mannings (2013)
thoughts have stuck with me from SDAD 576: Leadership and Governance in Post-Secondary
Education that organizations are not isolated entities but institutions situated in a context that
includes history, past players, and traditions (p. 93), and this has helped me navigate the many
systems that I operate in.
Incorporating Best Practices: LO 7 | Artifacts G, I & J
L.O. #7: Utilizing assessment, evaluation, technology, and research to improve practice
has been a huge area of growth for me during the SDA program. Higher education is moving
more and more towards data-driven budgets so it is essential for student affairs professionals to
constantly improve their practice based on assessment, evaluation, technology, and research. I
knew this coming into the program, but I have learned how to efficiently move through the
process and make positive changes from many experiences Ive had in the past two years.
Incorporating best practices can be done through understanding the use of assessment in
program development, incorporating technology effectively in education, and improving policy
and procedure based on research.
Understanding the use of assessment has played a significant role in my growth,
beginning with the comprehensive assessment and evaluation project (Artifact J) I created

AREAS OF GROWTH LEARNING OUTOME NARRATIVE

during my internship at Wagner College. I used the knowledge I gained from the Assessment
Certification Program at SU last spring to create an assessment with two components, an
outcomes-based piece and a satisfaction piece. I then worked with the dean to revitalize the
mission and goals of new student orientation, and used these to guide the assessment questions.
After their participation in orientation, students would be emailed a survey that would measure
their comprehension and understanding of the mission, goals, and learning outcomes for New
Student Orientation, and also their satisfaction with different aspects of orientation. I mirrored
this process with Peer Leaders and the training they went through, measuring if they felt training
prepared them to lead their learning communities well, and if they also had fun and bonded as a
group.
Incorporating technology effectively in education is another piece of improvement based
on best practices. Through a mentor of mine, I recently became involved in the Student Services
Focused Assessment Collaborative Team (F.A.C.T) Probation Committee at Highline College.
The group is using technology to do intentional outreach to students on probation, sending
weekly emails with resources listed and encouraging messages in hopes their reflection and
increased awareness of campus resources will improve their academic success. I have shared
branding and marketing information with the committee, shown examples of presentations and
materials I have updated to use consistent messaging, and assisted the group using the
knowledge I have of SUs academic probation process. This experience has shown me that there
are more ways to use technology effectively in education than social media alone. My experience
with this committee has also exposed me to the process of improving policy and procedure based
on researchall of the committees work this year is based on large amounts of research they
have done in previous years.

AREAS OF GROWTH LEARNING OUTOME NARRATIVE

Though I have grown a great deal in learning how to incorporate best practices
effectively during the SDA program, I still have room to develop! My 5 Year Professional
Development Plan (Artifact I) shows my plan to continue learning about technology, conducting
research, and incorporating best practices in the future.
L.O. #9: Understanding law, policy, finance, and governance is my last area of
development during the program. This includes understanding how these concepts impact
different student populations, advocating for more equitable laws and policies, and
understanding the history of these concepts on a federal, state, and institutional level. I have
definitely grown in these areas during the program, as evidenced in the comparison of my
NASPA/ACPA competency analysis from the beginning of the program and now (Artifacts H1
& H2). I have also gained knowledge and skill in these areas from SDAD 580: Higher Education
Law and SDAD 576: Leadership and Governance in Post-Secondary Education. Both of these
courses examined law, policy, finance, and governance in depth, but because they play such a
vital role in the student affairs landscape, I have detailed my plan to continue this work in my 5Year Professional Development Plan (Artifact I). Arguably the most experience Ive gained in
these areas during the program has been through my assistantship. A large portion of my role as
an Academic Advisor is knowing, interpreting, and effectively communicating academic policies
and procedures to students. I have also learned how essential it is for me to understand the
context in which I work in order to interpret institutional policies and procedures accurately.
I have grown and developed my knowledge and skills in navigating politics,
incorporating best practices, and understanding law, policy, finance and governance as I have
outlined here in an effort to understand context and improve my scholarship during the SDA
program. This work is by no means finished. It will continue for many years to come.

AREAS OF GROWTH LEARNING OUTOME NARRATIVE

References
Hayes, T. (2015). Professional mission statement. Unpublished manuscript, Seattle University.
Hayes, T. (2014). Scholarly reflection. Unpublished manuscript, Seattle University.
Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and
tactics for changing your organization and the world. Boston, MA: Harvard Business
Press.
Manning, K. (2013). Organizational theory in higher education. New York, NY: Routledge.