Course Synthesis

Course Synthesis

Louisiana State University

Higher Education Master’s Portfolio

Michala M Pollock

At the beginning of my graduate degree program, I hadn’t had a robust experience within higher education as some of my classmates. I worked closely with a nonprofit that mentored college students and that’s what made me want to pursue this degree. It’s interesting to look back on how much I’ve learned in this process and see how much more knowledge I have about students, the university system, and what’s needed to make the whole system work. One of the first concepts I learned more about in this program that has only enhanced my knowledge in higher education is learning the gap between affluent students’ opportunity to gain a college degree and how much harder it is for a student who is not affluent. Next, I learned the great degree of benefit that advisors can have and how much different a college experience can be with the right advisor. Lastly, I never heard of assessment prior to graduate school and I’m so glad to know of this concept and process now. Overall, there were so many books, journals, concepts, and understandings that influenced my time in graduate school and I’m so glad for that. It’s allowed me to understand to keep learning and keep pursuing to better understand, we can only ask to keep growing.

One of the greatest learning experiences I’ve had in graduate school has been learning more about the gap that certain students have that isn’t allowing them to have the same opportunity as others, that’s not allowing the college to either be an option or not be an easy one at that. A lot of these concepts were known to me, but not to the amount of detail that I know now. It really all begins with parents and if they’re involved in the student’s life. Their level of education and understanding of how the components of education work directly affect how a student interacts with it as well. If the parent isn’t involved and encouraging the student to seek help from a teacher, or a tutor, or a guidance counselor a student is more likely to not persevere as well through school and not apply themselves as much as they would have if they knew of those resources (Renn & Reason, 2021).

“Family SES influences the opportunities a student will have to learn about the benefits and possibilities of obtaining a college education. Higher SES students, for example, often benefit from attending schools with greater resources and access to highly qualified teachers as well as guidance counselors,”

further explains how what’s going on at home affects where a student’s opportunity lies (Renn & Reason, 2021, p. 28). Students who don’t have parents that went to college are less likely to have awareness or preparation for cost or how to even begin searching for a college that would fit them. After reading more about this I was saddened by the lack of opportunity that’s not given. Now, prior to graduate school, I was passionate about having college students better find themselves in college and then go on to find their niche and to be passionate about that niche. However, after learning more about this I found that I was just as passionate about students even having the opportunity to get to choose what they want to do with their life instead of being forced into a situation based on their circumstances. This made me more curious about the opportunities students are given from high school and it got me more curious about being counseled at the high school level. My hope is that I can encourage students to see there’s a way even when it looks like a lot is up against them, to fight the system, and do the unthinkable. My hope is that I’ll be an agent of change to have more students going to college and seeking opportunities that weren’t thought of previously.

With that being said, I am very interested in the experience that a college student is receiving even prior to stepping foot on a college campus. In my personal experience, I didn’t have a great experience with advisors in college. I never really knew my advisor in college until I was more in my major and I had to get a faculty advisor. When I took the advising course in this program, I was really surprised by everything I learned through the course. “…academic advisors should not simply prescribe students with a course of action; rather, they should discern the root cause of student concerns and help them identify and develop the skills necessary to address challenges,” this was new territory for me as, I had not had this treatment in undergrad (Folsom et al., 2015, p. 29). This was an intriguing concept to me because of my passion and interest in helping students figure out their place in college. After going through the course on advising I found that figuring out your class schedule is just one part of the advising job. Other parts are, rooting for students, making sure they’re adjusting well, making sure they’re involving themselves in the university, checking in on their mental health, and most importantly, being their biggest advocate. Though the other parts of the position such as scheduling, helping students decide a plan of study, and registration is extremely important it’s not the only role an advisor can have as mentioned prior. Learning this new understanding of advising had me a greater understanding that being in higher education you need to have an essence of an advisor. To always be thinking of how you can take care of students and be their advocate even if you’re not directly advising them in your position on campus. Justice and respect for students need to be at the forefront of those in higher education to make sure we’re fighting for the students. These are two major qualities an advisor needs to advise students well.

Lastly, I had never heard of the concept of assessment prior to this program. Obviously, the concept, in theory, I had heard of in a different setting where we reexamine systems and see if there’s a better way. “…assessment [is] a continuum comprising three phases: planning, implementing, and improving and sustaining the process,” I really liked this definition of assessment because we need a way to make sure we’re staying up to date with the care and guidance we’re providing students (Banta et al, 2015, p. 15). Since my initial interest was in helping college students thrive, I am still curious about student affairs and how we’re creating opportunities for students to thrive. Assessment was made to make sure that’s being provided. “Student affairs professionals can contribute to the development of academic outcomes and devise their own complementary outcomes based on their plans to extend learning into campus environments beyond the classroom,” explains how the idea of improving and sustaining the process even outside of the classroom is important to the student’s care (Banta et al, 2015, p. 17). Assessment makes sure that there’s purpose and intention – that there’s effective planning put into place. I resonated with this ideology because making sure that students are being set up for success for the hope that they can find their own success starts with those in charge looking inward at their leadership, their systems, and making sure they’re set for student’s success.

Overall, I learned an abundance in my time in this graduate program and I’m so thankful for that. I feel like I’m more equipped for what’s to come now, from these courses and learnings. These three themes, fewer privileged students having the ability to access education, advising being more effective, and the concept of assessment were just three themes that really stood out to me that made a difference in my learnings and I’ll continue to take with me onward.

References

Banta, T. W., Kinzie, J., & Palomba, C. A. (2015). Assessment essentials: Planning, implementing, and improving assessment in Higher Education (First). Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Brand.

Folsom, P., Yoder, F. L., & Joslin, J. (2015). The new advisor guidebook: Mastering the art of academic advising (Second). John Wiley & Sons.

Renn, K. A., & Reason, R. D. (2021). College students in the United States: Characteristics, experiences, and outcomes (Second). Stylus Publishing, LLC.