Running head: LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE 1

Learning Outcome Narrative: Areas for Growth

Rachel Fielding

Seattle University
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Learning Outcome Narrative: Areas for Growth

(LO 1, 4, 9; Artifacts: B, C2, C3, E, & F)

I entered the Student Development Administration (SDA) program at Seattle University

(SU) seeking to understand what it would mean to be a Student Affairs practitioner, and to

further develop skills relative to becoming an active and competent member of this field. While

I am proud of the growth I have seen in my skills, my abilities, and myself over the last two

years, I recognize continued growth and development is critical to my work in this field. The

integrative theme that best represents my areas for growth in this program, and serves as my

focus for continued development as I begin my career, is professional formation. Throughout

my journey over the last two years, I have taken SU’s commitment to professional formation to

heart in my own learning process. As a result, the three areas in which I plan to continue to

develop are understanding the field of student affairs, social justice, and law and policy.

Understanding Student Affairs (LO 1; Artifacts C2, E, & F)

My desire to enter the field of student affairs has been greatly informed by my identity as

a first generation community college student, and the lack of support I received as a transfer

student. I entered the SDA program with a passion for changing the system and improving

student support, but had little understanding of the field or what it meant to work in it. LO #1

has served as the catalyst for much of my growth in this program. Relative to my practice, the

three key dimensions of LO #1 are understanding where the field has come from, understanding

where the field is currently, and understanding where the field is going as it constantly evolves.

I began to recognize how the field has evolved in SDAD 5300: Foundations of the

Student Affairs Profession, and my understanding deepened as I engaged with the academic

content of SDAD 5810: History of Higher Education. Both of these courses worked to inform

my understanding of the issues that have historically impacted and continue to impact higher
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education, including: access, equity, oppression and discrimination (especially as related to

marginalized populations). Artifact C2 represents my personal response to course readings

from SDAD 5810, and demonstrates my growth in this learning outcome. In this paper, I

explore the history of access in higher education for underrepresented populations, as well as

what it means for me to be a privileged practitioner (white, middle-class, able-bodied, etc.) in a

political climate that is seeing a regression in the educational opportunities for marginalized

persons. This artifact also serves as a representation of my understanding of the implications of

the history of the field on our current practice. This has informed my realization that I must

commit to consistent examination of current practices through the lens of historical context to

ensure I do not repeat the negatives of the past and contribute to the forward progression of

access and equity in higher education.

Artifact E, my self-assessment of the NASPA/ACPA competencies, demonstrates my

growth in SDA LO #1 while also highlighting the actions I need to take to continue learning

about this field. Version one details my self-assessment of these foundational competencies and

my understanding of higher education during my first quarter of the program. As evident in

version two, I have made strides in my understanding of the ‘History, Philosophy, and Values’

competency area, but recognize that I have much work to do to further strengthen my overall

comprehension. While I have become a member of NASPA during my time in the SDA

program, I have articulated the ways in which I plan to further improve my understanding of the

student affairs profession in Artifacts E and F. By becoming a more active member in our

professional affiliations, engaging with knowledge communities, attending conferences, and

remaining up to date on current research and best practices, I will be able to continue to
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strengthen my understanding of the foundational values of the field and will be better equipped

to support my students as higher education continues to evolve.

Social Justice (LO 4; Artifact B, C2, E, F)

Social justice has been one of my largest areas of growth in this program, and I recognize

it continues to be one of my largest areas for growth as I approach the future. I approached the

SDA program with the experience of attending a predominantly white institution in an upper

class area of California. This experience, coupled with my white identity, meant I had a small

concept about what it meant to be multiculturally competent or social justice oriented. SDA LO

#4 has helped me grow considerably in my social justice framework over the last two years. The

three key dimensions of LO #4 include: recognizing and valuing diversity, focusing on equity,

and advocating for systemic change in support of the harmonious existence of all populations.

In reflecting on my experience in this program, I am grateful for the constant integration

of LO #4 into my coursework. SDAD 5810: History of Higher Education opened my eyes to the

history of oppression and marginalization in higher education due to a significant lapse in a lens

for social justice, while SDAD 5760: Leadership and Governance challenged me to grapple with

the ways in which these issues still plague our system today. Artifact C2 demonstrates that I

have come to recognize my privileges, and how I unknowingly perpetuate them. Becoming

more cognizant of the spaces I occupy has allowed me to consider the ways I can use my

privileges to employ a lens of social justice and work toward a more accessible and accepting

system of higher education. In Leadership and Governance, I was presented with the opportunity

to read Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael Eric Dyson, which challenged me to examine my

whiteness in a new way. Though I have grown abundantly in my multicultural knowledge,

awareness, and skills (Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004) as a result of this program, this text
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made it clear to me that I need to continue to change the way I think in order to undo my biases

and assumptions and employ a social justice lens in my approach to practice. As a privileged

practitioner, it is my obligation and responsibility to ensure I make multicultural competence the

foundation of my work by continuously reflecting on my interactions, behaviors, and practices.

Artifacts B, E, and F each represent my self-awareness in needing to increase my social

justice competence. Informed by my personal experience with discrimination in the professional

setting, my mission for my work in this field (Artifact B) has grown to encompass my deep

desire to eliminate the ways we continue to oppress and marginalize each other based on our

unique identities. Artifact E (version two) demonstrates how I have grown into a more social

justice oriented practitioner, and also articulates my need to challenge myself in actively

engaging with notions of privilege, social justice, and inclusion moving forward. Finally,

Artifact F details my intention to engage with committee work focused on diversity, equity, and

inclusion at my future institutions. While each of these artifacts demonstrate my intentions for

continued growth in this area, it is my duty to remain accountable to them. By remaining

accountable, I will become more than a bystander in social justice action, strengthen my

multicultural competence, and be better equipped to understand, support and advocate for the

students I serve.

Law and Policy (LO 9; Artifacts C3, E, & F)

In order to continue to develop in my professional formation and knowledge as it relates

to my practice, I will also need to seek further opportunities to engage with law and policy in

higher education. SDA LO #9 remains a specific area for growth for me as I enter the field of

student affairs as a professional. The three key dimensions of LO #9 include understanding the

implications of law and public policy on our institutions, maintaining awareness of the ways in
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which leadership and governance structures impact our students, and working to change the

system for the better.

As I entered the SDA program I felt I had little to no understanding of law, policy,

finance, and governance as related to higher education, but my SDA coursework has helped me

to grow my knowledge significantly. My coursework in SDAD 5760: Leadership and

Governance in Post-Secondary Education, SDAD 5800: Higher Education Law, and SDAD

5850: Higher Education Finance have all helped to shape my understanding of the structures that

exist relative to the leadership, compliance, and operation of institutions of higher education.

My desire to integrate a deeper understanding of law and policy into my professional

formation is what informed the intentionality behind my work plans in each of my internships.

One factor that led to me choosing to intern with Learning Assistance Programs (LAP) at SU

was my awareness that I would have to become trained in the Family Educational Rights and

Privacy Act (FERPA) due to the level of confidentiality that coincides with working with

students in academic support services. Within this internship, I was able to increase my

understanding of how FERPA intersects at a private institution, as well as the implications that

maintaining student records has on federal compliance and my personal practice. Additionally,

as the Graduate Assistant (GA) Training Intern for the Office of Student Development at SU, I

was given the autonomy to develop trainings and workshops that I felt would be pertinent to the

success of graduate assistant employees on campus. I used this as an opportunity to engage

further with law and policy by researching federal Title IX regulations and SU procedures to

inform a supplemental training workshop for new and continuing GAs within the university.

Artifact C3 represents my work on this workshop, which I facilitated in November of 2017.

Within this experience, I was able to increase my understanding related to institutional

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compliance, reporting procedures, and investigation in instances of sexual misconduct. By

facilitating this workshop I was able to share new knowledge with the GAs of SU, and provided

space for us to engage in meaningful conversation focused on serving as responsible employees.

Although my understanding of law and policy has grown as a result of this program, I

will need to continuously seek development in this area. The ever changing nature of our

political climate, economy, and more makes it crucial for me to remain knowledgeable of the

changes in laws, policies, and regulations that have direct implications on my students and their

ability to access and succeed in education. In both Artifacts E and F I articulate my plans to

remain actively engaged with the political climate to understand the evolving laws and policies

related to higher education. These artifacts also detail my commitment to familiarizing myself

with the campus climate, leadership, and governance structures within my institution of

employment. By conscientiously making these efforts on a continuous basis, I will be able to

effectively adapt my services when necessary to support my students in the face of change.

Conclusion

My time in the SDA program has consisted of personal and professional exploration and

reflection to make meaning of my academic and co-curricular experiences as they have related to

my professional identity development, and skills in student support and leadership. As a lifelong

learner, I hope to continue my growth and development in these strengths throughout my career.

Further, my commitment to professional formation will push me to continue to develop in my

areas for continued growth. I am both proud and humbled by my experience and the

opportunities that have been afforded to me as a student in the SDA program, and I look forward

to applying my knowledge and skills, and further developing as I embark on a long and fruitful

career in Student Affairs.

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References

Dyson, M. E. (2017). Tears we cannot stop: A sermon to white america. New York: St.

Martin’s Press

Pope, R. L., Reynolds, A. L., & Mueller, J. A. (2004). Multicultural competence in

student affairs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.