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McMahon, Annie C.

College of Education and Social Services

2006

M. Ed.

By examining personal experience at the elementary, secondary, college, and professional teaching levels, the presence of student affairs practitioners at all levels of education is substantiated. From this the question of faculty at the higher education level being student affairs practitioners is derived. Through a comparison of the Best Practices for Undergraduate Teaching and the Best Practices of Student Affairs, a case is made that faculty who practice good undergraduate teaching are also practicing student affairs. By showing the commonalities in theory, the similarities between the student affairs and teaching professions are revealed in the hopes of finding a common ground for these two fields; fields that are drastically divided in higher education, but working harmoniously in elementary and secondary schools. Possible difficulties in closing this divide are discussed along with the benefits of faculty and student affairs practitioners working together in higher education.