PLEASE PLAN AHEAD. Identify a student affairs educator in a functional area of interest whom you can interview. Please pick a functional area in which you have no experience. For example, if you have been a Resident Assistant (RA), you cannot interview someone in housing. The individual selected must be employed FULL-TIME at MSU or another college/university. The purpose of this assignment is to help you connect with an educator who may bring different perspectives and experiences to your understanding of the field of student affairs. The interview will culminate in a written report (NOT a transcript) of 12001500 words. Consider asking permission to audiotape the conversation to make report writing easier.
You must first create your interview protocol with at least 10 questions. Note that while you enter the interview with a set list of questions, you may ask additional questions based on the conversation and what the student affairs educator shares with you. Your interview protocol must be submitted as an appendix to your final report but does not count toward the required 12001500 words. Consider the readings you have done as you draft your questions. Sample questions include:
What was your journey to student affairs and your current position?
What values guide your work in student affairs?
What challenges do you face in your work and how do you address them?
The Interview Report should include:
Introduction to the student affairs educator you interview
Who are they? What was their path to becoming a student affairs educator?
Description of the functional area in which the student affairs educator works
What is their current position? What are their responsibilities? What are some current issues in this functional area?
Summary of the interview: not a transcript, rather, an account of the main ideas from the interview
Organize this section into 3 to 4 main themes learned.
Reflection of how what you have learned has informed your understanding of student affairs
Claims and arguments using relevant literature and sources from this course and beyond
Interview questions as appendix
