Running head: COURSE SYNTHESIS

Course Synthesis

Jessica Burkett

School of Education, Louisiana State University

Final Portfolio

July 16, 2021

Throughout my experience as a graduate student in the Higher Education Administration

program, I have applied what I learned into my professional career. Three major themes and

issues I find most relevant to contemporary higher education and administrative practice are;

mental health support, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism efforts, and lastly campus-wide

retention efforts. Although there are many themes and challenges within the higher education

sector, I believe mental health support, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism efforts, and campus-

wide retention efforts are the most prominent themes and challenges most relevant to

contemporary higher education and administrative practice.

Mental Health Support

Mental Health is the most important resource and support we can offer students as higher

education professionals. There are many changes students experience as they transition to a

college or university and throughout their entire student experience. About 75% of mental health

issues and disorders become present before the age of 25 (Tabor et. al, 2020), and understanding

the need to offer mental health support and resources for students will help individuals through

the stresses and challenges that the college environment may bring. After working in Residence

Life for three years, I am extremely passionate about mental health support and making campus

resources known to students. I became certified in Mental Health First Aid, and additionally had

all of my resident assistants certified in Mental Health First Aid. According to Khan &

Shamama-Tus-Sabah (2020), “positive mental health relates to an individual’s psychological

working, life-satisfaction, and capability to progress and sustain equally profiting relations…

Various sorts of stressors for instance time management, economic problems, health issues,

individual problems, assignment, etc. generate a burden on the students which affect their
Running head: COURSE SYNTHESIS
2
academic performance” (p.1392). As a student, there is a lot of academic and personal stress, and

I believe faculty and staff training is crucial as higher education professionals, as well as

identifying campus and community resources for our students. Mental health was a severe

problem among colleges and universities before the pandemic, but now I believe students are

suffering from mental health disorders and issues more because of the pandemic. Studies have

shown an increase in anxiety, stress, depression, and sleep disturbances as well as decreased

rates of psychological well-being due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Popovic & Lim, 2020). I

believe Kagan’s Theory of the Evolution of Consciousness is applicable to the mental health

crisis within student populations. According to Patton et. al., (2016), Kagan’s Theory of the

Evolution of Consciousness is a process that “involves an evolution of meaning, marked by

continual shifts from periods of stability to periods of instability, leading to ongoing

reconstruction relationships between persons and their environment (p.356). Students who are

battling mental health issues could benefit from programs and resources that support students

during extremely challenging times. Mental health support is a huge issue within higher

education administration, and I believe supporting student’s mental health will lead to more

students being successful in their academia, be more involved, and ultimately will raise retention

efforts.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism Efforts

Most if not all higher education institutions are focusing on their diversity, inclusion, and

anti-racism efforts. Especially in the past couple years, colleges and universities in the United

States have pushed policies, programming, and other activities that focus specifically on

diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism. A major theme in higher education, especially in the past

couple years, is creating a campus environment that embodies diversity, inclusion, and anti-
Running head: COURSE SYNTHESIS
3
racist. One expert believes that strategies to promote diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism include

purposeful academic and social interactions among students who come from different

backgrounds, beliefs, views, and personal traits (Tienda, 2013). According to Tienda (2013), “It

is possible to leverage diversity for pedagogic benefit and to promote integration by providing

incentives for cross race dialogues, programs and peer-led activities that work against evolved

human preferences for homogeneity, stability, simplicity, and structure. If leaders of higher

education institutions genuinely believe that racial diversity enhances the instructional mission of

their institution then it behooves them to continually develop innovative strategies to maximize

the learning benefits, to demonstrate what works and what doesn’t” (p.474). Higher education

professionals can utilize many racial identity theories such as Cross and Fhagen-Smith’s Model

of Black Identity Development and Kim’s Asian American Identity Development Model to learn

how to better support our minority students. Racial identity theories allow professionals to learn

how racial issues are resolved (Patton et.al., 2016). There are many opportunities that higher

education professionals can adopt to create a more diverse and inclusive environment that

promotes anti-racism efforts. For example, I personally joined an anti-racism professional

development committee at my current institution and my department recently hired a director for

diverse recruitment. Other ways to engage in this work include but not limited to aligning

institutional policies, providing resources and resources for faculty and staff, providing resources

for at-risk students, increasing a diverse faculty, staff, and student representation (Barnett, 2020).

Additionally, higher education professionals need to specifically focus on efforts to combat

racism and focus on increasing anti-racism efforts. Asian hate has been extremely disheartening

which has occurred at universities and colleges throughout the United States. To build racial

empathy and truly cultivate a new sense of what justice and equity is, we must get back to the
Running head: COURSE SYNTHESIS
4
root of racism (Weissman, 2021). Whether this is changing policies, creating more events and

programming, diversifying our staff and recruiting diverse students; there are many things we as

higher education professionals can do and must do to promote an environment that is diverse,

inclusive, and anti-racist.

Campus-Wide Retention Efforts

A major theme and issue within the higher education sector is student retention. Colleges

and universities have been developing innovative ideas to retain students. Decline in enrollment

and retention has been evident in higher education institutions across this nation. Bessette

(2014), identified ways to promote student success which leads to student retention such as

“student-faculty interaction, student engagement, actions taken in student affairs divisions such

as housing and academic advisors, learning communities, and first-year experience (p. 22). From

Wyat’s research, she identified that higher education primarily focuses on individual students

instead of the whole campus environment (Bessette, 2014). There are many opportunities

colleges and universities can implement to promote student retention. Whether that is resources,

programming, or initiatives, evaluation and assessment is a vital component in terms of student

retention (Walters, 2003). One of the most prominent reasons why students decide to leave their

institution, especially first-generation students, is because of financial reasons (Prat et al., 2019).

Higher education professionals must acknowledge the disparities and actively promote access

and resources to help students before students decide that they financially can no longer attend

the university. As a first-generation student, there were a couple times I thought I was going to

drop out of college simply because I did not know my resources on how to pay for tuition. I did

not know of all the resources financial aid had to offer, I did not know there was a first-

generation office on campus, as well as many other organizations and offices. In terms of
Running head: COURSE SYNTHESIS
5
retention, social class and identity theories support many ideologies on how students are treated,

student’s perspectives, and challenges students encounter based on their social class. Studies that

support these theories demonstrate how lower-income students will face more challenges

compared to upper class and middle class students who have a greater chance of being successful

(Patton et al., 2016). Although retention as a whole is critical, we must utilize theories such as

social class and identity theories to understand the disparities to resolve these types of issues and

to better support and retain specific student types and populations.

Conclusion

As a higher education professional, we are dedicated to many critical causes and issues

that face our students and campus community. I believe mental health support, diversity,

inclusion, and anti-racism efforts, and campus-wide retention efforts are the most relevant to

contemporary higher education and administrative practice. Higher education professionals can

make a significant impact on students by focusing their practices that support mental health,

cultivate an environment that is diverse, inclusive, and anti-racist, and efforts that promote

student retention. As I further my professional career, I believe I will continue to combat these

three major issues and themes within higher education, to better support the campus community I

currently work for and will work for in future roles and positions.
Running head: COURSE SYNTHESIS
6
References

Barnett, R. (2020). Leading with meaning: Why diversity, equity and inclusion matters in US

higher education. Perspectives in education, 38(2), 20–35.

Bessette, L. S. (2014). Student retention is a campus-wide effort. Women in higher education

(10608303), 23(5), 22.

Khan, S., & Shamama-Tus-Sabah, S. (2020). Perceived stress and its association with positive

mental health and academic performance of university students. Pakistan armed

forces medical journal, 70(5), 1391–1395.

Patton, L., Renn, K., Guido, F. & Quaye, S. (2016). Student development in college:

theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Popovic, M., & Lim, F. (2020). The mental health and wellbeing of university students during

the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of pain management, 13(4), 319–322.

Pratt, I., Harwood, H., Cavazos, J., & Ditzfeld, C. (2019). Should i stay or should i

go? Retention in first-generation college students. Journal of college student

retention: research, theory & practice, 21(1), 105–118.

Tabor, E., Patalay, P., & Bann, D. (2021). Mental health in higher education students and

non-students: evidence from a nationally representative panel study. Social Psychiatry

and Psychiatric Epidemiology: The International Journal for Research in Social and

Genetic Epidemiology and Mental Health Services, 56(5), 879.

Tienda, M. (2013). Diversity not equal inclusion: Promoting integration in higher education.

Educational researcher, 42(9), 467–475.

academic and student affairs unit: The olivet plan. Journal of college student

retention, 5(1), 23–36.

Weissman, S. (2021). What can universities do to combat anti-asian racism? Diverse:

issues in higher education, 38(3), 6.