Please see attachment
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Student Affairs Career Exploration: Part I
General Instructions
The goal of this assignment is to help students:
▪ Become familiar with careers in student affairs.
▪ Explore their particular areas of interest in preparing to work in student affairs.
▪ Prepare for the job search process in student affairs.
This assignment has two parts. Part I is worth 100 points, and Part II is worth 100 points for a
total of 200 points for the project.
▪ Part I (100 points): Students will use regional (i.e., University of Alabama, University of
Southern Mississippi, etc.) and national student affairs job search sites (e.g., NASPA
Exchange, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Higheredjobs.com) to explore career
interests in the field of student affairs. Then, students will write a reflection paper on their
experience job searching in student affairs.
▪ Part II (100 points): Students will select one job advertisement during their search and
complete a ‘mock’ application in which they develop a cover letter, resume, and
reference list. NOTE: You do not have to submit an actual job/employment application.
Guidelines for Part 1
1. Students will review job advertisements in student affairs using at least two national
search engines/databases and at least two regional job search sites for specific higher
education institutions (i.e., community colleges, 4-year institutions, etc.). Students
should identify at least 3-4 job positions of interest. *Note: If you look at a local institution
and there are no jobs available in student affairs, you must continue looking at the
employment opportunities at other local colleges or universities until you find jobs
available in student affairs.
2. Write a reflection paper on your experience job searching in student affairs. The goal of
the reflection paper is to provide students with an opportunity to share thoughts on what
was learned through the review of job advertisements. Questions to consider in writing
your reflection should include:
• What did you learn about the job search experience in student affairs?
• What search engines did you use? List national and regional search sites.
• Compare and contrast the experience of the national and regional searches.
• What types of jobs did you see advertised in student affairs? Tell about 3-4 jobs
that you found that interest you (include at least one from a national search
engine and one from regional job search sites such as local colleges; see the
above instruction)
• What are the job titles? What are the job descriptions? (Paraphrase the
description; do not or list the actual job description from the website.)
• How are these positions similar or different (do they all require a similar degree
or work experience)?
• How easy was it to find jobs that were of interest to you?
• Are student affairs jobs limited or in abundance?
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• What types of qualifications, experience, or knowledge seemed to be commonly
required for employment in student affairs?
• From this assignment, what impacted you the most about what you learned
about the job search? Explain in detail.
Format: Using a Microsoft Word document, students will prepare a Reflection Paper that is
double-spaced, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins, and is formatted using APA, 7th Ed Style. The
paper should have an APA title page. The reflection paper will use 1st person pronouns since
this paper is based on your personal reflection. Make sure your reflection paper is grammatically
correct and well organized.
Undergraduate students in SAL303 will write a 2-3 typed page paper and graduate students in
SA503 will write a 4- 5 typed page paper, not including the title page or reference page.
Scoring Guidelines
Points available: 100.
Component Unacceptable Acceptable Target
Content: All guiding
prompts have been
addressed in a
cohesive presentation.
Delivery not smooth,
audience’s attention
lost. The content lacks
a clear point of view.
Some of the information
may not seem to fit.
Sources used appear
unreliable. Information
is missing, incomplete,
out of date and/or
incorrect. (0 points)
Smooth delivery that
holds audience’s
attention. The content is
presented with a logical
progression of ideas
and supporting
information. At least 5
of the guiding prompts
have been addressed
and the information is
complete and accurate
or all prompts have
been addressed, but
details are limited.
(20 points)
Interesting smooth
delivery that holds the
audience’s attention.
The content is
presented clearly and
concisely with a logical
progression of ideas
and supporting
information. All guiding
prompts have been
addressed, and the
information is complete
and accurate.
(40 points)
Structure &
Organization
No paragraph structure;
or single, rambling
paragraph; or series of
isolated paragraphs.
(0 points)
Organization is
confusing or disjointed;
weak paragraph
structure; transitions are
missing or inappropriate.
(5 points)
Clear organizational
structure; easily followed;
includes transitions;
structured format.
(10 points)
Audience & Tone
No awareness of
appropriate audience for
assignment; tone is
inappropriate. (0 points)
Lacks awareness of
appropriate audience for
the assignment; tone is
inconsistent. (5 points)
Effective and accurate
awareness of audience;
tone is appropriate for
audience and
assignment. (10 points)
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Component Unacceptable Acceptable Target
Sentence Structure
Contains multiple and
serious errors of
sentence structure: i.e.,
fragments, run-ons;
unable to write simple
sentences. (0 points)
Formulaic sentence
patterns or overuse of
simple sentences; errors
in sentence structure.
(5 points)
Effective and varied
sentences; errors (if
present) due to lack of
careful proofreading.
(10 points)
Mechanics
Writing involves many
errors (more than 3).
(0 points)
Writing involves few
errors (no more than 2).
(5 points)
Writing is free of all
writing errors.
(10 points)
Vocabulary & Word
Usage
Vocabulary is
unsophisticated; or
subject specific
vocabulary or
sophisticated vocabulary
used incorrectly.
(0 points)
Proper, but simple
vocabulary used; subject
specific vocabulary used
infrequently. (5 points)
Vocabulary is varied,
specific and appropriate;
uses subject specific
vocabulary correctly.
(10 points)
APA FORMAT
Formatting, reference
listing, and/or in-text
citations include more
than 2 APA errors.
(0 points)
Formatting, reference
list, and in-text citations
follow APA format, with
no more than 2 errors.
(5 points)
Formatting, reference
list, and in-text citations
carefully follows APA
format, with no errors.
(10 points)
- Student Affairs Career Exploration: Part I
- General Instructions
- Scoring Guidelines
