This study examines student-faculty interactions in which U.S. professors signal social inclusion or exclusion, facilitating–or inhibiting–international students’ academic goal pursuits. It compares narratives of 40 international students from four purposefully sampled subgroups – academic preparedness (low, high) and financial resources (low, high). Overall, international students’ interactions with professors were marked by joy, trust, anticipation, and surprise. Nonetheless, the narratives exhibit two significant sources of variation: narratives from the low financial resources, high academic preparedness subgroup reflected widely-varied experiences interacting with professors, and narratives from the low financial, low academic preparedness subgroup lacked any descriptions of positive student-faculty interactions.

Student affairs professionals are often called upon to act as first-responders to students experiencing trauma, leaving them exposed to secondary traumatic stress. In this study, I used phenomenological methods supported by an arts-based research exercise to explore the experiences and meaning making processes of student affairs professionals who have supported students through traumatic life events. The findings explore major themes, including the role of organizational influence on maladaptive views of student support, the impact of support work on personal wellness, self-efficacy in trauma support, and dimensions of social support. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

No abstract

College student affairs professionals increasingly act as first responders to student crises. This article describes the development and validation of an instrument designed to measure symptoms of secondary trauma within a sample of student affairs professionals (n = 617). Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the instrument and its subscales were found to demonstrate evidence of validity and reliability. Authors discuss implications for research and practice regarding secondary trauma in student affairs.