This volume explores the tensions between the student affairs foundation of holistic student development and the changing culture of corporatization. While there is ample evidence of neoliberalism in the academic affairs of higher education there is very little to no research to understand how neoliberalism is driving the corporatization of student affairs. This book argues that understanding neoliberalism in student affairs is crucial to student success and the student experience. The authors provide contextualized examples for understanding our positionality within the neoliberal system, as well as practical recommendations on resisting market values as common sense, thereby helping to preserve the profession and to imagine a new one centered on people, equity, and justice.
Author(s): Daniel K. Cairo, Victoria Cabal
Series: New Frontiers in Education, Culture, and Politics
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 198
City: Cham
Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Figures
Chapter 1: Introduction
References
Chapter 2: “Are we all neoliberal now?”
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism in Student Affairs
Classical Liberalism
The New in Neoliberalism
Neoliberal Common Sense
The Neoliberal Ecological System (Neoliberalism, “it’s behind me isn’t it”)
The Person Inside the Neoliberal Ecosystem
The Person Inside the Circle: The Neoliberal Subject
Macro-system (Society at Large and Norms the Neoliberal Subject Exist In)
Exo-system (Indirect Influence in the Life of the Neoliberal Subject)
Meso-system (Connects Both the Exo- and the Micro-systems)
Micro-system (Direct Influence on the Life of the Neoliberal Subject)
Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Corporatization of Higher Education and Student Affairs
The Emergence of Corporatization in Higher Education
Neoliberalization of Higher Education
Historical Moments in Higher Education
History of Student Affairs
Impact of Corporatization on Student Affairs
Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: Student Success
Student Success
Student Success as Academic Success
Student Success as GPA
Student Success as Retention
Student Success, Accountability, and Inequality
Student Success as Engagement
Student Success as Control
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: The Impact of Corporate Values on Student Affairs: The Case Study
Methodology
The Site
Student Affairs
Participants
Data Analysis
Positionality/Limitations
Student Affairs Trends Guiding Our Research
Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: Neoliberalism in Student Affairs: A “Both/And” Proposition
Owning Exceptional Care
Personal Responsibility
Human-Centered
Relationships
Education as a Social Good
Personal Tensions
Student Success
Beyond Metrics
Meeting Basic Needs
Transformative
The Metrics Cannot Be Ignored
Accountability and Metrics
The Care and Impact
Care as Data-Driven
Care as Retention and Completion
Corporatizing of Education
Business Models for Higher Education as Common Sense
Education as a Product
Customer Service
Labor and Care
Pushing for More
Under-resourced and Understaffed
Multiple Hat Culture and Burnout
Time as a Resource
Conclusion
References
Chapter 7: Challenging Corporate Values Through Good Sense Solutions
Individual
Personal Responsibility
Micro-system
Labor
Meso-system
Student Success
Exo-system
Accountability
Macro-system
Corporatization
Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Post-Script: The Failed Promise of Neoliberalism: Uncertainty 2020 and Beyond
The Failed Promises of Neoliberalism
Education Is a Product in a Market of Inequality
Operationalizing Anti-racism
Neoliberalism Promised Success But It Is Making Us Sick | Care Is Not an Input
The Silver Lining in Neoliberalism’s Failed Promises
References
Appendix A
Recruitment Letter
Appendix B
Participant Interest Form
Form Introduction
Focus Groups Logistics
Participant Information
Appendix C
Focus Group Protocol
Before Focus Group
During the Focus Group
Overview of Topic
Ground Rules
Draft Questions
After the Focus Group
Focus Group Notes Template
Appendix D
Observations Protocol and Template
Appendix E
Focused Interview Protocol
Before Interview
During Interview
Draft Questions
Themes
After Interview
Appendix F
Focus Group Consent Letter
Defining Exceptional Care
Index
