College Student Development Theory On The Job - Krystin Deschamps

Krystin Deschamps, Matriculation Advisor, Office of Retention and Student Success, Utah State University, visited the ELP 6620 - College Student Development Theory class in November.  She shared with us her prespective on using these theories within her practice at USU. 

 

After her presentation, Krystin offered her comments for the blog.  Enjoy and we thank her for her time!

Krystin’s Three Main Job Responsibilities:

1.       Advise students who are departing USU, perhaps for a Leave of Absence, perhaps to transfer

2.       Academically suspend (not as much fun as it might sound), as well as readmit students who left USU in less-than-good academic standing

3.       Advise students who have been referred to me for “early alert,” meaning that a professor believes the student to be struggling academically, especially early in the semester

Advise students who are departing USU, perhaps for a Leave of Absence, perhaps to transfer

·          Common reasons for departure

o   Religious/Humanitarian Service

o   Financial/Employment

o   Family responsibilities

o   Medical

o   Transferring

o   Not ready for school

Using the following theories: 

·         Chickering’s Identity Theory

o   Sometimes, students question who they are—sexual orientation, changes in religious beliefs, disagreeing with parents about what the ‘right’ major is.  It helps for me to understand identity theory so that I can understand the student.  I don’t say, “Aha, you are in the third vector;” students can move around. 

o   Sometimes my peer advisor is the best person to talk a student off his or her ledge, other times not.  Is my peer secure in his identity?

·         Racial and ethnic identity models

o   Helm’s White Identity—it’s good to understand my whiteness as I work with students of color.

Academically suspend as well as readmit students who left USU in less-than-good academic standing

Using the following theories:

·         King and Kitchener’s Reflective Judgment Model

o   Often times, students are in an early stage, either pre-reflective or quasi-reflective.  They react emotionally and reflexively to what they perceive to be negative stimuli.  I use this theory to understand where a student is emotionally, and to help them become reflective about their academic experience.

·         Margaret Schlossberg

o   Transition Theory: Situation, Self, Support, Strategies

§  I find that I use this often with students who are adult learners.  It represents a significant transition for many who return (or begin) college after a long absence.  I like to encourage confidence in the students by building off what they bring with them: experiential knowledge.

o   Marginality and mattering

§  A theory I use the most often.  Many of my students have been marginalized, and as such, they may struggle in confidence, and may feel as though they do not belong in college.  I strive to make them feel as though they matter, because they emphatically do.  I work to connect my students to college in meaningful ways, and with luck, this helps to retain our students.

·         Baxter Magolda’s and Self Authorship

o   Give students confidence.  How we know things, become masters of knowledge. 

·         Gilligan—Different doesn’t mean deficient. 

o   I use this theory with students who may be marginalized.  I also use this theory when students with students who do not appreciate diversity. 

·         MBTI by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katherine C. Briggs

o   I use this theory a lot.  While I have not been trained formally, I have studied MBTI enough to understand the different types, and it helps me to relate to students better.  So, for example, if I perceive that a student is an introvert, I might not encourage her to go to group tutoring.  Instead, I might find individual tutoring.  

 Note:  Krystin is a graduate from the Educational Leadership & Policy Program at the University of Utah.