Colorado State University Shares Student Affairs Expertise in Hong Kong

Colorado State University Dean of Students and School of Education Assistant Professor Jody Donovan recently traveled to Hong Kong as part of a two-day institute for student affairs.

A partnership with the Hong Kong Student Services Association NASPA, the Student Affairs professional association, and CSU’s Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) graduate program to bring CSU’s expertise to Hong Kong resulted in the NASPA International Student Services Institute (NISSI). The goal of the institute focused on professionalizing the student affairs profession, which included helping professionals from 15 colleges and universities in Hong Kong learn about student development and helping and advising skills as well as assessment and research within student affairs.

As the Institute faculty, Donovan facilitated learning sessions and engaged the participants in case studies, discussed current student issues, and role-played scenarios commonly found in the field.

"I prepared for this experience by learning as much as I could about the college student experience and the student affairs profession in Hong Kong, while working to ‘translate’ U.S. and western-based student affairs practices into their context," Donovan said. “In the end, we were all amazed at both the similarities as well as the possibilities for future collaborations between Colorado State’s SAHE graduate program and student affairs professionals in Hong Kong. We are in the beginning stages of planning the second annual NISSI to build on our strong relationships and shared values of student learning and development.”

Recognizing that both Hong Kong and the U.S. share the same core competencies for student affairs, the program further fostered global relationships and expanded CSU’s student affairs expertise.

In February, Oscar Felix, executive director of the Access Center and SAHE faculty member, will visit Abu Dhabi to serve as the lead faculty member for the first NISSI in the Persian Gulf region.

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