ACCOMMODATION, ENGAGEMENT, AND INVOLVEMENT
Canadian institutions are fortunate to have many passionate, involved, and effective student leaders who take an active role in institutional governance, service delivery, and advocacy. Many are also involved in community service work and social change. This legacy has evolved in Canadian higher education in ways that are very different from other systems (e.g., United States), although the genesis for its current state is rooted in the 1960s era of student activism. It was during this movement that student leaders in Canada pressed for greater representation in university governance (Knopf 1960; McGrath 1970; Morison 1970) and were able to obtain seats on boards of governors and academic senates. Over time this led to collaborative arrangements with their college and university administrations, achieving significant partnership in the development and implementation of institutional policies and practices, especially in student services.
Today, student leaders are likely to be included at all levels of institutional governance – they comprise 9 per cent of the members of university boards of governors (Jones and Skolnik 1997) and 17 per cent of academic senates (Jones 2002) – and are routinely included on other university decision-making bodies such as search committees and strategic planning groups. Depending upon agreements with the administration, they also often play oversight roles in institutional activities, the management of non-academic fees, and the assignment of campus space and facilities. In all, student leaders in Canadian colleges and universities hold a prominent position in the affairs of post-secondary education, exerting their influence primarily through campus-based student associations, national student organizations, and various community leadership and service opportunities. This chapter offers an overview of these domains of student leadership, involvement, and service learning in Canadian higher education, including a review of these principal mechanisms of student engagement and some of the initiatives that are emerging out of the recent increasing involvement of student services professionals.
One of the notable facets of student life in Canadian colleges and universities is the high degree of responsibility held by central student associations for service provision, student life programming, and advocacy. All public universities have central student associations/unions, both undergraduate and graduate, that collect fees from students in order to provide services. The scope varies from institution to institution, with some focusing on service delivery and some on advocacy. Often, student associations are responsible for the management of other student groups, such as clubs or academic student associations, and may also transfer fees or dedicate funding to them. In a Canadian survey of one hundred university and community college student associations, Jones (1995) found that membership fees generate average annual revenues of near $400,000 (adjusting for inflation). Student associations typically employ full- and part-time staff (averaging seven full-time and thirty-nine part-time), such as general managers, student advisors, health plan administrators, social programmers, and so on. Although they fulfill a variety of roles, student politicians regard their monitoring and influencing of institutional policies as highest priorities, closely followed by helping students through institutional bureaucracies, monitoring provincial policies, and providing students with information about the work of the organization. They also organize social activities, fund student groups and clubs, provide information about institutional policies, and offer academic and non-academic services.
Activities and services provided by student associations are numerous (Robinson 2003a) and, in many cases, could be considered similar to the purview of student affairs. These activities can be loosely divided into three categories: (a) student life services, (b) retail service operations, and (c) advocacy/equity services. Student life services are those that support the day-to-day activities of students beyond the classroom, such as orientation, student handbooks, club recognition and funding, peer support programs, events programming, spirit teams, and student union building management. Retail service operations attend to students’ sundry and personal needs through bookstores, variety stores, copy centres, food services, and campus pubs. A number of campuses in Canada also have active student co-ops, primarily organized around housing, but also in some cases around bookstores and food or retail operations. Finally, advocacy/equity services range from those targeting groups of students, like centres for women, Aboriginal students, those with disabilities, international students, mature students, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender students, to those addressing the needs of individual students, such as information centres or call lines, health and dental plans, legal aid, walk-home foot patrols, financial aid or bursaries, day care, exam databases, transit passes, human rights, and academic and judicial advocacy.
The total impact of these activities and services is considerable in Canadian colleges and universities, and students who serve in such roles assume major responsibilities for the overall quality of student life in their institutions. However, given the scope of these activities and services, full-time elected student leaders who fill the executive positions of student associations have a daunting task. The usual term of office for student association leaders is one year, running from spring to spring. During the summer they must plan the fall and winter student association activities, as well as rapidly assimilate substantial quantities of information for the committees and issues on which they are expected to represent their constituents. They must also make financial and human resource decisions and assume significant fiduciary responsibility. Furthermore, they must quickly adapt to working in a politicized environment that can easily lead to internal conflict (Robinson 2004).
Student associations are generally legally incorporated and are overseen by elected boards of directors who usually serve one-year terms. Consequently, sufficient training and knowledge relating to their responsibilities is of utmost importance, as repercussions of bad board or executive decisions can reverberate for years. For example, a case involving a fired staff member suing for improper dismissal would likely be heard at a time when the original directors are no longer in office. Thus, creation of clear bylaws, policies, and manuals is paramount in guiding effective and appropriate board decisions (Robinson 2003b).
While the focus of most student associations tends to be local, in their mandate to manage and deliver various activities and services, the importance of their involvement extends beyond the immediate locale of their institutions. In addition to very active local campus-based organizations, students in Canadian higher education are also usually affiliated with various provincial and national groups.
The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and its regional chapters lobby federal and provincial politicians in support of educational issues, provide educational resources and issue-oriented campaigns (e.g., date rape prevention) to member schools, and also provide services such as a national health plan and the International Student Identity Card. CFS has a membership of over 500,000 students across Canada, with over eighty student association members (college, undergraduate, and graduate) and several prospective members (Canadian Federation of Students 2008). Each institution collects a per-student membership fee and remits it to the federation; these fees are used to cover services, staff, research, and programs, both nationally and in the provincial/regional offices (CFS 2006). Another national but smaller student association, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), also works to bring post-secondary issues to the attention of the federal government. CASA, founded in 1994, has twenty-three student association members (Canadian Alliance of Student Associations).
In spite of their active presence in Canadian higher education, the role and influence of these local, provincial, and federal student associations has been all but ignored in the literature and certainly merits further attention. At institutions across Canada, students are involved in many different aspects of campus life: student governance, clubs, athletics, and institutional administration, to name a few. The development of student activities and their role in the creation and maintenance of campus community has to a large extent been driven by student groups. While institutional administrators have supported such campus involvement as a means of enhancing the student experience, administrators have generally not, until relatively recently, made it an intentional programming priority.
Student affairs staff work extensively with elected student leaders and, in some cases, are involved in their transition and training. Thus, student life staff at a growing number of Canadian post-secondary institutions have begun to recognize the importance of leadership training, not only for elected student leaders but to address the expectation that, in addition to achieving important academic outcomes, university graduates will have developed useful leadership skills. Institutional leadership and involvement programs now focus on skills development, leadership theory, and community involvement. This approach has linked leadership to the promotion of civic responsibility, incorporating a focus on equity, consensus-based decision-making, transparency, and accountability. Increasingly, leadership development is being directed toward the general student population, fuelled by an emerging understanding of its value as a co-curricular educational goal.
In general, training programs for both students in leadership positions and students interested in leadership development are becoming more and more common on Canadian post-secondary campuses. Student leaders tend to receive mentorship and training from within their association or group, although there is an increasing desire in many Canadian institutions to deliver student leadership training and to provide students with active learning opportunities in the community. This provides an excellent opportunity to harness and harmonize existing student leadership with institutional mandates related to service. Learning opportunities for elected student leaders are often delivered by central student associations, student affairs staff, and provincial/federal student groups, and typically include many of the following components:
• Organizational skills development:
financial management
human resources
meeting procedures
team building
membership development
public relations
bylaw/policy development
service planning and delivery
• Personal skills development:
time management
stress reduction
conflict resolution
anti-oppression training
ethical decision-making
communication skills
• Issues-based training:
institutional policies and procedures
institutional governance and committees
student organization history
post-secondary student issues
campaigns and lobbying
position-based issues and history
Student associations will often manage their own transition training, usually with the assistance of full-time staff. Former student leaders have identified that, while specific position-based training is useful, group “soft skills,” such as conflict resolution, consensus-based decision-making, and early goal setting can all be of great assistance in reducing stress throughout the year. There is also the strong perception that for political student leaders, training is best delivered by outgoing leaders, student association staff, or provincial/federal student groups. Given that student issues are the most prominent focus of such programs, it is generally assumed that institutional staff should not deliver the respective training around those issues (Robinson 2004).
An important context for gauging the challenge of working with elected student leadership is the local campus culture. If there has been a history of mistrust and confrontation between the administration and student leaders, then development of collaborative programs, such as leadership training or service delivery, is likely to be difficult. However, cultivating an atmosphere of “controversy with civility” (Astin and Astin 2001) can be of great assistance in mitigating such circumstances. If administrators and student leaders recognize that there are issues on which they can work together, in spite of areas of inevitable disagreement, they can develop a more productive relationship. Student association staff, with their greater longevity, can also be usefully involved in such discussions, although it is important to recognize that they are not the elected representatives of the students.
In light of these needs and challenges, it is important that those responsible for the training of student leaders be informed by the best theories and models of current practices in the field. Serving that end has been an emerging and distinct literature on student leadership programming in higher education. Komives, Lucas, and McMahon (1998) called for a new focus on relational or transformational leadership that emphasizes collaboration and encourages individuals to inspire each other to make change. Accordingly, leaders must be inclusive, ethical, purposeful, and empowering. They can be developed through servant leadership, wherein an individual transforms himself or herself into a leader by focusing on the needs of others. In addition, this approach stresses the importance of this being done within an organization having a common vision and core values. Astin and Astin (2001) suggested that the development of transformational leadership is dependent on both individual and group traits. Individual qualities include self-knowledge, authenticity, empathy, commitment, and competence. Group traits include collaboration, shared purpose, disagreement with respect, and the presence of a learning environment. This approach believes that students can make meaningful change within and outside of their institutions, particularly when they collaborate with other student groups, faculty, and administrative staff; they can also build coalitions, share governance responsibilities, and become major institutional stakeholders.
Increasing numbers of Canadian post-secondary institutions have student affairs staff dedicated to leadership development. For example, at the University of Guelph, the Citizenship and Leadership Education program provides training for emerging leaders with a focus on exploring opportunities, time management, women in leadership, multicultural awareness, leadership for social change, mentoring others, and lifelong leadership. Students also have the opportunity to take a multidisciplinary series of undergraduate courses leading to a Certificate in Leadership, with a focus on social justice issues (University of Guelph 2005). Another example of such efforts is the University of British Columbia’s Leadership and Involvement Program, which provides leadership training and conferences for emerging and existing student leaders, peer support programs, and community service projects (University of British Columbia 2005).
Focusing on student leadership development requires the commitment of institutional resources, a goal that may prove especially challenging for smaller institutions with limited student affairs budgets. However, student leadership training could potentially be incorporated into a service-learning model, where academic courses deliver leadership theory in conjunction with students’ co-curricular involvement. Universities with faculties of education, social work, political science, Canadian studies, or management that deal with public policy or higher education would be particularly well positioned to deliver this type of academic course. Providing links between involvement and academics can also help alleviate a growing concern related to co-curricular leadership: in a time of increasing costs, students from lower-income backgrounds may not have the time to undertake voluntary unpaid co-curricular activities. Similarly, working or commuting students may have time restrictions. Further inquiry is needed into the factors and influences that contribute to student participation in leadership opportunities in order to guide future programming in this area and shape the development of better policies and practices.
Promotion of student leadership requires not only that institutions understand the barriers to such opportunities but that they also commit resources to the recognition and rewarding of this form of engagement. Institutional recognition of student leadership and involvement helps demonstrate administrative understanding of the rigours and significant learning experiences involved in co-curricular activity. Such recognition is usually in the form of administrative receptions and awards ceremonies, though emerging recognition strategies include co-curricular transcripts, academic credit for leadership training, and student association awards. Perhaps most crucial is an explicit mission statement or senior-level administrative endorsement of the student co-curricular experience.
While involvement and leadership training opportunities have formed the foundation for student services’ support of student engagement in Canadian colleges and universities, new venues of participation have begun to appear in co-operation with the academic side of the institution. More specifically, these include opportunities for service learning, experiential education, and civic engagement. Important features of such initiatives have been the collaboration with faculties and a common focus on student learning outcomes. Thus, learning traditionally confined to classrooms and libraries is now being acquired and tested in field-based situations that also lend themselves to the achievement of important community goals.
Service learning is growing rapidly in popularity in other systems (e.g., the USA) and is beginning to appear in Canadian higher education as well. The fundamental concept of this approach is to link academic learning with service to the community. Differing from co-op programs in that the work of student volunteers at non-profit agencies both benefits the organization and relates to academic content (Prentice and Garcia 2000), service learning has been found to improve academic performance and enhance students’ values, self-efficacy, leadership, choice of a service career, and plans to participate in service following graduation (Astin et al. 2000). Such involvement is enriched by the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the service experience with other students and faculty and to consider the extent to which the academic material is linked to the service.
Unlike volunteerism, which in its own right can be a positive involvement experience, service learning is linked specifically to an intentional learning opportunity for students. A good service-learning program not only encourages student contribution to the community but it does so in a meaningful and mutually beneficial way that includes an academic learning component and encourages students to think critically about the underlying issues related to community needs. Ideally, service learning leads to an understanding of social justice issues and promotes among students the desire to enact social change.
One of the challenges Canadian institutions face in implementing service learning is acquiring institutional resources and faculty involvement. Bringle and Hatcher (1996) described the growth of service-learning programs as beginning with a core group of individuals – administrators, faculty, students, staff, and community leaders – who perform an initial assessment. Next, awareness of service learning in the institution is expanded beyond the core, a prototype is developed, and resources are assigned. Expanding the program requires further monitoring, evaluation, and recognition. The final stage institutionalizes service learning by including it as part of the university mission and academic programs.
A number of service-learning programs have emerged since 2000 at Canadian post-secondary institutions, generating an informal service-learning network. The Canadian Association of Community Service-Learning (CACSL) received a grant from the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation in 2004 to promote curricular service-learning programs on Canadian campuses. In 2007, the association changed its name to Canadian Alliance for Community Service-Learning (CACSL). This alliance has also launched a website, with a variety of useful resources, where it emphasizes that service learning should be experiential, involve community partners as co-educators, and include a strong reflective component (Canadian Alliance for Community Service-Learning). A shared benefit in such an arrangement is the understanding gained through the hands-on research often generated in these service-learning opportunities.
One advantage to Canada in its early stage of developing campus-based service-learning/civic-engagement programs is the number of best practices examples, publications, websites, and conferences available from other systems that have been active longer in this domain (e.g., the USA). Albeit there are differences in social policy and student leadership practices that need to be taken into account, Canadian institutions would do well to build on these models. For example, most Canadian campuses already have a number of equity-related centres, such as women’s centres and ethnic-based groups or service organization clubs with natural ties to the community. Working with these groups provides a natural linkage between interested students, the institution, and the community.
From observation, many of the student affairs professionals in Canada working in student leadership are themselves former student leaders. Others have worked closely with student associations and student groups. There is little current formal professional preparation in Canada for this work, and as with many student affairs positions, staff members are often self-directed in their learning. Student affairs staff may consider enrolling in graduate degree programs in Canada to enhance their understanding of leadership issues. York University, for example, offers an MBA program in non-profit management, which would be applicable. A number of Canadian universities have programs in higher education studies. There is also the option of studying in the USA; a caveat is that student leadership there is generally quite different from Canada. Considerably more research needs to be done regarding student leadership in this country, and increased participation by student leadership staff in graduate education is one way to enable this.
There are numerous books and web resources addressing aspects of student leadership; it is important to distinguish between personal leadership trait development (e.g., Kouzes and Posner 2005), which focuses on individual students, and transformative leadership development (e.g., Astin and Astin 2001; Komives, Lucas, and McMahon 1998), which promotes the idea of students and student groups actively engaging in social change and social transformation. The former is helpful in personal and career-related student learning; the latter is more appropriate for citizenship and civic development purposes.
Student affairs staff working with student leaders may benefit from other non-student affairs resources, such as management tools, meeting facilitation models, equity awareness, political studies, and so on. There is an extensive literature on non-profit management that meshes well with the organization of many student groups.
Conferences are another source of professional development, both in terms of formal presentations, and for networking with colleagues, who can be of great assistance with professional development ideas. An increased number of sessions on student leadership have been part of the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS). Student affairs staff may also wish to attend or present at student-driven conferences or meetings, both provincial and national. As well, there are several American conferences each year related to student leadership.
The CACUSS Communiqué is always a good publication to contribute to and to read for reports and ideas on current issues and student services program developments in Canada. Publishing in refereed journals is an option for anyone pursuing academic studies, with numerous suitable publications in the United States (e.g., Journal of College Student Development). In Canada, there is the Canadian Journal of Higher Education, as well as several smaller journals, such as Ontario Institute for Studies in Education’s (OISE) Higher Education Perspectives. Given the specialized nature of student leadership development in Canada, student affairs staff will likely need to be creative and self-directed in pursuing professional development.
The Canadian legacy of student leadership in higher education is a system that serves students well, and that contributes significantly to the quality of the their post-secondary experience. Zuo and Ratsoy (1999), studying student participation in governance at the University of Alberta, found that students’ impact was related to their philosophical approach, educational level, maturity, attitudes, and leadership style. The administration’s perception of student leaders was also a factor, as was the level of confrontation and the student body’s apathy or enthusiasm related to university governance. Student leaders were also affected by details such as meeting schedules and governing body rules. An ongoing question among student associations is whether elected student leaders should assume a middle-of-the-road position, while representing the political opinions of their constituents, or advocate on behalf of the student body from a more activist posture. The latter position has been fuelled in many Canadian institutions by cutbacks to educational funding over the last fifteen years, along with anti-globalization and anti-war sentiments – with varied outcomes. In 1997, for example, students at nine Ontario, one Quebec, and two British Columbia universities occupied administrative offices to protest increases in tuition fees (Hudson et al. 1997). While these actions focused attention on the issue, they did not cause a freeze or decrease in tuition.
Beyond issues relating to approach and perspective, there are other questions that arise from this level of student association service activity. Student associations are funded through student fees, often determined through referendum. Having them provide extensive services reduces the institutional financial obligation for student service provision, placing a larger financial burden for such services on students. In addition, services operated by student associations are vulnerable to concerns of accountability, assessment, and professional delivery. While the climate at Canadian institutions is generally one of tolerance for error as students learn the management process, some services may be deemed by institutional administrations essential to the student experience. It is clear that in service delivery there are advantages to the administration and students working more collaboratively on achieving goals of common interest.
Student affairs staff members are often seen as the bridge between institutions and student associations, including negotiation of civil exchanges around a variety of issues. While elected student leaders have access to senior administrative staff, it is helpful for student affairs staff to establish a solid working relationship with each year’s executive. This can involve early meetings to identify areas of common concern and mutual goals, assistance in navigating institutional decision-making, and provision of continuity regarding past decisions and activities.
Student engagement in the workings of Canadian colleges and universities has evolved from a singular focus on select issues and concerns to a full enterprise of service and advocacy that makes significant contributions to the quality of students’ experiences, and ultimately, to their degree of success. Through multiple organizations and programs managed by student leaders, student associations in Canadian higher education today provide conduits for much-needed services, as well as opportunities for student achievement within a rubric of potential learning outcomes. It is this involvement that warrants the full attention of student services professionals who are in a position not only to implement student leadership initiatives but also to inform them with the knowledge of best practices and understandings.