College Student Affairs Leadership

About Our Students

Students entering the CSAL program come with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Some come directly out of an undergraduate degree program. Others have been working in higher education or other areas and decide they realized they lacked the foundational knowledge and the credential of the masters degree. Some students were actively involved in student affairs as undergraduates and decided early on to make it a career. Others came later to a realization that working with students in colleges and universities can provide a challenging and rewarding career.

Few undergraduate students have been exposed to student development theory and come to Grand Valley with majors as diverse as zoology, English, business, political science, religious studies, sociology or teacher preparation. There is no single "right" background to prepare a student for the CSAL program. The diversity of backgrounds helps make each cohort of students interesting, unique and dynamic.

Students entering the CSAL program earned undergraduate degrees from one hundred one different institutions in twenty-six states and three other countries including:

Alabama A & M Rutgers University
Albion College Saginaw Valley State University
Alma College Salesian University, Equador
Aquinas College Seton Hall University
Ball State University Siena Heights University
Beaver College Southeastern Louisiana University
Bowling Green State University Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
Bridgewater State College Spring Arbor College
Calvin College St. Cloud State University
Central Michigan University St. Louis University
Colorado State University St. Olaf College
Cornerstone University SUNY-Purchase
Davenport University Taylor University
DePaul University The Ohio State University
DePauw University Trevecca Nazarene
Dominican University Unified Teaching Center of Brasilia, Brazil
Dordt College Universidad San Francisco, Equador
Eastern Illinois University University of California - Davis
Eastern Michigan University University of Charleston
East Carolina University University of Cincinnati
Ferris State University University of Detroit - Mercy
Geneva College University of Illinois
Grand Valley State University University of Illinois - Chicago
Hillsdale College University of Kansas
Hope College University of Maryland - Eastern Shore
Illinois State University University of Michigan
Indiana University-Bloomington University of Michigan - Flint
Indiana State University University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Iowa State University University of Missouri - Columbia
Kalamazoo College University of Missouri - Rolla
Kuyper College University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lake Superior State University University of Nevada - Reno
Manchester College University of Northern Iowa
Marion College University of Notre Dame
Marquette University University of Victoria, Canada
Miami University of Ohio University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
Michigan State University University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse
Michigan Technological University University of Wisconsin - Madison
North Carolina State University University of Wisconisin - Oshkosh
North Central College University of Wisconsin - Parkside
Northern Michigan University University of Wisconsin - River Falls
Oakland University University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
Ohio Northern University Wayne State University
Ohio Wesleyan University Webster University
Old Dominion University Western Illinois University
Otterbein College Western Michigan University
Penn State-Altoona Westminster College
Philadelphia College of Textiles Wheaton College
Quinnipiac University Winston-Salem State University
Reed College Wright State University
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology  


Since the first cohort of students entered the CSAL program in the fall of 1995, two hundred ninety-four students have completed the M.Ed. and have taken positions in one hundred ninety-five higher education institutions and more than thirty organizations in thirty-eight states.