Grand Valley State University's Master of Arts (M.A.) in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration (HESAA) program prepares students to become effective practitioner educators who pursue various administrative roles in higher education contexts, facilitate student learning and promote student success, and shape inclusive higher education communities. Graduates of the HESAA program are prepared to work in a variety of areas such as admissions, student orientation, housing, academic advising, financial aid, inclusion and equity, and international affairs.

Grand Valley State University's College of Education and Community Innovation is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The faculty are leaders in their fields, melding together the philosophy of education and your needs as a practitioner.

EDH47: College Student Development Theories in Practice: This course surveys theories of college student development, focusing on the role and application of student development theory in the student affairs profession while foregrounding theory's relevance for today's diverse student population. Contemporary critiques, research, and recent developments in the field of student development theory-in-practice are discussed.

EDH649: Professional Seminar in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration: This course is designed to provide students a comprehensive understanding of professional and ethical practice within higher education and student affairs. The course focuses on developing professional identity, values, and competencies. Students will explore principles that guide student affairs professionals, and critically analyze ethical challenges they may encounter as professionals.

EDH651: Introduction to Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration: This course provides an overview of the historical and contemporary development of U.S. higher education and student affairs. 

EDH652: College Students and Their Environments: This course examines how student learning opportunities and outcomes are influenced by student characteristics and by collegiate environments in the United States.

EDH653: Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education: This course is designed to provide knowledge and skills to effectively create, assess and evaluate co-curricular programs and services in postsecondary settings. The course focuses on the principles, methods, and tools used to gather, analyze, and interpret data to inform decision-making and enhance the overall student experience. 

EDH655: Advising and Supporting in Higher Education: This course provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively support, advise and supervise students and professionals in postsecondary settings. This course also explores the theories, practices, and strategies, with a focus on enhancing student and staff success, engagement, and retention. 

EDH656: Organization and Administration in Higher Education: This course surveys theories and models of organizational structure, leadership, administrative behavior, funding, governance, and management of higher education; processes and factors influencing institutional decision-making; and higher education strategic planning.

EDH685: Practicum/Graduate Field Experience in Higher Education: Field-based experience designed to provide clinical experience for graduate students. Each practicum shall be no less than the minimum requirements set forth by state and accrediting agencies and must be with approval by the appropriate program personnel. All practica will require seminars.

See the section below for further information on fulfilling HESAA's practical experience requirement.

EDH693: Master's Project (Capstone): The student identifies a problem, reviews literature, creates a product based on applicable literature, research or theory that addresses the problem, and develops a plan for implementation and evaluation. Offered every semester. Prerequisites: Completion of 27 credit hours, EDF 660, application required (application deadline: fall semester May 15, winter semester September 15, spring/summer semester February 15); and completion of the Responsible Conduct of Research Training within the last three years.

EDH648: Learning in Adulthood: This course explores the theories, local/temporal/global contexts, and various motivations that support learning in adulthood. Adults' motivations, barriers, learning preferences, and experiences in formal, non-formal, and informal learning environments are considered. 

EDH650: Teaching and Learning in Continuing and Postsecondary Education: This course explores the principles, theories, and practices related to teaching and learning in continuing and postsecondary settings. The course equips educators with the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary to effectively facilitate learning experiences for a variety of adult and postsecondary learning populations.

EDH654: Student Affairs Administrators and the Law: This course provides the organizational behaviors and administrative practices unique to community colleges. Drawing on current and historical research, the course will examine educational philosophy and curricular objectives, student demographics, faculty and staff development, governance and leadership, and financial management of community colleges..

EDH657: The Community College: This course explores the organizational behaviors and administrative practices unique to community colleges. Drawing on current and historical research, the course will examine educational philosophy and curricular objectives, student demographics, faculty and staff development, governance and leadership, and financial management of community colleges.

EDH658: Critical Issues in Higher Education: This course provides a study of contemporary higher education and will include an analysis of the changing needs and demands of society and how they impact higher education. Attention is centered on issues emphasizing organization and administration, curriculum, college students, faculty, and retention.

EDH659: Gender and Sexuality in Higher Education: This course examines how notions of gender and sexuality converge with additional categories, such as race or (dis)ability, to structure the distribution of access and resources in higher education contexts. 

EDH661: Crisis Management in Higher Education: This course examines theories and practical approaches to managing crises within higher education and student affairs.  Students will learn how to recognize and respond to crisis situations in a postsecondary education setting, and strategies to communicate and assess crisis responses.

EDH662: Religion and Spirituality in Higher Education: This course examines the intersection of religion and higher education. Students will explore historical perspectives and contemporary issues related to religion, faith, spirituality, and secularism within higher education. 

EDH665: Emotion and Affect in Higher Education: This course examines the roles of emotion and affect in postsecondary education and student affairs. Specifically, the course examines the roles of  body, space, and time in generating emotionally- and affectively-laden learning environments. The influence of  emotion and affect on student learning, development, engagement, retention, and administration will be explored.

EDF 660 - Educational Inquiry and Evaluation: Introduces educational inquiry and explores the impact it can have on educational institutions. Investigates educational evaluation. Provides foundational research knowledge necessary for Capstone course EDF 693.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training: Required research ethics training. Must be completed before enrolling in EDH 693 (Capstone). Available online.

The M.A. in HESAA program places a strong emphasis on master’s candidates gaining practical experience in the field of higher education and student affairs. One key component of the curriculum is the requirement two separate supervised practice experiences. This required field work both fulfills the program's CAS agreements and offers students invaluable experience for course credit which is a typical requirement for student affairs graduate preparation programs. Students are responsible for acquiring their own practicum experience that aligns with their professional development goals.  

Students primarily satisfy this requirement in one of three different ways: 

• Full-time employment in the field. Students who work full-time in higher education / student affairs can work with their advisors to ensure that their full-time work satisfies the program requirement for supervised professional experiences. Students working full-time in the field will not be required to take EDH685 and will enroll in another elective class instead. 

• Graduate assistantship appointment (20 hrs/wk). Students working a 20 hour/week graduate assistantship will use their assistantship to satisfy one of the supervised professional experiences. The other supervised experience will take the shape of a summer or fall practicum, enrolling in either EDH685 (summer) or EDH686 (fall).  

• Holding neither full-time employment nor graduate assistantship in the field. Students who neither work full-time in higher education / student affairs, nor holding a graduate assistantship in the field, will be required to enroll in both EDH685 and EDH686 to satisfy the two supervised professional experiences required by the program 

Students who take EDH686 in addition to EDH685 will apply their EDH686 credits as elective credit. 

Students seeking to satisfy one of the practical experience requirements with EDH685 or EDH686 have different options for finding a practicum. Some students participate in organized internship opportunities through professional organizations in the field (such as ACUHO-I and NODA internships), while others design experiences within an office at a local or regional institution. HESAA students typically log at least 150 hours during a practicum experience, though fall practicum experiences may work the equivalent of half-time hours. While summer practicum experiences may be facilitated anywhere, fall practicum experiences are encouraged to take place at GVSU or other local universities.