About NASPA Tech Tools:
Bridging the Gap between Student Affairs and Technology
by Candace Wannamaker (Drexel University) and Chris Husser (University of Virginia)

If the profession of student affairs is about promoting the intellectual and personal development of students so that they can achieve success beyond the doors of higher education, we as student affairs professionals must increase our understanding of information technology and the role it plays in our daily work.
For better or for worse, technology is already a regular part of the intellectual, personal and even social development of students across the country and indeed the entire world. The students of today have expectations that we will be able to interact with them electronically using the technology they understand and use frequently. As student affairs professionals, we need to be a driving force that embraces technology and welcomes the new dimension it will bring to our interaction with each other as well as with our students. To do anything less than at least considering the implications of technology on the field of student affairs may create a gap between the theory and practice of student services that will only continue to widen with time.

So this rhetoric is nothing new right? Many chief student affairs officers have long been grappling with the decision on whether the strategic use of information technology is a core competency they want to develop in their divisions.

A division of student affairs is rarely a well-resourced unit in the organizational hierarchy of higher education. With lean economic times, it likely seems appealing to many student affairs professionals to look toward central IT departments for their technological needs; but can a central IT group truly connect with the broader mission of student affairs or understand the developing nature and needs of students?
When we began our tenure as Co-Chairs of the NASPA Technology Knowledge Community, our focus was on figuring out how student affairs and technology go hand-in-hand. These specific issues are precisely what we wrestled with on a daily basis.

Ultimately the predominant thinking among us and our colleagues became that there isn’t a simple answer to the question of how student affairs and technology intertwine. Rather, it’s up to each institution to define this overlap for itself based on internal resources, politics, organizational culture, and so forth.

This debate brought up a fundamentally broader and even greater question: how could we in the Knowledge Community serve our members and constituents when everyone has different needs? How could we possibly hope to create conversation around or distribute knowledge regarding the variety of technology topics facing student affairs professionals considering the broad spectrum of expertise or experience each person brings to this conversation? If we focused on topics too philosophical—say for instance the debate between how theory and practice intersect in student affairs—then our “techies” and self-proclaimed geeks might be left out. Likewise, a discussion of the challenges behind virtualization technologies would probably send the non-technical folks running for the hills.

Where could we begin with as chasm so vast and seemingly unbridgeable? As we sat bleary-eyed and watched the back-and-forth of arguing for a specific direction drip down our computer monitors like a bad scene from the Matrix, a key realization occurred to us: given the versatility of technology, why should we limit ourselves? Previous leaders within our community had surveyed the membership in the past and so we had a good sense of how the members all viewed their roles within student affairs as they pertained to technology. Thus, we decided that we would use something like a modern Web 2.0 blog to assist in bridging the gap between technology and student affairs professionals no matter which of the three following categories we knew them to be in:

• Managers – those who have direct responsibility for technology in their organization
• Enthusiasts – those who want to learn how technology can enable or enhance their work
• Scholars – those who focus on using technology in teaching and education.

Thus, we will soon be launching NASPATechTools.org. Our hope is that by providing this framework of NaspaTechTools.org we will begin building an intersection between technology and student affairs where professionals will feel empowered and engaged. One expectation is that student affairs professions will be empowered to expand their comfort zone and further their interests no matter it resides. We are also hopeful that comfort zones will expand exponentially with increased knowledge and that we will grow and develop as we strive to learn from each other.

Consistent with modern website practices, it’s our intent is to develop an electronic community based on relationships where everyone involved brings something to the table and technology is no longer a one-dimensional conversation. Our vision is such that NASPATechTools.org will be a welcoming community that will embrace all professionals regardless of their technical expertise.

So how do we bridge the gap between student affairs and technology? We invite you to join us and share your perspective because in a gap this wide, there is room for much more conversation and debate.