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educators and that their learning in and out of class is all part of a single, whole,
educational experience. (p. 62)
McFeely College is philosophically committed to the ideas of integrated or experiential
learning and to the education of the whole person. However, at the time this case study
was developed, a lack of common understanding of these terms, coupled with the
pressure of the reaffirmation of accreditation and the use of experiential learning as a key
component of satisfying the accreditation process, has led to an inhibitor to collaboration.
Student affairs personnel potentially bring much to the table in the area of experiential
learning and co-curricular programming. As Creamer et al. (2001) observe, student
affairs personnel “promote student learning and personal development through the
execution of multiple educational activities that are fundamental to the basic purposes of
higher education and they execute them using principles of collaborative and active
learning” (p. 5). However, until faculty are assisted in developing and cultivating a
common institutional understanding of the underlying goals and until the expectations of
faculty members with regard to the accomplishment of those goals collaboration between
academic affairs and student affairs is unlikely to occur.
Recommendation 4: There must be alignment between institutional
expectations and the faculty promotion, tenure, and review systems. Among the
constraints to collaboration, as articulated by faculty, were time and concerns about the
potential negative impact of time spent on collaborative initiatives, as compared with
research and scholarship, on their path toward tenure. As Sandeen (2004) notes,
some faculty may hesitate to participate in joint efforts with student affairs—for
example, in developing residential learning communities—if they see no
professional rewards for themselves. This is especially the case if promotion and