LAUSR

The revised ACPA/NASPA Professional Com­ petency Areas for Student Affairs Educators (PCASAE) reinforced the profession’s commit­ ment to educating students as whole persons while also detailing specific areas in which student affairs practitioners should be knowl­ edge able and competent (American College Personnel Association [ACPA/NASPA], 2015). Both an understanding and consider ation of the professional competencies of the field and the ability to practice them are essential (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education [CAS], 2015). It is crucial that students in student affairs preparation programs (SAPP) are able to connect the important concepts and theories that they are learning in the classroom with what they are learning in their internships, field studies, and graduate assistantships (GAs). Experiential learning opportunities are therefore a common feature of SAPP helping students develop skills and knowledge necessary to excel in their professional practice. Scholars have identified the need to intentionally consider the influence of experi­ ential learning on professional preparation (Kuk, Cobb, & Forrest, 2007; Renn & Jessup Anger, 2008); however, there is an absence of scholarly research addressing ways to maximize the benefits of assistantships and other experiential learning in the field of student affairs (SA), particularly for students who are guided and supervised by someone not highly experienced with the PCASAE and/or professional preparation outside the field of higher education and SA.