NASPA Renames Journal to Reflect Gender Focus

A respected educational administrator with more than a decade of experience, Dr. Emmanuel Lalande serves as the vice president for enrollment management at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. As part of his commitment to professional development and networking with peers, Dr. Emmanuel Lalande maintains membership in the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).

NASPA recently put together a task force to look at the breadth of topics covered in its peer-reviewed journal - specifically whether or not the contents adequately tackled issues of gender. After taking a careful look at the content, the NASPA board decided that the journal should receive a new title to reflect the broader scope of its mission. The publication will now be called the Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, starting in January 2019. 

The journal’s expanded focus will delve deeply into the systemic obstacles that continue to plague all aspects of education, from the student level to faculty, staff, and administrative environments. The peer-reviewed research in the journal will serve as a bellwether for existing knowledge and emergent findings concerning these issues.

What Do Students Look For in a School?

Since early 2018, Emmanuel Lalande has been vice president for enrollment management at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. In this role, Emmanuel Lalande oversees multiple offices with an eye toward the recruitment and retention of students.

When choosing a school to attend, students assess several factors, some of which may compete with each other. While every student's needs are different, some factors are almost always associated with quality.

A high four-year graduation rate often indicates a good choice, but other factors can confound the numbers. Extremely selective colleges often have high graduation rates due to the preparations students made beforehand. Schools with large numbers of students in professional programs, such as nursing or education, may have reduced four-year graduation rates due to the program length, as well.

A low student-to-faculty ratio can also be a strong indicator. Due to research pressures placed on some faculty, however, there are often diminishing returns on this value since some faculty members may be more occupied with research rather than instruction. Healthy ratios tend to be about 15 students per faculty member, though as high as 20 isn't unheard of.

Students also look at unique social factors for the school. Clubs, special interest groups, or health and wellness facilities can help draw students' eyes and retain them.