Student Affairs and Services Mediates the Context for Students’ Living, Learning, and Development: Lessons from COVID-19

Abstract

This study presents findings from a survey implemented in May 2020 on responses to COVID-19 by Student Affairs and Services (SAS) practitioners around the world. Conducted by researchers from Germany, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, the survey yielded 781 valid responses. Results show the involvement of SAS practitioners in COVID-19 institutional decision-making, actions taken during the pandemic, and the critical impact SAS had on different student groups and universities located in different contexts. The research demonstrates how SAS mediated the impacts of differently constituted public domains and sociocultural contexts on students and how SAS responded to diverse student needs. Based on the data, we outline a model for understanding SAS’s broader engagement with students in various contexts to enable conditions that promote student persistence and success.