AGAPSS Practitioner Training Modules     & Curriculum Project
Administrators in Graduate & Professional Student Services

Context & Goal:

As professionals working with graduate students, we are in a unique position to reflect on our own preparation for this work. We know that professionals can and should be better prepared, given that many come from academic disciplines outside of education. Even for those with advanced degrees in education, many are likely not to have been trained to work with and support graduate and professional students specifically. The overall goal of the training modules and curriculum project is to take an initial step in filling an identified gap in training practitioners who work (or hope to work) with graduate and professional students. A secondary goal is to create awareness of graduate student affairs work as an intentional career path for practitioners. Although our work as graduate faculty, scholars, and practitioners continues, we believe the training modules/curriculum project is a significant contribution toward meeting these goals.

Audience:

• Practitioners working with (or hoping to work with) graduate and/or professional students. Use:  ongoing professional development training

• Faculty teaching in higher ed/student affairs. Use: Curriculum in classes

• Graduate Students studying to be higher ed/student affairs administrators. Use: Professional development/course content

Project Overview:

AGAPSS exists to support professionals and to create greater awareness of the developmental needs of graduate students. As a consequence, practitioners and faculty need further training, professional support, and a common language with which to advocate for themselves and for their students at a campus-wide, regional, and national level. Therefore, a group of AGAPSS practitioners, who work with graduate students and/or in graduate schools full-time, have created “curriculum modules” that can be added as one-off sessions into pre-existing higher education/student affairs graduate courses, offered as a full elective course in these degree programs, or used for on-the-job training for practitioners already in these roles.

• Feel free browse and use the existing modules found below under “Current Training Modules (Grab-and-Go)"  We currently have existing modules for the following areas of graduate & professional student services:

  • International graduate students in the U.S.

  • Graduate student mentoring v. advising

  • Graduate student career & professional skill development

  • Graduate & professional student funding

  • First-generation graduate students in traditional & professional schools

  • Graduate communities & the importance of space

  • Mental health & wellness in graduate school

  • Graduate Student Development and Socialization Theories

  • Graduate & Professional Student Orientation and Onboarding

• If you would like to create a training module based on your professional experience, expertise, or research, view the file entitled “Steps for Creating a Module” and then use the “Module Template," both of which are also hosted below

• Current Training Modules ("Grab-and-Go")

• Steps for Creating a Module

• Module Template

• Contact AGAPSS KC & Curriculum Project Leaders

  • Dr. April Perry, alperry@wcu.edu

  • Dr. Valerie Shepard, vshepard@saonet.ucla.edu