Graduate Assistantship Partners

Host a HESA Program-Affiliated Graduate Assistant

Why host a HESA GA? What are the benefits?

• Student-Centered Professionals: HESA Graduate Students enter their graduate studies with various experiences and skills that center relationship building with students and teams, including but not limited to developing and implementing student-centered campus and student programming/event planning (i.e., experience creating and implementing student programming; e.g., First-Year Experiences, Orientation) with strong attention to details; advocating for student; conflict mediation skills; emergency response skills; understanding of college student development; counseling skills; community-building experiences; one-on-one advising skills; facilitation skills; and student supervision experience (i.e., experience hiring & training student employees, leading teams).
• Specific Higher Education Graduate Education: Our graduate students advance their knowledge and skills of working on a college campus through our master’s program which provides them with content and experiences related to conducting assessments; college student development theory and how to integrate it to inform programming; history of functional areas on campus; leadership knowledge and skills; fundraising; managing and supervising; dialoging across differences; applying leadership theory to analyze group dynamics; applying higher education scholarship and theory to inform decision-making; deep understanding of and critical thinking to support diversity, equity, and inclusion; active listening skills; and reflective practices.
• Relevant Professional and Service Experiences: Our graduate students often have prior experience working and serving in various roles on college campuses and they bring that experience with them to their graduate assistants. These include but are not limited to experiences as residential assistants, managers, and assistant directors; teaching; campus programming board; college access advising; peer advising; LGBTQ programming; campus guide; Title IX training; orientation leadership; alumni relations; financial aid advising; and academic advising.
• Relevant and Valuable Skills: Our students have relevant skills and knowledge for working specifically on a college campus. These include assessment knowledge and skills; writing/communication skills; strong organizational skills; skilled at creating trainings (e.g., for student employees); diversity, equity and inclusion advocacy; knowledge of how to use event management systems; ability to be flexible; skilled at independent work and working on team projects; and knowledge of different functional areas on campus.

As a graduate preparation program, we aim to develop reflective scholar-practitioners. We strongly encourage students to hold a graduate assistantship unless they are employed in another higher education or related role. HESA Program-Affiliated Graduate Assistantships are critical to the majority of our students’ learning and ability to fund their graduate education.

Graduate Assistantship sites also gain significant benefits from employing a HESA student during their two years of graduate study. HESA students bring rich and varied experiences in higher education and related fields. HESA students focus on applying what they are learning from our curriculum to their assistantships. Hosting a HESA Program-Affiliated Graduate Assistantship is an investment in emerging higher education and student affairs practitioners and adding a valuable colleague to your organization.