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Drawing on staffing-practice research and literature from higher education and business, it outlines common gaps in existing programs and argues for orientation as an ongoing, needs-specific process.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/orienting-mid-level-student-affairs-professionals-why-orientation-needs-and-best-practices/599532/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/orienting-mid-level-student-affairs-professionals-why-orientation-needs-and-best-practices/599532.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"jayni","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why does the article emphasize orientation for mid-level student affairs professionals?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Mid-level roles are described as particularly complex and are often supported by too few orientation mechanisms, leaving unique needs inadequately addressed.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What problems can inadequate new employee orientation cause?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Inadequate support can create difficulties for both the institution and the individual staff member, undermining the effectiveness of organizational teams.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the article describe effective orientation over time?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Orientation should not be a one-time event; it should function as an ongoing process that begins with recruitment and continues through early employment as intentional acclimation.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},599532,1792189339,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},3985747859343,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","Orienting Mid-Level Student Affairs Professionals  \nPeter C. Mather, Stephen P. Bryan, William O. Faulkner  \nMid-level managers comprise a large proportion of student affairs organizations. They are often the most overlooked when it comes to professional orientation and institutional introduction when entering new positions. Accordingly, information is presented from the professional literature that speaks to the characteristics and unique needs of this administrative cohort, with attention to orientation needs, including life and work transition, role complexity, leadership demands, and technical skills requirements. Finally, a process developed for a mid-size, private university’s student affairs division is offered as an example for preparing orientation for mid-level staff.  \nEmployees play a central role in creating and sustaining quality higher education institutions. In both academic and co-curricular departments, the skills and commitment of people who comprise the workforce are essential to an institution’s effectiveness. Despite this, a national study of staffing practices in student affairs found that they are often given cursory treatment (Winston & Creamer, 1997) . Furthermore, Winston and Creamer noted that new employee orientation is among the staffing practices that are both an area of importance and a topic largely neglected in the literature. Since Winston and Creamer’s study, this issue has remained largely unaddressed in the professional literature (Carpenter, 2001) .  \nThis article addresses orientation practices for a specific category of staff: mid-level student affairs professionals. Position orientation is important for every new hire. However, this particular level of staff is addressed for two primary reasons: (1) mid-level positions are purported to be particularly complex positions, suggesting unique needs for support (Ackerman, 2007; Ellis and Moon, 1991; Scott, 1978; and Young, 1990), and (2) there is an absence of orientation and other support mechanisms for mid-level positions (Winston & Creamer, 1997) .  \nWhy Orientation?  \nStarting a new position is viewed as a major life transition, which normally indicates a period of significant, personal challenge (Schlossberg, Waters, & Goodman, 1995) . While some element of challenge is inevitable, providing inadequate support for new employees can create problems for both the institution and the individual staff person (Carpenter, 2001; Mondy, 2008) . Organizations suffer when they do not attend to employees’ needs (Pfeffer, 2007) . A thoughtful, well-designed new staff orientation program is an important means for a student affairs division and an institution to  \ndemonstrate necessary support for new employees. Mondy points out that“first impressions are often the most lasting,” and “orientation programs give organizations an opportunity to begin the relationship with a good start”(p. 215) .  \nCarpenter (2001) compared inadequate orientation of a new staff member to driving a new car without reading the owner’s manual. Both are commonplace, but neither is advisable. Indeed, the consequences of putting a staff person to work without providing position orientation are serious. Thus, Carpenter asserted that sound orientation of new staff is “ethically necessary”(p 225) .  \nDespite its importance, there is evidence that new employee orientation programs in student affairs are often inadequate. In a survey of 67 student affairs professionals who had changed institutions (Winston & Creamer, 1997), a majority of respondents reported that 11 of 15 orientation subjects were addressed poorly or not at all. Subjects that were reportedly addressed well by at least 50 percent of respondents were “introduction to staff”(79%), “student population characteristics” (55%), “performance expectations” (54%), and “benefits plan” (50%) . Subjects that were least likely to be addressed well were “unwritten institutional expectations,”“staff development policies,” “relevant","cbCaiuJWIffSSnm5","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiuJWIffSSnm5","pdf",197544,15,"English","# Why Orientation?\n## Impact of inadequate support\n## Ethical necessity of orientation\n# Mid-level Orientation Needs\n## Role and responsibilities of mid-level staff\n## Why they are often ignored\n# Orientation Best Practices and Ongoing Process\n## Orientation as continuous acclimation","[{\"question\":\"Why does the article emphasize orientation for mid-level student affairs professionals?\",\"answer\":\"Mid-level roles are described as particularly complex and are often supported by too few orientation mechanisms, leaving unique needs inadequately addressed.\"},{\"question\":\"What problems can inadequate new employee orientation cause?\",\"answer\":\"Inadequate support can create difficulties for both the institution and the individual staff member, undermining the effectiveness of organizational teams.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article describe effective orientation over time?\",\"answer\":\"Orientation should not be a one-time event; it should function as an ongoing process that begins with recruitment and continues through early employment as intentional acclimation.\"}]","Orienting Mid-Level Student Affairs Professionals - Why Orientation - Needs and Best Practices | PDF",1792088947,38]