LET’S TALK (OR WRITE) ABOUT CLASS

Have you ever heard folks say, “We don’t talk about class in higher education”?  I often wonder, what “we” do they mean?  I think class conversations are abundant, if you pay attention, with suggestions that we, as college administrators:

·         Make college more affordable. 

·         Change the FAFSA.  

·         Close opportunity gaps for low-income students.   

·         Stop charging tuition for unpaid academic internships.  

·         Understand why some students avoid loans at all costs.

·         Pay attention to our own class privileges.

We may not talk about social class enough, but you can help change that by writing or presenting on the topic for the next academic year.  Think about it: What conversations are you having on your campus or in your circles?  Would you be willing to write and/or present on your ideas? If you need some inspiration, you might create/expand your summer reading list to learn from campus custodians, academics or people from different class positions.  

We seek submissions for the annual NASPA Knowledge Community conference publication with a priority review deadline of September 2.  You may even find that writing about a social class topic can be great preparation to submit a NASPA annual conference proposal (also due September 2).

CONTENT:  Articles can include original research, best practices, opinion pieces, and even personal reflections.  The goal is not to promote a particular program/service or replicate what you might read in one of NASPA’s Journals.  More than anything, the article should generate conversation about social class issues in higher education.  Reading the 2016 and 2015 versions will give you a sense of the range of topics and styles accepted.

FORMAT:  Articles should not exceed 1250 words (for a total of about five pages, INCLUDING references) and should follow APA style guidelines.  Your writing should support at least one of the Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Practitioners and, ideally, connect to the 2017 conference themes of Integrity, Innovation, Inclusion, and Inquiry.

PROCESS:  Create a title page with the title of your article; professional competency area(s) addressed; author name(s) and contact information.  Do not include names on subsequent pages. Preferred format is MS Word, Calibri, 12-point font, although.pdf files and other formats (Pages, GoogleDocs, etc.) will be accepted.  Submit articles by September 2 to [email protected].

Volunteer reviewers from the knowledge community will select one article for submission to the annual conference publication.  We will also try to assist all authors in getting their work out there.  For example, some selections might be great additions to the resources or blog pieces on our site, while others might be suitable for publication in related class in education blogs, journals, or book proposals.  Authors will be notified in October of the status of their piece.