Over the past two decades, the curricular approach has transformed how student affairs educators bring intentionality, clarity, alignment, and integration to their work. What began as an experiment in a few housing and residence life programs has grown into a movement uniting divisions of student affairs, crossing campus boundaries, and now shaping entire institutions.
I’ve been fortunate to walk alongside institutions at every stage of this journey, from the earliest departmental pilots to divisions breaking down silos to better serve students, and now to colleges and universities pursuing institution-wide curricular approaches.
Departmental Beginnings
The curricular approach first emerged in housing and residence life, not because residence halls are uniquely suited for it, but because many of us pioneering this work happened to lead in that context. The early departmental efforts demonstrated that intentional design, clear learning goals, and aligned action could transform the student experience.
Divisional Alignment
Over the past decade, many institutions have scaled from departmental to divisional approaches. When an entire student affairs division commits to clear outcomes, aligned strategies, and intentional learning design, the benefits multiply: streamlined resources, reduced redundancy, more meaningful initiatives, and stronger results for students and staff.
Cross-Divisional Collaboration
Several campuses I’ve worked with have gone further, creating cross-divisional curricular approaches that span multiple divisions focused on learning beyond the classroom, including student affairs, academic support, and equity & inclusion. Aligning across units beyond the classroom unifies purpose, fosters collaboration, and delivers a more holistic learning experience.
Institutional Approaches
The newest evolution is a complete institutional curricular approach. Colleges and universities are beginning to articulate outcomes for the entire student experience, within and beyond the classroom. Some institutional approaches grow out of divisional work; others start at the institutional level. These efforts engage faculty, staff, and administrators from academics, student affairs, enrollment, athletics, advancement, communications, and more. Often, institutional curricular approaches become part of or even replace traditional strategic plans, offering clarity of purpose and aligned action across the whole campus.
Insights for Institutions Exploring This Path
- Be broadly inclusive of students, staff, faculty, alums, and community voices. You can be inclusive as well as nimble and efficient.
- Move from overlapping sets of outcomes from academic and student affairs toward a single set of outcomes shared across academics and student life.
- Prioritize holistic outcomes, not just academic and career-related. These might include self-awareness, well-being, leadership, inclusion, and relationship building alongside academics and career readiness. These aspects are what employers are seeking and human societies need.
- Use this process to clarify your institution’s unique value proposition and communicate it explicitly to the campus community, current and future.
- Leverage intentionality, clarity, alignment, and integration to bring meaning, connection, and fulfillment to our collective work.
- Streamline communication, resources, and people around what matters most.
- Translate shared learning aims into action through academic programs, course syllabi, educational and program plans, enrollment strategy, alum engagement initiatives, and more.
- Use the language of “curricular approach” strategically—sometimes it provides credibility and gravitas, sometimes it hinders buy-in. What matters most is not the label but the practice, approach, and tools to best serve students.
Your Curricular Approach
The curricular approach is no longer just a departmental tool. It has become a framework for aligning divisional efforts and entire institutions toward holistic student learning and thriving communities. As higher education faces shrinking budgets, enrollment cliffs, and growing public scrutiny, clarity and alignment are not luxuries; they are essential.
If your institution is ready to explore the next evolution, whether at the departmental, divisional, or institutional level, I’d love to partner with you to consider, launch, and evolve your curricular approach. Together, we can help you do less, so you can be more, and ensure your students, staff, and institution thrive.
