The culture of small institutions: Unique spaces for meaningful and sustainable collaboration between academic affairs and student affairs

Abstract Collaboration between academic and student affairs fosters meaningful student engagement, supports academic achievement, and facilitates a robust campus community. Although these partnerships can be challenging to develop, small institutions occupy a unique position in higher education, as these collaborations are highly valued as fundamental to the campus culture and an essential factor in the practical life of the institution. By focusing specifically on the role of the faculty in collaboration with student affairs professionals at small institutions, this article demonstrates the unique and tremendous power of small institutions in fostering meaningful, robust, and sustainable partnerships between academic and student affairs. Because of their histories, traditions, and structure, small institutions possess a strong and distinct foundation for collaborative work with corresponding benefits and challenges. Finally, this article provides practical recommendations for student affairs professionals at small institutions about ways to draw upon their distinct culture and to understand why these partnerships are important for our students and their development, for faculty and student affairs professionals, for our institutions that are faced with mounting economic, social, and political pressures, and for the public good more broadly.