College Student Affairs Leadership

About Our Students

Students entering the CSAL program come with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Some come directly out of an undergraduate degree program. Others have been working in higher education or other areas and they realized they lacked the foundational knowledge and the credential of the masters degree. Some students were actively involved in student affairs as undergraduates and decided early on to make it a career. Others came later to a realization that working with students in colleges and universities can provide a challenging and rewarding career.

Few undergraduate students have been exposed to student development theory and come to Grand Valley with majors as diverse as zoology, English, business, political science, religious studies, sociology or teacher preparation. There is no single "right" background to prepare a student for the CSAL program. The diversity of backgrounds helps make each cohort of students interesting, unique and dynamic.

Students entering the CSAL program earned undergraduate degrees from one hundred seven different institutions in twenty-six states and three other countries including:

Alabama A & M Rutgers University
Albion College Saginaw Valley State University
Alma College Salesian University, Equador
Aquinas College Seton Hall University
Ball State University Siena Heights University
Beaver College Southeastern Louisiana University
Bowling Green State University Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
Bradley University Spring Arbor College
Bridgewater State College St. Cloud State University
Calvin College St. Louis University
Central Michigan University St. Olaf College
Colorado State University SUNY-Purchase
Cornerstone University Taylor University
Davenport University The Ohio State University
DePaul University Trevecca Nazarene
DePauw University Unified Teaching Center of Brasilia, Brazil
Dominican University Universidad San Francisco, Equador
Dordt College University of California - Davis
Eastern Illinois University University of California-Santa Barbara
Eastern Michigan University University of Charleston
East Carolina University Unviersity of Cincinnati
Elmhurst College University of Detroit - Mercy
Ferris State University University of Illinois
Geneva College University of Illinois - Chicago
Grand Valley State University University of Kansas
Hillsdale College University of Maryland - Eastern Shore
Hope College University of Michigan
Illinois State University University of Michigan - Flint
Indiana University-Bloomington University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Indiana State University University of Missouri - Columbia
Iowa State University University of Missouri - Rolla
Kalamazoo College University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Kuyper College University of Nevada - Reno
Lake Superior State University University of Northern Iowa
Manchester College University of Notre Dame
Marion College University of Texas-Austin
Marquette University University of Victoria, Canada
Miami University of Ohio University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
Michigan State University University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse
Michigan Technological University University of Wisconsin - Madison
North Carolina State University University of Wisconisin - Oshkosh
North Central College University of Wisconsin - Parkside
Northern Michigan University University of Wisconsin - River Falls
Oakland University University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
Ohio Northern University Wayne State University
Ohio Wesleyan University Webster University
Old Dominion University Western Illinois University
Otterbein College Western Michigan University
Penn State-Altoona Westminster College
Philadelphia College of Textiles Wheaton College
Purdue University Wilamette University
Quinnipiac University Winston-Salem State University
Reed College Wright State University
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology  


Since the first cohort of students entered the CSAL program in the fall of 1995, three hundred twenty-four students have completed the M.Ed. and have taken positions in two hundred one higher education institutions and more than thirty organizations in thirty-eight states.

Page last modified December 10, 2012