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Joy Smith is the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Clemson University. She believes that there are four different kinds of communication or writing which are essential in her field. First, she and her staff constantly prepare Executive Summaries. An E.S. is the condensation of a vast amount of information into a couple pages so that the Board of Trustees will be able to review it in a timely manner. Examples include the minutes and activities of the Alcohol and Drug Task Force, surveys on student learning styles, or proposals for campus recreation fees (which would also have charts attached). Second, business communication over email is important because Clemson and the Board of Trustees look to her for suggestions of improvements that can be made across campus, including placement for new programs and reconstructing existing programs. Third, she uses crisis communication frequently, which is also mostly alternate excluding the actual interaction with the student. An example would include a young man calling the police to tell them that his roommate is suicidal, the police calling the CMT (Crisis Management Team), the CMT meeting to decide a course of action, and then the CMT contacting the young man, his roommate, and CAPS. Forth, she sends ongoing regards like Thank You notes, Congratulations, and such for all of the good things that are taking place in Student Affairs activities on campus.
When asked about possible preparation that would be beneficial for a person hoping to enter the Student Affairs field, she points on that first, a Masters degree is required. Counseling and psychological training is necessary to prepare individuals for difficult situations. Knowledge of business like accounting is always a plus because the Student Affairs programs all have budgets. Finally, undergraduate service industry degrees like Communications, Education, and English make up an excellent basis to on which to begin building a Student Affairs career.