THE IMPACT OF STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SAINT ANTHONY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CORE COMPETENCIES
Introduction
One of the goals of higher education is to prepare students for their profession or occupation. In addition to
the traditional classroom environment, there are other opportunities that can help students in promoting their
professional interests and developing profe ssional skills.1 Involvement in student organizations is considered as one
of those opportunities for skill development. Foubert and Grainger (2006)2 have reported that more involved students
have greater skill development compared to uninvolved students that have lower developmental scores.
Literature has revealed that student organizations provide individuals opportunities to acquire or develop
valued communication skills, enable them to learn from others who have different ethnic backgrounds, and foster
care and support for underprivileged populations among them.3 Participation and membership in school organizations
seem to provide students with different opportunities to get acquainted with campus life and also enh ances intellectual development.4
Student organizations are present on nearly every college campus and represent a variety of student interests
such as community service, academic interests, the arts, and many others. These are representations of talents, passions,
and diversity of the student body that make up each university. These organizations also offer a “hidden
curriculum” that not only allows students to become skilled players in organizational arenas, but also provide benefits
to their communities. This “hidden curriculum” increases overall satisfaction with the college experience and provides
a means for students to enhance their organiz ational and general life skills.5
Student organizations function as social opportunities for students to network on college campuses and also serve
as a significant link for students to colleges or universities experiences. 6
According to Hall (2012)7, student organizations offer approaches to stimulate learning experience beyond the
classroom curriculum. They create networking opportunities among students with similar personal and professional
interests and provide the probability of building networks to bigger communities beyond an organization. Through
participation in student organizations, students can maintain relationships with other individuals that have the same
professional interests; develop stronger mentoring relationships with their teachers ; gain ability to think
critically, plan appropriately and make decisions.
Students who participated in student organizations viewed involvement as a significant element of their
socialization and academic persistence that provide participants with resources to excel in their academic
environments.8 Flowers suggested that participants are likely to continue towards achieving or completing their
degree as long as they remain committed to the organization. The more students participate in student
organizations, the more they are likely to improve essential abilities that will be useful in the real world setting.9
The Researchers suggest that involvement in student organizations contributes to the development of skills. At
many colleges and universities, it is not a requirement to participate in a student organization. However, college and
university students are well-served and gain leadership experience as well as other skills through opportunities
beyond the formal college classroom.
Students can enhance their education well-being by developing knowledge, skills and competencies through
engagement in some of the extra -curricular activities on campus such as participation in student organizations.
Involvement has long been studied as a major co ntributor to the development of college students. However, there is more
to learn about student organizations and their impact on student development. Previous studies on student
involvement and/or participation suggested that involvement in out-of-class activities has been shown to be an important
factor in the development of students. Employers are looking for students who have knowledge, skills and competencies
to work in organizations.
Conclusion
Involvement in student organizations really has an impact on student’s perception in the development of core
competencies. This study and results are based on perception of the students and what better way to understand ones development but through self-assessment.
Regarding Boks’ core competencies, involvement in student organizations has significant impact on the
development of skills, knowledge and competencies. For the most part, the findings of this study affirmed the literature
because several researchers proved that student organizations can be considered a powerful source of student development.
The statistically significant differences between males and females provided further evidence that females
perceived themselves to be developing skills differently than males. This can help to inform faculty advisors to this issue
and encourage males to improve their perception of their development of skills in order to be competitive in the global workplace.
Researchers
- Paul Gabriel A. Castroverde
- Jennifer A. Mendoza
- Elmer C. Saquido