CAS Releases Revised Standards for Graduate and Professional Student Programs and Services

The standards for Graduate and Professional Student Programs and Services have been revised to reflect important changes in the field.

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education is pleased to announce the release of the revised standards for Graduate and Professional Student Programs and Services (GPSPS). CAS, composed of 41 collaborating professional associations representing over 115,000 professionals in higher education, has developed standards and guidelines for 45 functional areas, and rooted them in the scholarship and work conducted within their respective fields. The new standards delineate expectations for educators in the related functional areas and complement the ninth edition of the CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education.

Dr. Lisa Sperling, Senior Director Diversity and Recruiting Initiatives, Graduate School, University of Georgia, served as a functional expert for the revised GPSPS Standards. She recognizes the need for understanding the changing landscape of graduate education, “For offices focused on developing programs and services for graduate and professional students, 21st century graduate education is a complex endeavor requiring a growing holistic and collaborative approach.”

Dr. Sperling highlights the following changes to the revised GPSPS standards: “The revised... standards address emerging academic issues such as research ethics in a technologically-evolving world, issues of health and well-being including offering mental health and financial literacy resources, and the necessity of data-driven decision-making to inform practice.”

As Ms. Pat Carretta, retired Assistant Vice President for University Life at George Mason University and chair for the GPSPS standards committee, notes, “The GPSPS standards recognize a variety of organizational and reporting models and emphasize the criticality of consultation, cooperation and coordination across student and academic affairs to ensure delivery of highest quality programs and services.”

CAS is pleased to announce the release of revised standards for this important functional area. Ms. Carretta further shares the importance of this revision, “At many institutions the focus on student and academic support services is primarily the undergraduate student. The CAS standards for GPSPS recognize the unique needs of graduate and professional students and provide a framework for developing and improving comprehensives services for this growing population.”

The revised Graduate and Professional Student Programs and Services standards and Self-Assessment Guide are now available at https://www.cas.edu/store_home.asp. Please contact CAS executive director Marybeth Drechsler Sharp ([email protected] or 202.862.1400) with questions and media inquiries.