What is NUFP?

The NASPA Undergraduate Fellows program is a semi-structured mentoring program for undergraduate students wishing to explore and better understand the field of student affairs and/or higher education. Students and mentors apply as a pair, and if selected are provided the foundation to establish a semi-structured mentoring relationship at their institution. Students, once selected, are known as Fellows, and are also given the opportunity to attend a national conference, participate in paid internships, and participate in the Summer Leadership Institute.

NUFP Mission

The mission of the NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program is to increase the number of persons of ethnic-minority, persons with disabilities, and/or persons who identify as LGBT in student affairs and higher education.

NUFP Program Elements

On-campus Fellowship with Mentor

Fellows and their Mentors participate in an ongoing exchange designed to provide the Fellow with a chance to develop a sense of what a career in student affairs or higher education might be like.

Conference Attendance

Fellows are provided the opportunity to attend NASPAs annual conference.

Summer Internship

Fellows are offered the opportunity to apply and participate in a paid summer internship in student affairs or higher education, at an institution other than their own, as a means of broadening their experience base and their perspective on student affairs and higher education.

Summer Leadership Institute

Fellows are invited to apply to and attend the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), a four-day workshop focused on skill building and career development. The SLI provides not only an in-depth leadership development experience but also prepares Fellows for graduate work in student affairs/higher education, as well as training to develop cultural competence and networking skills. During the institute, Fellows have the opportunity to meet and interact with other Fellows and administrators from across the country, as well as student affairs administrators serving as institute faculty.

NUFP Learning Outcomes

NUFP activities and components are structured around a set of critical learning outcomes. These learning outcomes are reflected in the curriculum, training, and Institutes for the program, and also provide the basis for program assessment.

• Fellows will demonstrate through written and oral presentations that they have developed the requisite writing, research and speaking skills for entry into the graduate school.
• Fellows will demonstrate that they have developed the skills to make ethical decisions through case study analyses and other assessment activities.
• Fellows will examine and demonstrate that they have developed the cultural competency skills important to the profession.
• Fellows will demonstrate that they have developed the professional networking skills through their interactions with mentors, faculty facilitators, and other Fellows.
• Fellows will demonstrate their abilities to identify and develop personal, academic, and career goals through written plans for action.
• Fellows will demonstrate that they have developed an awareness and understanding of engaged citizenship and service through a portfolio describing their experiences.
• Fellows will demonstrate that they have developed an understanding about multiple relationships to power and privilege through such activities as journals, reflections papers, poetry and/or other creative projects.
• Fellows will demonstrate that they have developed an understanding of organizations (specifically higher educational organizations) related to power and politics through presentations and/or papers.
• Fellows will demonstrate that they have developed an understanding of NASPA's organization and structure through recorded interviews, personal journals, group presentations, and/or other venues.

History - From MUFP to NUFP

The NASPA Minority Undergraduate Fellows Program (MUFP) was initiated in 1989-90 under then NASPA President Doug Woodard. Concerned by the lack of persons of ethnic-minority in the student affairs profession, President Woodard sought to identify ways for members of those communities to become aware of and involved in the field and to continue in higher education. He asked Constance Rockingham, an at-large member of the NASPA Board of Directors, to develop a program that would identify and encourage undergraduate students of ethnic-minority to continue in higher education, and even more than that, encourage them to consider student affairs as a profession. Frederick Preston, a former at-large member of the NASPA Board, had given consideration to the same issues some years before. With the benefit of Preston's experience and Wooodard's encouragement, Constance Rockingham developed MUFP.

Nearly a decade after its founding, discussions began about including students with disabilities within the scope of MUFP. NASPA President Shannon Ellis, National MUFP Coordinator Saunie Taylor, and MUFP Advisory Board President Sarah Shumate worked together during the 2000-01 year to develop consensus for the broadening of the scope of MUFP's mission, and they along with Disability Concerns Network Coordinator Michael Shuttic set in motion the outreach effort.

At the December 2003 meeting of the NASPA Board of Directors, the proposed recommendation was reviewed, discussed and approved: "In recognition of changes in society, the Task Force for Undergraduate Mentoring Opportunities recommends designing and implementing a selective undergraduate fellows program to increase the numbers of underrepresented ethnic minorities, LGBT, and disabled professionals in the fields of student affairs and higher education. The mission of the program will be reviewed every five years with the first review to occur in July 2009." The MUFP Advisory Board, representatives from six NASPA knowledge communities and others met in July 2005 in order to realign the MUFP with NASPA's goals and vision, including the recent NASPA Board of Director decision to expand undergraduate mentoring opportunities to LGBT students. This planning group reviewed at all aspects of the current program, the new program considerations and redesigned the program to continue to support underrepresented students and address changing constituencies.