A student personnel program for the University of Manitoba

Abstract

Personnel work is concerned with the psychological welfare of the individual. It is a branch of applied psychology, and, like other applied sciences, uses the principles of several related sciences. It is founded on psychological principles, but must take into account also the effects of economic, political, and social forces upon the satisfaction of individual needs upon the shaping of those needs. The philosophy underlying student personnel work is fundamentally that which underlies all personnel work, with specific orientation to the conditions and needs of students. Its basic concept is of the individual as a total personality, and embodies respect for his intrinsic worth as an individual. An acceptance of this view of the student contains within it the implicit acceptance, as well, of certain heretofore unrecognized obligations to the student. It implies, above all, recognition of the fact that students have problems, and that these problems, whether personal, social, or educational, have a direct bearing on academic achievement. If a college or university is to attain its educational goal, which may be described broadly as the educating of young people to become mature men and women, capable of an intelligent understanding of themselves and of society, it must give attention to the present and future needs of these young people. This philosophy recognizes the fact that student problems are not as simple and easily solvable as is generally assumed, but that they are to a large extent inter-related, and spring from many sources... The transition from high school to university presents many difficulties in itself -- the necessity of fitting into a broader social group, of learning to work independently, and of adjusting to whole new areas of knowledge and of ideas.