College Unions Certification Program Becomes More Accessible
If you considered student affairs or college unions certification but discovered you were not eligible, you might want to check again. Recently, the Higher Education Consortium for Student Affairs Certification updated the requirements for eligibility: Participants will still need a combination of a degree and work experience, but the specifics have changed to expand access to the program. Additionally, new options have been added for currently certified professionals to earn continuing education credits.
With a master’s degree or higher from an accredited higher education institution, a participant will only need three years of qualifying, full-time employment to meet eligibility requirements. The degree program can be in areas beyond student affairs and higher education administration, but a qualifying work experience must have occurred as a full-time position in a student affairs or student services setting within higher education.
With a completed associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, participants will also need four years of full-time, qualifying work experience in student affairs and higher education administration to be eligible for the certification exam.
There are also other activities that can qualify as a year of relevant work experience. For example, full-time work that occurred outside of higher education but falls within one or more of the areas covered by the certification exam may be counted as up to one year with a master’s degree or higher or up to two years with a bachelor’s or associate’s degree. Also, two years of a graduate assistantship is equivalent to one year of full-time, qualifying work experience. Volunteer, part-time, and work at the undergraduate level do not count toward these requirements.
Student Affairs Educator Certification requires 50 continuing education credits every five years, with at least eight credits focused on social justice and inclusion. Traditionally, credits were earned through Consortium-approved educational programs such as conferences, webinars, and workshops. As of April 2025, new options allow credential holders to earn up to 15 Core continuing education credits through “Service to the Profession” activities, including authoring articles or book chapters, presenting at approved events, holding volunteer leadership roles, mentoring, and serving as a subject matter expert. Each service activity has specific credit limits and must take place within Consortium-approved continuing education provider organizations. Presenting at a session or event only counts if that session or event is itself eligible for continuing education credits. Volunteer leadership credits are awarded only for active participation in Consortium-recognized groups, and individuals cannot earn overlapping credits for serving in different roles within the same group at the same time.
Prior to these changes, the eligibility requirements were a master’s degree with five years of experience or a bachelor’s/associate’s degree with seven years of experience. There was also no opportunity to earn continuing education credits for any kind of service to the profession.
The College Unions Student Affairs Certification program is part of the Certified Student Affairs Educator (CSAEd™) credential that acknowledges an individual’s ongoing learning, competencies, and knowledge in student affairs work, including in six specific functional areas like college unions.
The expanded options make it easier to obtain and maintain professional certification by recognizing a wider range of contributions to the student affairs field, while maintaining alignment with certification standards. For additional details on these changes, be sure to visit the Consortium website at www.studentaffairscertification.org.
