The Association for Christians in Student Development (ACSD) is a global organization that "provide
opportunities for the integration of
Scripture and the
Christian faith in the
Student Development Student development theory refers to a body of scholarship that seeks to understand and explain the developmental processes of how students learn, grow, and develop in post-secondary education.Patton, L. D., Renn, K. A., Guido, F. M., & Quaye, S. J. ...
profession."
ACSD's work with Christians at institutions around the world seeks to support and equip student development professionals through
networking
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
and professional development. Its primary services include an annual summer conference, two publications, career services, and topic-based collaboratives.
History
In 1980, two student personnel associations, the Association of Christian Deans and Advisors of Men (ACDAM) and the Christian Association of Deans of Women (CADW), decided to merge to provide greater opportunities for collaboration and connection. Since their union, Christian men and women across the country have gathered together annually for professional development and networking opportunities.
Membership
ACSD members include those who identify as Christian and have professional relationship with the field of student development. The association exists to serve all Christians in the field, including those who serve at non-faith-based institutions and faith-based institutions. Annual membership is extremely affordable and runs on the calendar year, January through December.
Annual conference
Each June, a Christian college or university hosts an annual conference at its institution. Conferences typically feature notable scholars or practitioners in the fields of education or
ministry
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
. In addition to these
keynote
A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...
sessions, extensive workshop offerings are facilitated by ACSD members on a variety of topics pertaining to the field.
Publications
ACSD oversees two separate publications,
Koinonia
() is a transliterated form of the Koine Greek, Greek word , which refers to concepts such as fellowship, joint participation, the share which one has in anything, a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution. It identifies the ideal ...
and Growth. Koinonia is published twice per year, and Growth is published once. Koinonia is not focused on academic research and instead is a magazine which tries to "explore student culture, and share and learn from each other’s experiences, best practices, and stories".
ACSD Publications
GROWTH has a more academic focus, and provides a place for Christian authors to publish academic student development research.
External links
ACSD website
References
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Student religious organizations in the United States
Christian youth organizations
Christian organizations established in 1980
Fellowships