Improving student affairs administration in vocational higher education through digital media: A case study of Shenzhen Polytechnic University

Chickering's seven vectors

To guide the analysis of student growth within SZPU's digitalized student affairs system, this case adopts Chickering and Reisser's theory of identity development as a core analytical framework. The theory outlines seven developmental vectors, each representing a key pathway along which students progress toward personal identity development and connection with others in interpersonal and broader social contexts (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). These vectors offer valuable guidance for educators and student affairs practitioners in designing environments that support holistic student development through academic, social, and digital initiatives. They are defined as follows. Vector 1 (V1): Developing competence—Cultivating intellectual, physical, and interpersonal skills. Vector 2 (V2): Managing emotions—Progressing toward emotional balance and self-regulation. Vector 3 (V3): Moving through autonomy toward interdependence—Developing self-directed responsibility alongside an understanding of mutual reliance. Vector 4 (V4): Developing mature interpersonal relationships—Building tolerance, empathy, and capacity for intimacy across differences. Vector 5 (V5): Establishing identity—Sharpening self-definition and recognition of one's authentic self. Vector 6 (V6): Developing purpose—Aligning and pursuing vocational, personal, and interpersonal goals. Vector 7 (V7): Developing integrity—Guiding behavior through affirmed values, balancing self-interest with social responsibility (Chickering & Reisser, 1993).

By applying this framework, the analysis evaluates how SZPU's digital student affairs ecosystem does or does not facilitate progress along these critical developmental pathways.

Case context

This research employs a descriptive case study methodology focused on SZPU as a representative institution within China's expanding vocational higher education sector. While SZPU possesses a strong structural foundation and institutional reputation, it faces multiple challenges in the digital delivery and holistic orientation of its student affairs administration. Current digital tools—such as course schedules, student platforms (e.g., the Shenzhen Polytechnic i-Learning Platform and Vocational Education Cloud Platform), and basic student-life functionalities—are accessible through its student affairs portal. However, comprehensive developmental resources, including career guidance, psychosocial support, digital leadership modules, and soft-skills training are either dispersed or inadequately highlighted (Figures 1 and 2). This digital layout suggests that SZPU's student affairs priorities remain oriented toward operational management and basic support rather than proactive developmental programming aligned with SDT.

Figure 1. Navigation architecture of SZPU's public student portal homepage. Note: Screenshot from the publicly accessible SZPU website (https://www.szpu.edu.cn/xs.htm). Reproduced under fair use for the purpose of academic research and analysis. SZPU, Shenzhen Polytechnic University.

Figure 2. Content page reached via the "Student Affairs" hyperlink from the SZPU portal homepage. The page lists administrative functions and processes, reflecting the operational scope of the designated student affairs section. Note: Screenshot from https://www.szpu.edu.cn/jyjx1/xssw.htm; reproduced under fair use. SZPU, Shenzhen Polytechnic University.

Two critical issues emerge from this context. First, despite SZPU's success in aligning curricula with industry demands, providing technical training, and securing strong employment outcomes, its digital student affairs framework lacks integrated services that foster emotional intelligence, interpersonal relationships, identity development, and career purpose. This gap limits opportunities for students to engage in developmental experiences beyond the classroom and training workshops. Second, as student services increasingly migrate online, the absence of a unified digital portal for holistic student development—encompassing mentorship, leadership building, intercultural adaptation, and career planning—hinders intuitive student access. Given the theoretical emphasis placed on autonomy, identity, purpose, and integrity within Chickering and Reisser's (1993) seven vectors, SZPU's current digital design offers few visible pathways for students to navigate or engage in self-development beyond technical competencies.

This contextual analysis sets the stage for the subsequent analytical phase of this case study, in which the SDT framework will be applied to examine how SZPU might redesign its digital student-affairs services. The following section benchmarks these observations against an international model of best practices and proposes a conceptual model tailored to vocational higher education in China.

Benchmarking international practice: Foothill college student services

Career and technical education (CTE), often referred to as vocational training, serves learners across multiple stages—from middle and high school to postsecondary education. At the postsecondary level, CTE programs are typically provided by community and technical colleges that focus on equipping students with specialized, career-oriented skills (Wood, 2024).

To contextualize SZPU's digital landscape within global standards, this study benchmarks against Foothill College in California, which is ranked the top community college in the United States for 2026 (NICHE, 2025). As a leading provider of CTE, Foothill College represents a structurally comparable institution with a mission centered on career-oriented, applied learning. Its student services model provides a relevant comparative case for vocational universities like SZPU.

According to its official website (Foothill College, 2025), Foothill's student affairs system is organized into clearly defined domains, including counseling, orientation and admissions, disability resources, health and wellness, tutoring and academic support, and career and transfer planning (Figures 3 and 4). The overall design reflects a developmental philosophy that frames student services as an integrated support network rather than as a set of administrative processes.

Figure 3. The primary "Counseling & Student Services" portal for Foothill College. The landing page presents an integrated menu of support domains, including counseling, academic success, and wellness. Note: Screenshot from https://www.foothill.edu/services/; reproduced under fair use.

Figure 4. Detailed subsection view of Foothill College's student services portal, showing the "Basic Needs & Wellness" and "Academic Success" resource categories. Note: Screenshot from https://www.foothill.edu/services/; reproduced under fair use.

A key feature of Foothill's approach lies in its holistic coverage of students' needs across academic, personal, and career dimensions. The digital platform presents resources in an accessible and intuitive manner through both in-person and virtual channels, thereby enhancing inclusiveness and ease of use. The structure of the portal emphasizes transitional support, particularly through its "Transfer & Career Planning” section, which explicitly assists students in preparing for employment or further study. This focus underscores the institution's recognition that student development extends beyond the classroom to encompass lifelong learning and workforce readiness.

Foothill's model offers valuable implications for SZPU, as both institutions share a commitment to applied education and career preparation. The comparative analysis suggests that SZPU could strengthen its digital student affairs platform by adopting a more integrated and student-centered design—one that unifies career services, wellness resources, and developmental advising within a coherent digital framework. Such integration would transform the platform from a primarily administrative tool into an environment that actively supports holistic student growth and engagement through proactive, data-driven services.

The main menu at the top includes core institutional functions (e.g., teaching affairs, scientific research, and campus life). Access to the dedicated student affairs section, whose administrative content is detailed in Figure 2, is provided only via a secondary hyperlink panel, indicating its subordinate placement within the site's informational hierarchy.

Data sources and collection

The dataset for this analysis consisted of institutional documents and publicly accessible digital content, collected in October 2025. These sources include the following.

Analytical framework and procedures

The dataset consisted of institutional documents and publicly accessible digital content collected from the official websites of 63 public vocational undergraduate institutions in China (Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2025). The documents were subjected to systematic conceptual content analysis using Chickering's seven vectors as the a priori coding framework. Alignment levels were determined based on the frequency, explicitness, and institutional centrality of textual references to each developmental vector, resulting in a four-level scale (very high, high, moderate, low) calibrated to the extent to which each vector was explicitly emphasized, structurally integrated, or merely implicit within institutional documents.

Findings on digital communication transparency

The digital audit reveals a distinct institutional priority in the organization of the SZPU website. While the site maintains prominent, clearly defined sections for "industry-education integration", "talent cultivation", and "recruitment", it currently lacks a centralized platform explicitly labeled and dedicated to "student affairs" or "psychosocial support". Content related to the developmental vectors of emotional management (V2), autonomy (V3), identity (V5), and integrity (V7) is dispersed across various sections, reflecting a fragmented, distributed approach to student support. This structure highlights the institution's strong focus on academic and vocational development while simultaneously revealing opportunities to better integrate resources that promote emotional management, autonomy, and identity formation. The prominence of the vectors of competence (V1) and purpose (V6) in the digital content aligns with SZPU's commitment to cultivating technically skilled and career-oriented graduates, providing a solid foundation upon which to expand holistic student development through digital means.

Redefining holistic development

The case study reveals that SZPU has effectively applied key elements of Chickering's framework to advance its primary mission of providing high-quality vocational training aligned with national economic objectives. This finding highlights a theoretical divergence: The institution's definition of "holistic development" shifts the focus from individualized psychosocial growth as defined in Chickering's theory to demonstrable professional competency that contributes to the collective. The emphasis on "moral and professional excellence" (SZPU's motto) effectively reinterprets autonomy and integrity as moral and political compliance, a necessary cultural translation of Western theory into the Chinese vocational education and training (VET) context.

The digital communications audit substantiates this interpretation. By failing to dedicate visible digital real estate to psychosocial support, the university sends a tacit message that these nontechnical areas, while present in policy, are not central to the student's public-facing developmental journey.

A localized framework for student services at SZPU

In response, this study proposes a localized conceptual framework that integrates the integrated student services structure exemplified by Foothill College with the specific developmental and ideological priorities of Chinese vocational universities. This adapted model retains the foundational pillars of academic, career, and personal development while introducing two essential local dimensions: (1) Ideological and civic education, reflecting China's emphasis on students' moral and political development, and (2) international and cross-cultural exchange, aligning with SZPU's global engagement mission.

At the system level, a digital empowerment platform underpins all student affairs operations, enabling data-driven decision-making and individualized support. This infrastructure operationalizes SZPU's "smart campus" strategy and provides the technological foundation for integrating SDT into practical management processes.

Recommendations

To address the documented gaps and the significant digital communication deficit, SZPU should leverage international best practices, such as the comprehensive student affairs model demonstrated by institutions like Foothill College. The primary recommendation is to create a centralized "student success and wellness" microsite, which could help remedy the lack of transparency and visibility in current offerings. This portal should be designed to structure resources according to the psychosocial needs outlined in the Foothill model. For example: (1) Wellness and support—centralized access to mental health counseling, student health services, and basic needs support. (2) Engagement and identity—clear pathways to student government, clubs (e.g., via an Inter-Club Council model), leadership programs, and cultural events (e.g., a Heritage Series) to foster community and identity development. (3) Rights and conduct—an accessible digital version of the Student Handbook, framing conduct and grievance procedures through the lens of integrity and accountability in alignment with SDT.

Furthermore, to foster intellectual autonomy (V3), SZPU could embed a mandatory, credit-bearing "Applied Ethics and Critical Decision-Making" module into the capstone year. This course would use VET-specific case studies to promote self-directed ethical reasoning and the critical evaluation of professional standards, aligning with the goal of developing students' intellectual independence. To enhance sense of purpose (V6) and integrity (V7), institutional reporting on career purpose should incorporate a "Social Contribution" metric. This would incentivize faculty to integrate nonvocational community service or volunteering into the curriculum, ensuring that students connect their professional development not just to employment outcomes but to a broader sense of social responsibility. By adopting these strategies, SZPU would not only bridge existing gaps but also build a more holistic and accessible digital framework that supports students' development across multiple dimensions.