The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 3 - 77

Competency-Based Training Intitiatives for Entry-Level Residence Life Professionals

Utilizing competency-based training
initiatives allows for consistency
with other universities across the
country to ensure that residence life
professionals are trained on similar
topics.

level housing professionals have transferable
skills and competencies when moving to new
institutions.

LIMITATIONS
The most obvious limitation is the number of
respondents to the survey. With only ten respondents from the southeast region, it was
challenging to get a clear picture of competency-based training efforts regionally. Only
qualitative data was collected. The lack of
quantitative data made it difficult to provide a
full analysis of how competency-based training initiatives benefit entry-level residence
life professionals.The survey was open to any
residential life professional regardless of their
level or functional area within residence life.
Demographic data from the survey did not
identify respondents' levels or roles at institutions. Campus housing and residence life
professionals self-identified which institution
they represented in their survey responses.
Respondents' answers most certainly varied
depending on their roles. Entry-level staff have
different perceptions of training than staff
who directly plan and execute training efforts;
senior level professionals have greater context

on departmental philosophy that support competency-based training.
The combination of NASPA, ACPA, and
ACUHO-I competencies in the survey was
also a limitation. The survey tool allowed for
a wide range of competencies to be selected;
however, the survey targeted only residence life
professionals. For this survey, it may have been
more beneficial to only use competencies directly related to the work campus housing and
residence life professionals do on a daily basis.

CONCLUSION
Approaching the development of competency-based training sessions through a holistic
lens allows professionals to identify areas of
strengths in terms of knowledge, skills, and
abilities, and to focus on areas of growth. Competencies developed by ACPA and NASPA as
well as ACUHO-I core competencies assist professionals in shaping their own development
and can be beneficial when developing professional education plans. Competencies allow
professionals to self-identity areas of growth in
their own knowledge and skills. A cautionary
note: Some professionals may choose to only
seek knowledge to mark a competency area
off their lists. This approach could potentially
impact students as working to check off competency areas rather than seeking a deeper understanding of competencies may result in an
individual not having the necessary training to
properly support and educate students (Eaton,
2016).
Incorporating competency-based training
initiatives into professional staff training benefits the needs of individual professionals as
well as enhances the quality of the department.

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 3

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