SEAHO Report - Winter 2013 - (Page 23)

SEAHO FEATURE Putting Professional Competencies into Practice By Jamie Sellers Residential Learning Coordinator Mark Smiley Assistant Residential Learning Coordinator Virginia Tech Virginia Tech’s Housing and Residence Life department is the result of a merger that occurred in 2011. Since then, the department has been working to develop its unified identity and overall mission, as well as vision for its students and employees. Part of this vision is developing a meaningful and useful experience for each professional that joins our team. The professional development committee was established to provide an experience that allows for optimal learning and growth of our colleagues as practitioners. The professional development committee has developed training sessions and workshops, facilitated dialogues on hot topics, and provided literature to the department’s professional staff to deepen scholarly understanding of the field. The curriculum is based on the NASPA/ACPA Professional Competencies. The goal of this curriculum is to provide guidance and accountability to our professionals as they explore what being a student affairs professional means while gaining transferable skills to be used as they transition through their careers. In July of 2010, NASPA and ACPA published the Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Practitioners. The competencies are broken down into ten areas that reflect the knowledge, expertise, and attitudes necessary for student affairs practitioners to do quality work. The competencies are meant to be universal to the profession regardless of a practitioner’s expertise or position (ACPA, 2010). Each area is broken into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of competence. While it is understood that professionals may be in different places developmentally, all professionals in the field should meet basic, beginner-level competencies in each area. The ten competencies are as follows: Advising and Helping (AH) Assessment, Evaluation, and Research (AER) SEAHO Report Winter 2013 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Ethical Professional Practice (EPP) History, Philosophy, and Values (HPV) Human and Organizational Resources (HOR) Law, Policy, and Governance (LPG) Leadership (L) Personal Foundations (PF) Student Learning and Development (SLD) The competencies allow for a seamless guide to developing our colleagues in a way that allows them to best serve in their current roles. It also provides the opportunity for them to learn skills to further their careers as they continue in Student Affairs. A large part of our task as a committee was identifying those areas within the document that related directly to our current functions as professionals in HRL, namely where we believed that the residence life team most effectively used their skills on a regular basis. This was meant to gain buy-in and understanding on the part of our colleagues. Upon review of the competencies, it was indicated that high levels of proficiency in Advising and Helping (AH), Leadership (L), Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), and Student Learning Development (SLD) were regularly utilized of our professional staff. During our January professional staff training, the committee piloted the curriculum with an overview of the competencies and an explanation of our intent in the utilization of these guiding principles. The staff of over thirty professionals broke out into smaller task groups to discuss where the competencies were prevalent in their current work. These discussions also included what steps might aid the committee in developing learning opportunities in areas where the staff needed growth. Close study of the document and reflection revealed that HRL officers leverage knowledge in each area; however it became apparent following assessments of the staff that there was 23

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Winter 2013

SEAHO Report - Winter 2013
Contents
SEAHO President
SEAHO “Editor”
SEAHO News
Officer Elections
RELI – 10th Annual Institute
SEAHO 2013 Conference Schedule
Bridging Academic & Student Life Missions: Faculty- Inclusive Community Building in Residence Halls
Are We Ready?
Staff Development Tactics
Sustaining Sustainability: How Housing and Residence Life Can Impact the Sustainability Movement
Starting something that Matters—James Madison University partners with TOMS Shoes
Putting Professional Competencies into Practice
Ten Tips to Revolutionize Your Work Using Your iPad
Advising 101
Hiring Practices and Staff Supervision: Integrating Multicultural Competency to Foster an Inclusive Work Environment
Shifting Sands: Technology and the Shifting Landscape of Residence Hall Student Leadership
Best Practices: Student Athlete Population in Housing
Student Affairs Around the Region
Alabama Updates
Florida Updates
Kentucky Updates
Mississippi Updates
North Carolina Updates
Tennessee Updates
Virginia Updates

SEAHO Report - Winter 2013