History, Philosophy, and Values
My primary means of developing along the History, Philosophy, and Values competency area is through participation in CSP 6010: Foundations and Functions of American Higher Education and CSP 6040: Outcomes of American Higher Education. By participating in a site visit to University of Notre Dame and by designing a core curriculum and co-curricular experience through the Implementation Plan, I have been able to gain a deeper understanding of how various institutions’ values, as well as the values and philosophy of our field, play into students’ experience and overall development.
Law, Policy, and Governance
To develop my competency in the area of Law, Policy, and Governance, I have taken part in several training opportunities for sexual misconduct policies, Title IX, and Campus Security Authorities. Additionally, I developed a great understanding of laws and policies related to the physical plant aspects of the university, especially in terms of residential areas, through my practicum with the Associate Director for Facilities and Operations in the Office of Residence life over the last two semesters. Furthermore, I attended sessions at the 2015 NASPA conference which focused on sexual misconduct training for students and crisis prevention and management techniques as they related to federal regulations and expectations (Moving Beyond Compliance: Constructing a Multi-Faceted First-Year Student Sexual Misconduct Training Program and Best Practices in Proactive Crisis Prevention and Management).
References
Bresciani, M., Todd, D., Carpenter, S., Janosik, S., Komives, S., Love, P., & Tyrell, S. (2010). ACPA/NASPA professional competency areas for student affairs practitioners. American College Personnel Association, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
Assessment, Evaluation, and Reseach
The two ways in which I have developed my competency in the area of Assessment, Evaluation, and Research have been through regular performance evaluations of my Resident Advisor and desk clerk staff members and by taking graduate level courses for statistics and research (EDFI 6410: Statistics in Education, EDFI 6420: Research in Education). In addition to the regular performance evaluations I have conducted for both the Resident Advisor and desk clerk staffs in my hall, as well as my supervisor and myself, I have also had to have conversations with staff members regarding job action on multiple occasions for not fulfilling job expectations or requirements. I plan to continue develop my skills in this area by refining my staff evaluation techniques and helping staff members develop and follow plans for their professional development. I also hope to be able to conduct some research after my first couple of years to apply practitioner experience to the scholarship of the field.