Professional Development Plan
The first year as a new professional in any field is a time of tremendous learning and growth, in both job-related knowledge and skills, as well as general competency areas necessary for working in a diverse field with a variety of approaches across the nation and around the world. This is especially true of a field as highly scrutinized as higher education student affairs in which we not only answer to superiors at the institution, but our students, their families, and the public as well. In order to ensure I am engaging in my work with the highest level of competence and operating in a way that does as little harm by way of ignorance, I have developed the following professional development plan. This plan draws on those competency areas assessed as acceptable, though lacking, and on the cusp of proficiency, as well as knowledge areas about which I need to know more so that I may bolster my intellectual acuity at the service of my students. In an effort to improve in and focus my intentional development to enhance these knowledge and skill areas, the table below identifies the ways in which I aim to implement this professional development plan over the course of my first three years as a professional in the field.
Skills
Moving into my next role as student affairs professional, I would like to make an effort to improve my understanding of and skills in the following for competency areas: Assessment, Evaluation, and Research; History, Philosophy, and Values; Law, Policy, and Governance; and Student Learning and Development.
Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
I have not had much experience in this area beyond regular staff evaluations, and it is important to me that I improve these skills. Assessment provides feedback on which programs and services work well and which need to be reconsidered, much like staff evaluations do for job performance, and research helps us provide context and a thoughtful argument for our work. By remaining at a lower level competence in this area, I feel I am doing a disservice to my colleagues and students by appearing clumsy or complacent and ignorant of improvements that can and may need to be made.
History, Philosophy, and Values
I believe it is important for all professionals in the field to understand these aspects of our profession beyond what is learned in a semester or two of class. The history, philosophy, and values of our profession provide us with the guiding principles, grounding roots, and teachable moments from the past that will help direct us in the future. It is especially important to be competent in this area when it comes time to make policies and decisions that will impact students and their campus experiences.
Law, Policy, and Governance
Considering that I want to move into a dean or vice president role later in my career, I feel having a greater understanding of the laws and policies currently in place, as well as those that are still developing, will be necessary to my success and competence in that role. I have had some experience with legal issues and federal regulations as it applies to my current role, but I would like to have a broader and more holistic understanding. Institutional governance is an area in which I have had minimal experience outside of a class setting, and know I need to strengthen my understanding of governance practices if I want to have successful career progression.
Student Learning and Development
With our ever-changing and continuously evolving student populations, it is vital that I consistently refresh my understanding of foundational theories and models of student development and that I stay abreast of emerging theory to understand ways in which I can enhance my programs and interactions with students. If I want to supervise graduate students, I should have at least a working knowledge of a variety of theories, but also role model the obligation we as professionals have to our students of keeping up-to-date on how we can aid and foster their growth on campus.
Knowledge Areas
I have worked hard over the course of the last two years to improve my knowledge of various practices, policies, and populations in higher education and student affairs. After all the course work and practicums are completed, there are four areas of knowledge about which I would like to learn and experience more over the next three years: Greek-affiliated students, student veterans, occupancy management, and various budgeting practices.
Greek-Affiliated Students
As a non-affiliated professional, I understand it is important for me to gain a better understanding of students’ experiences in the fraternity and sorority community, as well as within each of the four councils. I have experienced a good amount of development in my personal perspective on the Greek experience from interactions as an out-group member throughout both my undergraduate and graduate careers, but I feel I need to gain additional direct experience with this student group in order to truly connect with and have an impact on students who affiliate with these groups.
Student Veterans
With the changing demographics of college students and the growing numbers of returning and adult learners to many campuses, I believe it is important begin developing an understanding of the unique needs and challenges of various emerging student populations. After researching this population on BGSU’s campus for my “Functional 15” assignment, I became very interested in learning more about student veterans’ experiences and ways I could support those with whom I work. My role in ensuring their success starts with understanding the challenges they face on campus (e.g., transition to civilian life, nontraditional student experience, receiving financial aid and other bureaucratic aspects of the institution, active duty call-up procedures) and what services are available both on campus and through various external organizations to support them.
Occupancy Management
Occupancy management has recently intrigued me as a knowledge and skill area in residence life. Since I want to work my way up the residence life ladder before moving to a different functional area, I think it would be beneficial to start gaining a basic understanding of occupancy management systems and techniques, as well as how this area affects budgeting and facilities considerations. Although I likely will not oversee the entire occupancy management for my hall(s) in an entry-level position, I believe seeking out this knowledge early on will help me understand it as I take on more of the responsibilities later in my career.
Various Budgeting Practices
As the person who will most likely be solely responsible for managing the budget of my residence hall, it is important that I develop a greater understanding of effective budgeting practices. Since our hall budgets come mostly from students’ room fees, it is important that I ensure their money is spent wisely and in ways that ultimately benefit them. Once my knowledge of effective budgeting practices has been broadened, I would also like to use it to help my students manage their personal and professional budgets more effectively as well.
