Advising and Helping: Application of theories and skills related to providing support, direction, feedback, critique, and guidance to individuals and groups.
Assessment, Evaluation, and Research: The design and implementation of quantitative and qualitative techniques and tools focused on student learning and satisfaction, organizational issues and development, professional development and training, student development, and other emergent issues.
Ethics:The ability to assess daily activities from an ethical perspective as well as understanding and applying ethical standards to one's work.
Legal Foundations: The ability to assess daily activities from a legal perspective as well understanding and applying knowledge of legal issues to one's work environment and relationships.
Leadership and Management/Administration: Organizational competencies such as influencing, motivating, and enabling others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members; and the deployment and manipulation of resources to advance institutional or organizational mission, goals, and initiatives.
Pluralism and Inclusion: An understanding and valuing of diverse groups and views, civic engagement and social responsibility, as well as recognizing the importance of language and culture in pursuit of creating and maintaining more pluralistic and multicultural campuses.
Student Learning and Development: Knowledge and understanding of concepts and principles of student development and student learning theories, and ability to apply theory to improve student affairs practice.
Teaching: Knowledge and understanding of concepts and principles of teaching, learning, and training theory and how to apply these theories to improve student affairs practice and education.
Accompanying the professional competencies is a set of critical issues identified by the 2009 Convention Program Planning team. These timely and relevant issues may also be addressed in a program proposal, either in combination with any of the professional competencies or as a stand alone topical area.
Crisis Response: Understanding, planning, and implementing protocols for both small and large crisis incidents on campus. This includes analysis of campus vulnerability, impact, response, resources and recovery.
Sustainability: Knowledge and practice essential to improving the quality of life now without damaging the planet for the future. This includes educating self, educating students, and influencing institutional change that promotes healthy environments, social justice, and strong economies.
Technology: Understanding the current and emerging technologies that impact student learning, behavior and engagement. This also includes the provision of student services and developmental programming, the administration of student affairs functions and communications, and procuring and managing resources (software and hardware) that give shape to technology in student affairs.
Competencies adapted from ACPA Steering Committee on Professional Competencies (Report, July 2007).
Critical Issues developed by the 2009 ACPA Convention Program Planning Team based on the ACPA Presidential Taskforce on Sustainability (Recommendation memo, July 2007)