Competencies
Design a Purposeful Strategy for Your Professional Development.
Although many campus activities professionals have certificates and/or degrees in student affairs or higher education administration, there are certain competencies that are specific to the field of campus activities that are not always covered in the curriculum. Some of these competencies may overlap with those required in other functional areas; however, campus activities professionals often apply them in unique ways. Mastery of these competencies is critical for success in the field.
NACA Competencies
The Education and Advisory group developed the NACA® Competencies for Campus Activities Professionals as a guiding framework for professional development to be utilized in conjunction with the NACA® Competencies for Diversity and Inclusion. The competencies include four domains:
- Organization Development & Advising
- Program & Event Management
- Human Resource Management
- Campus Culture & Community Building
Incorporate the Competencies in Your Daily Practice
Individual
- Identify areas in which you are less competent and then select conferences, workshops, webinars, courses, and other activities to gain more skills.
- Identify areas in which you lack experience and then focus on finding opportunities to gain experience so that you can position yourself for career advancement.
Department
- Incorporate the competencies into staff evaluations.
- Use competencies to develop professional development activities for staff, such as retreats, discussions, workshops, book studies, etc.
- Reference competencies when developing staff position descriptions.
- Encourage staff to set annual professional development goals based on the competencies.