When I was hired for my position as Director, Student Affairs Learning and Assessment, I was tasked with divisional professional development. You can imagine that it was a task that I was really excited about but also a bit anxious – how does one exactly help to meet the needs of diverse student affairs professionals at a school such as the University of Memphis?

Within the first six months, a task force was appointed to examine how we might be more intentional in helping our colleagues. As a result of that task force, a series of recommendations were made. We’ve used the ACPA/NASPA Core Competencies and CAS as frameworks that inform our approach. We’ve focused on increasing competence and confidence to help us work toward divisional goals. You can find our report here.

One of the things we’ve tried to do is be intentional about getting resources into the hands of our staff. It then becomes up to them to accept the individual responsibility to develop the plan they need to focus time and energy on developing the competencies relevant to their current and desired future roles. I am really excited about the energy that has come from a monthly professional development newsletter. You can see October’s issue as well as past issues here. We’re highlighting staff who are engaged in their work and value professional development. It’s a fun way to acknowledge people and also to use podcasts.

What things are you doing in your division of student affairs to engage colleagues in conversations about professional development?