Professional Competency Areas for
Student Affairs Practitioners
A JOINT PUBLICATION OF
ACPA ANd NASPA
NEW RELEASE
List Price: $14.95
NASPA Member Price: $9.95
Paperback | 2010 | 32 pages
© ISt OCkPHOt O
and skills in the intermediate and
advanced levels. Such examination
allows individual practitioners to
use this document to help guide
their own choices about professional
development opportunities afforded
to them.
to end the harassment, eliminate the hostile environment
created by the bullying, and implement responses reasonably
calculated to prevent the recurrence of the bullying.”
Colleges and universities work hard to address bullying-type
behavior, with a focus on preventive programming to address
hazing behavior of groups and organizations. The behavior of
the individual bully is typically addressed through an institu-
tion’s code of conduct, which typically prohibits behaviors
such as infliction of emotional or bodily harm or harassment.
The OCR letter to colleges and universities makes clear
that “business as usual” is no longer an acceptable approach or
response to bullying behavior. To remain proactive in dealing
with bullying situations, institutions should:
➤ Revise their policies related to bullying to reflect discriminatory bullying behavior.
➤ Establish prompt and effective responses to investigate
the information received.
➤ Take steps to end the harassment and eliminate any identified hostile environment.
➤ Provide appropriate training to ensure that students and
employees are aware of the behavioral expectations and
framework of discriminatory bullying.
➤ Articulate the consequences for engaging in this type
of behavior.
➤ Implement preventive programs and policies that specifically prohibit retaliation against a person who makes a
complaint or reports an act of bullying. LE
This set of Professional Competency
Areas is intended to define the broad
professional knowledge, skills, and,
in some cases, attitudes expected of
student affairs professionals regardless
of their area of specialization or
positional role within the field. All
student affairs professionals should
be able to demonstrate their ability to
meet the basic list of outcomes under
each competency area regardless of
how they entered the profession.
This document is intended to inform
the design of professional development
opportunities for student affairs
professionals by providing outcomes
that can be incorporated into the
design of specific curriculum and
training opportunities. Additionally, if
student affairs professionals desire to
grow in a particular competency area,
they can examine expected learning
A free PDF of this publication is available at
http://www.naspa.org/programs/prodev/
Professional_Competencies.pdf
Saundra K. Schuster is an attorney and a partner with the National
Center for Higher Education Risk Management (NCHERM), a legal
consulting firm. She previously served as general counsel for Sinclair
College and as senior assistant attorney general for the State of Ohio,
representing public colleges and universities.
