VPH Reflection

Another competency area outlined by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) is values, philosophy, and history (ACPA & NASPA, 2015). This competency involves having the "knowledge, skills, and dispositions that connect the history, philosophy, and values of the student affairs profession to one’s current professional practice” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 12). The goal of this competency is to connect these elements to an individual’s professional practice. This is an important distinction since knowledge of these aspects, without regular application is counterproductive. Developing this competency area is important since it “ensures that our present and future practices are informed by an understanding of the profession’s history, philosophy, and values” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 12). Demonstrating, how obtaining this knowledge and applying it, can lead to more informed decision making.

This competency’s nature is less personal but does include personal applications of the subject matter. This competency’s foundational outcomes include demonstrating "responsible campus citizenship and participation in the campus community” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 18). Out of all the foundational outcomes related to this competency, this is the one I relate with most. At my undergraduate institution, SUNY Fredonia, I was involved in both Alpha Phi Omega – Chi Pi Chapter, a national co-ed service fraternity, and Fredonia’s Accounting Society. I was also involved in many more campus events and programs as a result of my involvement in these two groups. The Accounting Society helped me to be more involved within the campus community of the business department and my involvement with Alpha Phi Omega, helped me to be involved with the campus on a broader level.

My graduate assistantship at Hilbert College has given me another opportunity to fulfill the above outcome. Although my involvement as a graduate assistant is different from my undergraduate involvement. I have taken advantage of a few volunteer opportunities that were available to me. These included volunteering for a welcome week outdoor movie night and a campus-wide day of service. Both experiences offered me the opportunity to go beyond the daily interactions I normally have and allowed me to meet people who work in other departments and meet new groups of students. Also, I had the opportunity to serve on the college's diversity and inclusion committee, the S.H.A.R.E. (sexual health and relationship education) committee, and to attend some of Hilbert College's staff senate meetings. Also as part of my internship in Academic Success at SUNY Buffalo State, I had the opportunity to attend meetings for the college's transfer student workgroup. In my career, I plan to continue to take advantage of opportunities to be involved on campus since they give me the chance to branch out from my office. By continuing to be involved in campus activities, I can continue to learn more about the student affairs, “profession’s history, philosophy, and values” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 12). Also, I have learned more about the history of higher education and student affairs by taking the American higher education course. As part of the course, I worked on a group paper about the history and development of SUNY Buffalo State College and a group podcast project about historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

I am assessing my proficiency at the foundational level for this competency. This is due to me being at an early level of understanding of many of the outcomes within the foundational level. Some of the foundational outcomes include describing “the foundational philosophies, disciplines, and values of the profession” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 18). Another outcome is to “describe the roles of faculty, academic affairs, and student affairs educators in the institution” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 18). I am currently in the process of learning many of the aspects outlined in these outcomes, in addition to the other foundational outcomes. I have learned more about the student affairs profession through both my graduate assistant position and the student affairs administration, American higher education, and supervised practice courses I took as part of the HESAA program at SUNY Buffalo State. In particular, the American higher education course has allowed me to learn about the history of higher education.

Developing within this competency area, to move toward the intermediate level, would involve participating in “opportunities to identify and incorporate emerging values of the profession into one’s professional practice” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 19). By gaining an understanding at the foundational proficiency level, at the next level you can then recognize and include, “emerging values of the profession” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 19). Another outcome that I could develop in order to reach the intermediate proficiency level, would be to, “teach the principles of the student affairs profession to staff while incorporating the equity, diversity, and inclusion of varying identities and global perspectives” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 19). This outcome encourages student affairs administrators to share the knowledge they have learned about the profession while incorporating others' diverse perspectives.

Clearly, this competency area is important as part of informed professional practice. Due to the competency being necessary for making informed decisions. This makes steps to develop this competency area important as part of an individual's professional development.