Volume 5, Number 4 (October - December 2010)

This mixed-methods, national study gauges the extent to which new professionals in student affairs use competencies identified as important by American College Personnel Association’s (2006) Task Force on Certification, and the degree to which these competencies were addressed in class and outside of class during master’s level preparation programs.  Findings suggest that ACPA’s list of competencies approximate actual job requirements of new professionals. In addition, both in-class and out-of-class contexts address most of these competencies sufficiently, with out-of-class more closely reflecting position requirements. Supplementary, open-ended questions highlight specific pedagogical and supervisory strategies described as being particularly beneficial in their acquisition of relevant competencies. ACCESS FULL MANUSCRIPT AT: http://cnx.org/content/m35847/latest/