Foundations of Professional and Ethical Practice

As a result of my learning in this professional competency area, I now display attitudes attributed to advanced levels of competency. This class is the integral foundation for new student affairs professionals. It provides the framework for professional practice through exposure to APA writing guidelines, academic writing tips such as avoiding plagiarism, borderline plagiarism and redundancy, including accessibility considerations, exposure to public speaking and presentation guidelines, the importance of becoming scholar-practitioners, exposure to enrollment patterns of college students, student affairs functional areas, the value of professional associations and standards for ethical practice.

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The Foundations of Professional and Ethical Practice competency area relies on three sub-areas: wellness and healthy living, ethical codes and professional standards, and self-assessment and reflection. Maintaining health and wellness is a duty, a popular quote says 'we cannot pour from an empty cup'. In our support role to students, it is important that we pay attention to our own holistic wellbeing so we can promote self-care to them which in turn impacts their success in college. My ability to identify healthy habits, maintain a balance between responsibilities and life roles, promote self-care to others through resource sharing, and being a resource myself places me at the advanced level in this sub-area. Over the last two years, I have had to juggle being in grad school, working full-time, being a single mom, and performing my leadership role in church. The only reason I have managed all roles without burnout is the fact that I understand the importance of wellness and healthy living. One of the topics in the monthly talk series I hold with my student cohort was dedicated to self-care. I explained how to identify stressors, assess their wellness levels, and take steps towards replenishment. This will help them as they enroll in college and are faced with new levels of academic responsibilities.

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As student affairs professionals, we are bound by professional standards and should conduct ourselves with integrity in our daily practice towards our students, colleagues, our institution, and our profession. The ACPA statement of ethical principles and standards provides guidance for the personal conduct and professional practice of student affairs professionals. As a practitioner, I must understand these guidelines, consult them frequently commit to implementing my practice and conducting my daily activities within the confines of the principles, and pointing out observed ethical issues to colleagues. The Decision-making framework (Vaccaro et al 2013) is a helpful resource for ethical decision-making when dilemmas arise. It provides a detailed step-by-step approach from identifying the problem to identifying available options, implementing the most viable one and assessment of the outcome and process. When ethical dilemmas arise, the questions in this document will prove helpful in leading me towards a solution.

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Growth and success as a professional in student affairs rely greatly on my ability to conduct self-assessment and to reflect on my practice; my biases, interactions, disposition, program, and intervention implementation. I must reflect before, during, and after programs, interventions, and even conversations. The more I reflect, the better I become as a professional and the more ethical I become in my practice. By reflecting after presentations and meetings, I have found gaps that I am paying attention to; I am scheduling more frequent meetings with certain students, conducting assessments of programs for feedback, increasing my accessibility by including more options and more frequency of interaction (physical and virtual group and one-on-one meetings, WhatsApp) and intentionally applying new knowledge to my practice. 

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Overall, I can say that in this competency area I have attained the advanced level after going through this class. I have received the basic tools for success in the field of student affairs and will continue to invest in personal growth in this area.