Personal and Ethical Foundations

Personal and Ethical Foundations - Professional Competency

January 1, 2015

Involves the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop and maintain integrity in one’s life and work; this includes thoughtful development, critique, and adherence to a holistic and comprehensive standard of ethics and commitment to one’s own wellness and growth. Personal and ethical foundations are aligned because integrity has an internal locus informed by a combination of external ethical guidelines, an internal voice of care, and our own lived experiences. Our personal and ethical foundations grow through a process of curiosity, reflection, and self-authorship. 

Professional development

Foundational outcomes emphasize awareness and understanding of one’s values and beliefs, especially as related to professional codes of ethics and principles for personal wellness. Professional development to advanced-level proficiency involves higher order critique and self-awareness, applications to healthy living and professional practice, and modeling, mentoring, and facilitating the same among others.

In July 2015, the NASPA Board of Directors approved Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators. The set of professional competency areas is intended to define the broad professional knowledge, skills, and in some cases, the attitudes expected of student affairs professionals regardless of their area of specialization or positional role within the field.