MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE IN

STUDENT AFFAIRS:

CERTIFICATE/RECOGNITION

PROGRAMS

Student Affairs Diversity Committee, February 2010

BACKGROUND Calls for increased skills for student

affairs practitioners to effectively practice around multicultural issues began in early 1990s.

Counseling psychology was using the term multicultural counseling competencies, which refers to (Sue et al., 1992): Multicultural Awareness Multicultural Skills Multicultural Knowledge Multicultural Counseling Relationships

STUDENT AFFAIRS CORE COMPETENCIES: INTEGRATING MULTICULTURAL AWARENESS, KNOWLEDGE, AND SKILLS

Overall competency model, including 7 core areas: Administrative, management, and leadership

skills Theory and translation skills Helping and interpersonal advising skills Ethical and legal knowledge and decision

making skills Training and teaching skills Assessment and evaluation skills Multicultural awareness, knowledge, and

skills

Pope & Reynolds, 1997

MULTICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE Information that individuals have about

various cultures.

Having an informed understanding of cultures that are different from one’s own culture, including knowledge of their histories, traditions, values, practices, and so forth.

MULTICULTURAL SKILLS Allows for effective and meaningful

interactions, such as seeking consultation as necessary with people who differ from them culturally.

Skills that individuals use to engage in effective and meaningful interactions with those who are from different cultural backgrounds than their own.

MULTICULTURAL AWARENESS Attitudes, beliefs, values, assumptions,

and self-awareness necessary to serve students who are culturally different from oneself.

Awareness of how people’s attitudes, beliefs, values, assumptions, and self-awareness affect the ways they interact with those who are culturally different from themselves.

MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCY CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

Why?Helps Our StudentsCan be built into your Work Plan

Resume BuildingIntentional Use of Professional Development Time

BASIC MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCY RECOGNITION LEVEL:

Attend or view the “Introduction to Multicultural Competence Professional Development” workshop.

Attend at least 3 multicultural events, including 1 that addresses each area: Knowledge, Skills, Awareness

ADVANCED MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCY CERTIFICATE Attend the “Multicultural Competence

Self-Assessment Workshop.” This will be a sixty to ninety minute workshop of content, self-assessment tools, and sharing with the learning outcome to identify strengths and areas to concentrate on for further training.

Attend 8 campus events, with at least one from each area: Knowledge, Skills, Awareness

EXAMPLES MULTICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE

Soup and StoriesUNCW Presents Arts & Action/Lecture

Series

MULTICULTURAL AWARENESS Privilege Walk HRL’s Tunnel of Awareness

MULTICULTURAL SKILLS B-GLAD Ally Training Coffee Breaks such as “How to have Political Conversation” Maura Cullen Staff Training

SO HOW? Campus Events will be pre-rated Other campus events Professional conference activities

Sign Up Sheets Email to SADiversity@uncw.edu Send us a program copy or description

in campus mail

EXAMPLE: BASIC COMPETENCY Intro session at Div. Meeting

K event: Soup & Stories: Vice Chancellor Leonard, Women Leaders in Higher Education

S event: Case Study Brown Bag A event: Vagina Monologues (K or A event-

you use it as an A)

EXAMPLE: ADVANCED CERT. Earn basic certificate Attend “Multicultural Competence Self-

Assessment Workshop” Director invites an Awareness staff

development program (1) Attend Skills Workshops: Safe Zone (1) Facilitate Orientation small group (1) Attend Knowledge programs: UNCW

Presents lecture, film, and Soup and Stories (3)

Attend Awareness programs: Take Back the Night, Game of Oppression (2)

ADDITIONAL POINTS If you facilitate, it’s an “S” Update on status half-way through semester. Departmental trainings are an option. Credit for sessions will roll forward by

semester. Self-assessment trainings for advanced will

be offered monthly. B-GLAD is a skill session. We’ll grandfather

that in. All else will start in Jan. 10. We will aim to offer multiple sessions to

spread out opportunities.