Strategies for Developing and Using Core Competencies

UC Berkeley’s core competencies statement underscores the incredibly broad and deep range of knowledge and skills required for effective advising. Acquiring this knowledge and applying and refining related skills is an on-going challenge and necessity. Continuous learning is at the heart of a mature and sophisticated advising practice that includes regular reflection on and refinement of advising approaches and methods. We hope the explicit identification of advising related competencies is used to help guide learning and identify and address areas where gaps in knowledge or skill may exist. In addition, the competencies statement may help advisors better express the complexity of their roles and contributions to student learning and progress.

The Advancing Practice program was created to help advisors expand their core knowledge and skills, ensure exposure to current advising trends and topics, stimulate new thinking and approaches to advising, introduce new methods and tools, improve collaboration, and help advisors refine their advising values and philosophy. In addition to participation in our on-campus learning program, advisors are encouraged to avail themselves to a wide variety of learning activities and platforms, both passive, active, formal and informal. We especially encourage on-the-job learning (in the form of professional development planning, new projects, and identification of stretch goals) and application of learning in the development of new and improvement to existing advising programs, resources and tools. Managers and supervisors are encouraged to approve release time for learning and professional development and to reinforce new learning as it is acquired.

See below a list of relevant UC Berkeley Learning Platforms: