PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIONS CONTRIBUTIONS TO STUDENT AFFAIRS WRITING COMPETENCIES

Student affairs practitioners in mid-level positions write in the workplace daily, but in many cases they do not formally or intentionally train themselves or their staff members to write. I used qualitative methods of semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis to investigate how and to what extent mid-level managers are competent writers. And in terms of their organizations, I investigated the value placed on writing and how and to what extent writing training happens. The investigation of writing practices of professionals working in campus centers in the field of student affairs shows that mid-level campus center professionals write extensively in their positions, including writing across many document types (letters, memos, reports, financial documents), and for multiple audiences in and outside of the university setting (students, staff, peers, supervisors, community members, alumni). Mid-level managers value writing ability and the ability of their staff members to be able to write, and could improve writing knowledge and ability through competency training and development by connecting with work in the field of professional communication. Professional associations can and should support professionals using competency language that supports writing and writing training to develop writing skill and ability competencies. Mid-level managers, as both writers and supervisors, could join associations in employing intentional strategies for writing and writing training suggested by professional communication research.Ph.D. in Technical Communication, May 201