Student Affairs professionals have always taken the lead in addressing multicultural issues in higher education and many universities strive to create welcoming and inclusive campuses. At Georgia Tech, we aspire to take this one step further and ask each staff member in the Division of Student Affairs to develop core competencies and acquire the additional skills needed to deliver effective programs and services for our diverse campus community.

The Division of Student Affairs’ Multicultural Competence Strategic Plan enables each person, as well as the Division in its entirety, to explore and engage in developing the awareness, knowledge, and skills needed to rise to this challenge and become truly multicultural competent. To help guide, acknowledge and reward individuals as they complete each level of multicultural competence, the MCC Committee will award Certificates in Multicultural Competence to staff members who complete each of the following levels:

• Level 1 - the most basic foundation - focuses on participation by encouraging staff to expand their awareness of values, attitudes, assumptions, experiences and beliefs held by self and others on campus and in the community.
• Level 2 - an intermediate step - focuses on engagement by deepening one’s knowledge and understanding of diversity by taking chances to learn more about yourself and others.
• Level 3 - the ultimate goal - focuses on taking appropriate action and committing to building skills that allow us to use the multicultural awareness and knowledge we learned to make a difference in our community.

Thanks to a new online reporting system developed by the Division’s talented Information Technology team, Jonathan Swaby, Scott Riggle and John Zwirblis, the Division of Student Affairs is helping staff log and track their progress towards achieving each of these levels to obtain their MC Certificate. I encourage all of you to review the requirements to obtaining a Certificate in Multicultural Competence and start using the tracking system today. The certification tracks are very accessible to all of us - in fact, due to high levels of participation among the Division’s staff, most of us are well on our way to achieving a certificate.

While the MC Certification requirements and tracking system are self-explanatory, there are a few items to note as we begin our journey to obtaining our certificates.

1. All staff who want to pursue a certificate must participate in an Orientation to Multicultural Competence. Email Dean Stephanie Ray, associate dean and director of Student Diversity Programs, at stephanie.ray@vpss.gatech.edu to set up an orientation.
   • New Student Affairs employees should participate in the orientation prior to attending and logging events toward their MC Certificate.
   • Existing staff should also complete the introduction to the MCC Certificate; however, there is a retroactive period that allows existing staff to receive credit for programs/events attended dating back to October 15, 2012.
2. Part of achieving your MC Certificate requires all participants to provide a reflection summary for each event. Staff will have the option of making their reflections public for future use (i.e. anonymous quotes in communication piece, etc.) to help encourage participation in the certification program. While the MCC Committee will need to review reflections to confirm participation and completion of each level, names will never be publically associated with a reflection. Your privacy will be respected at all times.
3. Upon completion of each level, please submit an email to Stephanie Ray at stephanie.ray@vpss.gatech.edu to indicate that you are ready for your track to be reviewed. 
4. This tracking portal for the Certificate in Multicultural Competence is a work in progress and additional features will be added in the future. Please note that this platform will also support other professional development programs for the Division. Your constructive feedback is appreciated so we may continuously improve upon this process. For technical questions and comments, contact Jonathan Swaby, program manager for Information Technology for the Division of Student Affairs, at jonathan.swaby@vpss.gatech.edu.
5. If you have questions regarding the Certificate in Multicultural Competence or questions in general about this initiative, contact Stephanie Ray at stephanie.ray@vpss.gatech.edu.

My sincere thanks and gratitude to all of you who have contributed to this very important program. Because of you, the Division of Student Affairs at Georgia Tech will be the vanguard of multicultural competence by affirming the diverse needs, cultures, and identities of our global community.