ACUI Education Council’s 2026–28 Education Plan Sets Targets for Teams

ACUI’s 10 core competencies are the bedrock of knowledge and expertise that Association members use and share to enhance and improve educational content related to the student union and student activities field. One of the foremost tasks of the Association’s Education Council is to keep those competencies woven into the fabric of that educational content by creating an Education Plan every three years.

The 2026–28 Education Plan was launched during the 2026 Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, where Education Council members offered a session, “Growth and Capacity-Building Through the ACUI Core Competencies,” that highlighted the Association’s resources that can be used to conduct program planning, determine assessment criteria, and promote skills across the profession.

Each three-year plan focuses on three core competencies that are used as priorities for program planning, credentialing, online content, and educational session development for Regional Conferences and the Annual Conference.

The current plan focuses on the core competencies of fiscal management; assessment, evaluation, and research; and marketing. Focusing on these three competencies was determined by 2022–24 membership survey data that identified fiscal management and assessment, evaluation, and research as top priorities. Marketing also emerged as a consistent area of need in recent years, and each of the three competencies are essential to effectively communicating the value and role of the student union on campuses.

The Education Council also uses a gap analysis tool as another means of determining the focus of competencies by reviewing how the core competencies are performing across the Association’s education programming. Every time a member attends any type of education programming, the evaluation includes two questions: 1) Which of the ACUI core competencies do you feel this program helped you develop (select all that apply), and 2) Please select up to three core competencies you feel you would like to further develop.  

This information is compiled to identify competencies that have not met expectations over time, as well as those that are over-programmed, and is then used to determine which core competencies will be the focus of the next plan.

The plan can be found and downloaded at the Association’s Core Competencies page, along with Competency Area Threads that represent common components of different competencies, and the Core Competency Rubric.

The Education Plan is currently being shared with regional directors; members of the Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Program; Conference Program Team; and Regional Conference Planning Teams, in addition to Regional Educational Program Coordinators and Central Office staff. As it is shared, teams will work to meet the achievement targets set out in the Education Plan.

Achievement Targets

• Annual Conferences will include at least 10% of session topics addressing each of the targeted core competencies.
• Regional Conferences will include at least 10% of session topics addressing each of the targeted core competencies.
• At least one plenary speaker or experience at each conference (Annual and Regional) will address one of the targeted core competencies.
• At least five online educational content programs focused on the targeted core competencies will be presented over a one-year period.
• At least one digital credential will be offered in a highlighted core competency each year.
• Identical questions highlighting core competency growth will be included on all programmatic surveys.

The Education Plan was also developed in line with the 2024–29 ACUI Strategic Plan, specifically Strategic Pillar 1: “Pursue education, learning, research, and initiatives that advance the field,” and Strategic Pillar 3: “Focus on opportunities for the engagement, retention, and growth of members and volunteers.”

Current members of the Education Council are Christopher Cvikota, Northwestern University; Jessi Eaton, Purdue University Global; Kathryn Fanning, University of Texas–San Antonio; Nathalie Grigorenko, University of the Arts London; Nicholas Rau, University of Miami; Nicholas Smith, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor; Jessi Steward, University of Oregon; Lincoln Walburn, University of North Carolina–Wilmington; and the Central Office Liaison is Scarlett Winters.

History of ACUI’s Core Competencies and Educational Priorities

2005: Original Core Competencies Developed

2008: Coordinating Skill Sets Created

2016: Education Council Begins Developing Three-Year Education Plans

2017: Education Council Begins First Review of Original Core Competencies

2019: Board of Trustees Approves Current Core Competencies