Flexibility, Innovation, and Problem Solving
Competency Statement Examples
Definition: Adapts behavior or methods as appropriate to suit new or changing conditions; identifies,
understands, and evaluates issues/problems or opportunities to develop innovative ideas and unique
solutions or suggests an appropriate course of action.
Previous Competencies: Innovation/Creativity Problem Solving Adaptability/Flexibility
Academic Programs/Services
Job Family: Educational Programs/Services
Job Path: Educational Program Professional
Job Template: Senior Educational Program Administrator/P5
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Observes responses from • Supports and adapts to changes • Revises program goals and
students, staff, and faculty, in delivery of workshops, training objectives to meet new demands
related to own behavior, and programs, courses, and/or and priorities.
adjusts to better serve as a program curricula. • Provides support systems to staff
resource for programmatic • Tracks the impact of program and faculty (i.e., retraining
policies, procedures, and service and activity changes, programs, new or updated
activities. making adjustments to the policies and procedures) to deal
• Assesses program activities for implementation of the change with the unanticipated and
potential issues; gathers data and initiative, as needed. challenging results of change
other information to determine • Creatively works through office activities.
potential solutions. workflow roadblocks, suggesting • Defines the objectives of
solutions to management. program-wide change processes
and establishes guidelines that
ensure transparency,
accountability, risk control and
crisis management during the
change process.
Job Family: Educational Programs/Services
Job Path: Instructional Development
Job Template: Instructional Developer/P4
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Researches and stays informed • Researches and reviews the • Implements industry trends and
on current trends and best instructional design provided by best practices to push
practices in instructional design, other departments at the department and University
learning theories/principles, and University and peer institutions. forward with limited guidance.
instructional software, adapting • Assesses the needs of the • Extrapolates the needs of
current practices as needed. faculty/departments requesting faculty/departments requesting
• Provides constructive feedback instructional support, and instructional support based on
to colleagues to enhance proposes alternative methods of prior experience and
department’s course quality and course development and preemptively implements
output. processes to better meet needs. solutions.
• Collaborates with faculty to solve • Writes and revises SOP for
recurring course problems and instructional design techniques,
incorporate student feedback. trends, and data analytics.
Job Family: Child Development
Job Path: Early Childhood Education Teachers
Job Template: Assistant Teacher/P1
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Identifies and recognizes • Provides recommendations to • Utilizes own understanding of
children’s individual needs and the Master Teacher for updating children’s individual needs,
arranges/rearranges classroom curriculum and program goals to desires, and program goals and
environment to meet those better fit the needs of the recommends educational
developmental needs. children. innovations and improvements to
• Observes how the Master • Creates resource documents, provide the best classroom
Teacher resolves conflict and including standard operating environment to meet
solves other problems in the procedures, and provides to developmental needs.
classroom, and engages in student staff to outline best • Compiles knowledge of problem
conversation with the Master practices around topics such as solving techniques from Master
Teacher to improve own curriculum development and Teacher observation and
problem-solving ability. routine problem resolutions. research, and utilizes them to
• Adapts training style to best • Seeks feedback from parents resolve sensitive problems
support student staff in their about how children are doing and related to children’s behavior
learning. their own experience with the independently.
lab, reporting back to teachers • Serves as a resource for student
and master teachers where there staff in resolving children’s
is room for improvement. behavioral issues or problems
and assists them in developing
resolution strategies.
Administrative Services
Job Family: Administrative Programs/Services
Job Path: Administrative Program Professional
Job Template: Administrative Program Support 2/P2
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Contributes information and asks • Explores new ideas, • Seeks out new information and
questions in departmental methodologies, and processes to establishes innovative solutions
meetings to generate new ideas. better reach individual and/or to reoccurring problems with
• Stays informed of changes to unit goals and outcomes. limited supervision.
University processes, procedures, • Shifts attention and adapts to • Anticipates changes to reporting
and policies and adapts work changing needs of department, and budgetary needs of the
accordingly. particularly in response to cyclical department, proactively
• Responds to student, staff, and processes and/or fiscal year adjusting processes.
faculty inquiries, revolving calendar. • Solves problems by analyzing
routine issues and researching • Provides recommendations to alternative options utilized across
ensure compliance with updated the University.
standard solutions when unsure
University processes, procedures,
of how to proceed.
and policies.
Job Family: Business Operations
Job Path: Business Operations Professional
Job Template: Business Operations Specialist 3/P5
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Demonstrates willingness to • Involves staff in the change • Anticipates barriers to
change ideas or perceptions process and ensures open, two- completion of the agreed change
based on new information or way communication for optimum implementation process,
contrary evidence when assisting idea development and sharing. fostering dialogue on how to
faculty and staff on • Develops and implements work around or eliminate these
administrative and fiscal matters. additional budgetary and obstacles.
• Adjusts own working style and reporting policies and procedures • Encourages staff to incorporate
behavior when supervising day- for continuous improvement continuous improvement as a
to-day program operations to fit within department based on way of approaching
different situations and internal and external stakeholder administrative and fiscal work,
employees. feedback. providing feedback and
• Reviews how other departments assistance to work as needed.
strategize, adopting new
methods as they apply to own
department.
Arts and Curatorial Services
Job Family: Theater
Job Path: Box office
Job Template: Box Office Professional/P1
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Examines current processes for • Researches and reviews other • Develops creative ideas to
records maintenance and data units’/departments’ (e.g., resolve ticket administration and
collection improvement Athletics) methods for ticket record-keeping problems.
opportunities. sales data and records collection, Presents potential solutions to
• Contributes ideas to create suggesting changes to own managers.
efficiencies in processes. department processes based on • Seeks new methods for
• Responds to departmental and findings. accomplishing tasks and
unit changes with an openness • Reviews approaches or processes objectives.
and readiness to adapt. to solving ticketing • Collaborates with colleagues
administration and exchange across the University to derive
issues to improve individual creative and innovative solutions
work. to anticipated issues for future
larger scale events.
Job Family: Theater
Job Path: Production
Job Template: Theater Production Specialist/P3
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Identifies, recognizes, and • Assesses and resolves difficult or • Anticipates and pursues difficult
resolves routine stage problems sensitive problems through or sensitive performer issues and
based on established contract artistic judgement and stage problems independently by
deadlines and OSHA and various interpretation of policies and collaborating with internal
union, guild, and association procedures for the production. colleagues and external
requirements. • Reviews artist riders to contractors.
• Collaborates with others to solve determine immediate • Serves as a resource for others in
problems and make decisions on consequences with light, audio, resolving issues and problems by
how to adapt to new video, and other production developing presentation and
circumstances and changes to systems preparation. production systems resolution
performance plans. • Creates relevant options for strategies.
• Observes how colleagues, touring addressing house configurations • Pivots as needed during
artists, technical directors, or to accommodate for different production to get most effective
company managers solve presentations and artist needs. solution for logistics and
problems and asks questions to aesthetic problems or needs.
improve competency. • Incorporates new audio-visual
technology or techniques to
overcome potential obstacles.
Communication and Marketing
Job Family: Communication and Marketing
Job Path: Publicity/Marketing
Job Template: Publicity/Marketing Administrator/P4
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Researches best practices and • Reviews successful marketing • Implements new marketing and
innovations in marketing and and outreach practices in other promotional outreach techniques
promotional outreach, departments within the based on research, industry
considering ways to implement University and presents trends, and best practices.
new trends into own work. alternative work methods for the • Predicts the needs of University
• Communicates changes to unit to supervisor. administrators, faculty, and staff
internal processes to external • Adapts marketing plan to reflect and proactively presents plans
stakeholders, collaborating in the changing needs of the for marketing and outreach.
developing solutions to University and department. • Serves as a resource to others on
associated problems. • Seeks feedback from colleagues solving promotional strategy and
• Reviews alternatives to current and larger University community planning roadblocks.
marketing strategies to increase on promotional materials,
outreach and increase cost- actively working to improve work
effectiveness. product.
Information Technology
Job Family: IT Support Services
Job Path: Computer Support
Job Template: Computer Support Technician 2/P6
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Analyzes current procedures, • Researches and assesses current • Collaborates with colleagues to
techniques, and programs to practices and software/hardware generate new ideas for
identify potential areas of systems utilized at peer implementing industry trends
efficiency and improved institutions. within department to push
performance. • Remains open-minded to novel University forward.
• Stays informed on industry technology solutions to resolve • Anticipates user issues based on
developments in software and organizational concerns. technology advancements or
hardware systems; shares • Assess ways current software updates, preemptively
innovations and industry solutions may cause additional communicating solution plans.
practices with colleagues and problems and determines • Recommends novel technology
manager(s) to influence business alternate methods of addressing solutions, based on research and
decisions. issues more effectively. knowledge of industry trends.
Job Family: Systems Administration
Job Path: Systems Administration
Job Template: Systems Administrator 2/P6
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Identifies, recognizes, and • Researches other institution-wide • Anticipates system/server
resolves routine problems for the systems and applications used by performance, availability,
HCM and SA applications and other Universities, assessing capacity, or configuration
operations. problems and implements
whether they could benefit the
• Researches, reviews, tests, and contingency plans to minimize
department.
evaluates answers to problems university impact.
with new modules and/or • Assists in the development of • Serves as a subject matter expert
enhancements. plans and processes that ensure for other staff as a senior
• Collaborates with other ITS and minimal risk to services or technical resource to aid in
OSC to solve problems and make systems. solving difficult or sensitive
decisions to ensure consistency • When faced with a problem, technical problems.
and usability of various solutions. anticipates immediate
consequences to the University,
department, and end users.
Institutional Operations
Job Family: Health and Safety
Job Path: Environmental Health and Safety
Job Template: Environmental Health & Safety Specialist 1/P3
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Questions current training and • Stays informed on industry • Generates creative and unique
consultation techniques to standards and developments for recommendations for facility
identify areas for improvement. training related to laboratory assessments and staff training by
• Identifies strengths and practice, activities, equipment, drawing on industry standards
weaknesses in University and environmental conditions. and practices external to the
compliance in specified program • Offers suggestions to improve University.
area utilizing data and reporting. current training practices and • Assesses history of routine issues
• Contributes to department increase compliance across the and develops solutions to
meetings by generating and University. mitigate future instances of the
sharing new ideas. • Responds to health and safety same issue.
concerns and adjusts priorities
based on more sensitive or
urgent problems.
Laboratory and Research Operations
Job Family: Laboratory
Job Path: Laboratory
Job Template: Laboratory Technician 2/P3
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Observes how advanced • Examines and reviews laboratory • Modifies laboratory and safety
technicians address and resolve practices in other departments procedures and manuals,
routine problems in the across the University, suggesting drawing on knowledge of internal
new methods of problem history and other department
laboratory.
resolution based on review. and industry practices.
• Identifies areas for improvement • Explores new tests, analyses, and • Generates and shares creative
in laboratory demonstrations and methodologies to meet individual ideas to assist in students’
manuals to increase clarity, and department goals. learning in laboratory settings
effectiveness, and efficiency. • Implements changes to behavior and proactively address concerns
• Remains open-minded to new based on feedback from student, related to lab safety.
solutions when discussing faculty, and teaching assistants. • Provides recommendations to
technical problems related to
senior staff/faculty for new lab
laboratory techniques and
exercises, tests, or analyses.
equipment.
Job Family: Research
Job Path: Research Equipment and Supplies
Job Template: Electronic Engineer/P2
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Effectively identifies and • Collaborates with colleagues to • Contributes to long-term
addresses common issues and identify opportunities for laboratory planning, including the
problems that arise during equipment upgrades or new assessment of new equipment,
equipment use. technology adoption, improving procedures, and technology for
• Researches new equipment and laboratory efficiency. adoption.
laboratory systems to explore • Updates equipment • Creates management plan to
possible improvements to development plans to proactively address equipment
individual and unit performance. accommodate changing needs maintenance and repair needs.
and specifications. • Serves as a resource to
• Seeks feedback from equipment laboratory and teaching
users, such as faculty and assistants, students, and faculty
students, to identify priority in troubleshooting equipment
areas of improvement. issues.
Library
Job Family: Library
Job Path: Librarian
Job Template: Librarian 2/P5
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Considers the audience of • Explores library collections, • Proposes new library collections,
classroom instruction, integrated platforms, programs, resources, and processes to
workshops, consultations, etc. and services at peer institutions improve overall library function
and alters the presentation of and compares to the University’s and customer experience.
information accordingly. current practices to find areas for • Integrates emerging technologies
• Listens to and engages with improvement or change. into a variety of instructional
library customers and provides • Engages with student and faculty strategies to support the
unique solutions tailored to the feedback on provided library changing learning styles,
concern. support services and suggests interests, and ability of all
• Researches possible new various solutions to supervisor students.
collections and resources to based on responses. • Establishes more efficient
provide. methods to track collections.
Student Programs/Services
Job Family: Advising
Job Path: Academic Advising
Job Template: Academic Advisor 1/P3
Proficient Advanced Expert
• Contributes creative ideas for • Researches programs and • Proposes recommendations to
new recruitment and/or activities conducted at peer improve individual and
orientation programs and institutions which assist in department effectiveness and
activities. recruitment and retention of efficiency, drawing on knowledge
• Determines the needs and goals students. of current University practices
of students to provide • Utilizes past student experiences and peer institutions.
personalized curriculum and creativity to tailor curriculum • Predicts student career and
decisions. decisions and meet the goals and academic needs and creates
• Reviews and analyzes current needs of the individual student. future-oriented plans of action
department processes and • Explores new methodologies and for students to follow.
procedures to increase procedures for performing work • Adjusts workflows and plans of
effectiveness and efficiency. to increase personal and study based on changing
department effectiveness and departmental and University
efficiency. policy or expectations.
