Exploring Effective 1:1 Consultations: Core Competencies, Themes, Attributes, and Values

This article examines the competencies and practices that underpin effective individual consultations (ICs), contributing to the evolving professionalisation of tertiary learning advising in Aotearoa New Zealand. Responding to Malik’s (2021) invitation to co-construct a national core competencies model, it focuses on Core Competency #3: “Plan and conduct successful advising interactions in one-to-one … settings.” Drawing on an autoethnographic methodology which foregrounds practitioner reflection, the article reflects on three consultations with undergraduate students at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), each involving the use of asynchronous academic literacy resources. The article argues that ICs should be understood not as remedial or transactional encounters, but as pedagogical spaces that require clearly articulated professional competencies. It explores how Tertiary Learning Advisors (TLAs) integrate institutional tools, respond to diverse learner needs, and foster student agency. The vignettes illustrate challenges related to unfamiliarity with assignment types, academic integrity, and neurodiversity; discussion of each vignette highlights the transformative potential of relational advising and digital resource integration. By identifying salient themes, attributes, and values relating to ICs, this study contributes to the co-construction of a national competencies framework that reflects the full scope of TLA practice: pedagogically grounded, institutionally aware, and committed to inclusive, student-centred learning.