Bridging Professional Development Gaps in PACRAO Through Gamification

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which a gamified professional development platform can foster skill development, knowledge application, and engagement among members of the Pacific Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (PACRAO). Grounded in the principles of humanism (Rogers, 1969) and andragogy (Knowles, 1990), and operationalized through gamification (Kapp, 2012), this study evaluated whether game-based mechanics aligned with adult learners’ professional development needs within a geographically dispersed regional association. To address these constraints, a prototype gamified platform, PACRAO University, was developed to provide a flexible, self-paced, and contextually relevant learning environment. Using a quantitative, within-subjects repeated measures design, this study assessed changes in participants’ professional decision-making across paired scenario-based assessments, as well as patterns of behavioral engagement captured through embedded gameplay metrics. Overall, findings did not provide inferential evidence of measurable gains in decision quality across the two scenario sets, but descriptive patterns and substantial participant variability suggest potential differences in how participants engaged with and benefited from the platform. This study contributes an applied test of theory-informed gamified professional development within a regional higher education association context and offers implications for iteration, scaling, and future evaluation designs.