As a Department Chair, you play a pivotal role in shaping a culture of growth, accountability, and trust within your units—but delivering meaningful feedback can be challenging, especially when navigating complex peer relationships and institutional expectations. This course equips you with practical strategies to give and receive feedback confidently and effectively, moving beyond traditional annual evaluations to create ongoing, development-focused conversations. You’ll learn how to approach feedback with clarity, empathy, and professionalism, ensuring that it strengthens relationships rather than creating tension. You’ll leave with actionable techniques for providing constructive, timely feedback in one-on-one discussions, written evaluations, or informal exchanges—and for responding to feedback with humility and insight. By grounding these skills in the realities of higher education leadership, you’ll be ready to create a culture where learning, growth, and teamwork thrive—even amidst institutional pressures.
This exam is meant to accompany a Customer Service certification workshop. Once you have completed the workshop, please take the exam to earn your digital badge and certification. You need an 80% or 16 questions correct to earn your certification, and you are welcome to take the exam as many times as you need to pass.
Higher education needs leaders who are versatile and self-aware. The Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment provides a way for leaders to dive deep into their leadership strengths and areas for improvement, understand their teams’ needs and motivations, and communicate more effectively across the board. This self-paced course is designed to provide just-in-time support and practical tools to help you apply the Five Paths to different aspects of your leadership. We’ll cover topics ranging from leading yourself, to leading others and your team, to leading systems. Whether you’re focused on improving your own leadership in an individual or one-on-one setting or leading a large team or division, this course will help you lead more effectively and confidently in specific situations.
Many mid-career faculty recognize the value of having a career plan but often struggle to make one—or to follow through. Without an intentional plan, faculty may find themselves expending energy on activities that don’t advance their careers, feeling stalled after tenure, or even questioning their career path. This course is designed to guide participants through reflection, visioning, and actionable planning to take control of their professional trajectory. By the end, participants will have crafted a vision statement, drafted a 5-year plan, identified short- and long-term goals, and assessed their strengths and growth areas. They will also leave with a clear roadmap and accountability strategies to keep them on track.
Chairs Leadership Program – 2025-26’ September 19, 2025 | The Five Paths to Leadership® As a department chair, you play a pivotal role in advancing your department’s goals in partnership with your faculty, staff, and academic leadership. To lead effectively in this role, you need a clear understanding of yourself and how you show up as a leader. In this session, you’ll use the Academic Impressions Five Paths to Leadership℠ Self-Assessment to explore your leadership strengths and gaps. You’ll gain insight into how your natural leadership style surfaces in both everyday and high-stress situations, and learn strategies for adapting your approach to meet the needs of different individuals and contexts. By increasing your self-awareness and leadership agility, you’ll be better equipped to foster engagement, build alignment, and lead your department with confidence. October 17, 2025 | Embrace Your Leadership: The Balancing Acts of Academic Leadership Leadership requires the constant evaluation of a series of trade-offs. For instance, you may ask yourself questions like, “Do I lead as a faculty member or as a department head?” “Do I focus on the immediate or the long-term?” “Am I a colleague or a supervisor?” This session introduces the “balancing act” or “seesaw” as […]
In a time when higher education is navigating persistent uncertainty and complex stakeholder dynamics, bold leadership isn’t just aspirational—it’s essential. This session invites you to pause and reflect: What is the future of higher ed that we want to see? How can we work toward that future? Building on the powerful themes in The Best Gift Higher Education Never Asked For, this interactive webcast will introduce practical ways to help leaders create space for meaningful, forward-looking dialogue. You’ll learn how to structure sessions that surface real concerns, mobilize your teams around a shared vision, and move from reactive planning to strategic investment. Whether you’re just beginning to rethink what’s next or are already leading change efforts on your campus, this hands-on experience will leave you equipped to initiate critical conversations with clarity, intention, and momentum. Come prepared to reflect, explore, and take the next bold step. Can’t join us live? Watch the recording and reach out to us to learn more about how we can support you in hosting these conversations on your campus.
In higher ed, there is a widely-held myth that the smartest person in the room should lead. Taking for granted that someone who is smart is also ready to lead, we often fail to take steps to develop new leaders, leaving them unprepared for the challenges ahead and more likely to derail. This is especially true now, as higher-ed leaders navigate complex challenges without a clear map forward. The tendency to fall back on tradition–to rely on “smartship” rather than effective leadership–leads to four destructive and pervasive dynamics, and Patrick Sanaghan’s book explores these four in depth and offers specific strategies for countering them. Note: This course and the associated digital copy of How Higher Ed Leaders Derail: A Survival Guide for Leaders are for the use of Dallas College employees only. Distribution of the book is strictly prohibited. If you have trouble accessing the book or completing the quiz, please contact your Partner Success Manager Breanne Holloway by clicking on “Questions about this course?” in the right-hand column.
Louisiana State University seeks to transform the culture of service and faculty leadership, beginning with mid-career faculty who bear significant research responsibilities. Given that research output and productivity hold considerable importance in academia, prioritizing leadership development within this framework ensures that the discourse is both relevant and impactful for individual faculty members and the institution alike. By investing in faculty leadership, we can expect to see tangible improvements in research outcomes, enhanced retention of vital faculty and staff, and, ultimately, a more vibrant and positive institutional culture and climate. Agenda topics are subject to change based on ongoing collaboration between LSU and Academic Impressions. Please revisit this page for updated pre-work and other information in advance of each session. August 7, 2025 | 9:00am-4:00pm (Breakfast and Lunch provided) Welcome & Introductions9:00am – 9:30am Empowered Leadership 9:30am – 10:15amThere is no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership. Leaders must learn to adapt to different contexts and situations without losing their authenticity or integrity; in fact, the more self-aware a leader is about their own style and approach to leadership, the more successful they will be at adapting to new people and changing realities. In this session, each participant will identify the qualities, skills, […]
Earn the only customer service certification built for higher education. In just four weeks, this blended course will equip you with practical tools to improve service culture, support front-line teams, and handle challenging interactions with empathy and professionalism. With guided reflection and peer discussion, you’ll apply what you learn directly to your campus role—no matter your department or title.
Higher education needs leaders who are versatile and self-aware. The Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment provides a way for leaders to dive deep into their leadership strengths and areas for improvement, understand their teams’ needs and motivations, and communicate more effectively across the board. This self-paced course is designed to provide just-in-time support and practical tools to help you apply the Five Paths to different aspects of your leadership. We’ll cover topics ranging from leading yourself, to leading others and your team, to leading systems. Whether you’re focused on improving your own leadership in an individual or one-on-one setting or leading a large team or division, this course will help you lead more effectively and confidently in specific situations.
