Course Category: Free for All-Inclusive Members

Customer Service Skills Training: Certification for Higher Education Professionals

Customer Service Skills Training: Certification for Higher Education Professionals November 16 – 18, 2022 Gain the knowledge and skills you need to provide high-quality customer service in the higher education environment. EVENT INFORMATION ENSURE YOUR TECHNOLOGY IS READY This workshop is intentionally designed to allow for maximum learning, connections, and engagement. We advise the following in order to participate fully: Audio & Visual Needs

Beyond Salary: An Uncommon Strategy to Recruit and Retain Advancement Professionals

Good development professionals are hard to find—and even harder to retain. This challenge becomes greater if you’re at a smaller institution with a tighter budget that is competing against larger institutions, as well as the non-profit sector, for top fundraising talent. To improve your results in recruiting and retaining the fundraising talent you want, and, on a budget, you may want to consider a non-traditional strategy and approach to identifying new talent. To retain your new development team members for at least three years, you’ll need to adopt a thoughtful six-month onboarding strategy that inspires ownership, autonomy, and recognition. In order to do this well, you must first lean into these individuals’ specific personality traits, from internal drive to problem-solving, professionalism, and accountability. Join us in this webcast to learn how Nichole Fannin, Executive Director of Development and Annual Giving at the University of West Georgia, leads their department’s efforts in a high return-on-talent-investment for their recruitment and retention efforts.

Selecting a Vendor to Augment Your Student Success Efforts

As institutions increasingly use data and technology to drive decision-making, it is important to have ways to efficiently collect, store, and parse that data. But with so much information to store and manage, institutions often need good partners and solutions to aid in managing their data. Many institutions have therefore turned to working with outside software vendors to help manage student retention and engagement. Institutions often have more than one of these outside vendors and work with campus IT professionals to integrate those software tools into their daily work. But how do institutions decide which vendors will help them to be the most successful? Join us for a 90-minute virtual training where you’ll learn the considerations that go into selecting and communicating with a new vendor for student success. Our expert Joseph Connell will discuss what questions you should ask of potential vendors and your on-campus staff to help you decide what the best support looks like for you. You will also learn to create a timeline for onboarding a new vendor for your institution.

Optimize Your Success as an External Dean

As an externally appointed dean, you are expected to hit the ground running, making quick and impactful decisions from Day One. Leading through this change can be tricky, as you will often need to navigate conflicting perspectives from the administration and faculty on which direction to go, as you also define your role in shared governance, identify trusted allies, and make decisions even with incomplete information. Join us for a 90-minute discussion that will provide you with insights and lessons learned from other external deans. Our instructor panel includes two different speakers — one who has served in a variety of external leadership roles at multiple institutions — and the other who just completed her first semester as external dean. If you’ve been asking any of the following questions, this training is for you: How do I research and understand the issues, challenges and opportunities within my college? How do I determine my role in shared governance? Who should I trust, and how do I figure that out as early as possible? Where should I invest my time, and how do I balance listening and learning with getting important work done? What are some of the considerations I need to […]

Engaging in Anti-Racist Conversations in Advancement

In the wake of multiple ongoing pandemics that occurred simultaneously with several high-profile events exacerbating racial tensions in the U.S., many institutions have attempted to commit to better addressing racial injustices. To be successful in this work, professionals across all areas of an institution must be capable of having difficult conversations about race and racism. Advancement professionals in particular play an important role in demonstrating an institution’s commitment to addressing racial inequities, through relationships maintained in their wide networks of alumni, external constituents, and donors. Through this virtual training, you will gain a better understanding of why it is imperative to have discussions around race with external constituents for better philanthropic outcomes, examine your own comfort level with talking about race and racism, and practice skills that will translate into an action plan for engaging those stakeholders around these topics.

Retaining Black Men: Strategies for Before, During, and After College

While enrollment and retention have dropped during COVID-19 overall, Black men in particular have faced barriers to college entry and completion that have only been further exacerbated by the pandemic. Enrollment for Black men dropped 14.3% in the spring of 2021 compared to the spring semester of 2020, and retention rates for Black men remain among the lowest in higher education overall. Developing a system of support that follows the journey of Black men from pre-enrollment through completion to alumni status can help to close this equity gap. Join us for an invaluable virtual training on how to set up systems of support for Black men before, during, and after college. Our expert Dr. Vincent Windrow will share insights from his challenges and successes at Middle Tennessee State University, as he discusses how to create a meaningful college experience for Black men all the way through their educational journey. Although Vincent will focus specifically on Black men, his recommendations are useful and applicable for many groups of students. You’ll also work together to create an action plan of steps you can take at each stage to better facilitate and support your Black male students’ time in college.

Setting Up Your Institution for a Community Partnership

As institutions intentionally diversify their student body and deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it can seem like there are not enough resources to go around. Students from historically marginalized or first-generation backgrounds may feel lost on campus without appropriate resources, and faculty and staff may also find themselves at a loss on how to provide those resources with fewer people. Working with community partners can enhance an institution’s existing resources, and can also create further capacity for professional development around key issues by bringing in additional experts. But how do you establish a strong community partner relationship? Join us for an online training on how you can get ready to successfully work with community partners as a campus. Our expert speaker Joe Saucedo will guide you through some of the different types of community partner organizations and what to consider in working with them. Additionally, you will learn what you’ll need to develop on campus before reaching out to set up a new partnership. Finally, you’ll have time to think through the next steps for your campus to build on your success.

Young Alumni: Establishing Lifelong Relationships

Young Alumni: Establishing Lifelong Relationships August 1 – 2, 2022 Prepare, engage and inspire students and recent graduates for a meaningful lifelong connection with your institution. EVENT INFORMATION ENSURE YOUR TECHNOLOGY IS READY This workshop is intentionally designed to allow for maximum learning, connections, and engagement. We advise the following in order to participate fully: Audio & Visual Needs

Faculty Mentorship: Incorporating Inclusive Practices to Foster Faculty Success

Faculty Mentorship: Incorporating Inclusive Practices to Foster Faculty Success December 13 – 14, 2022 Learn to facilitate dynamic and mutually beneficial mentoring relationships that embrace similarities and differences across a wide array of social identities. EVENT INFORMATION ENSURE YOUR TECHNOLOGY IS READY This workshop is intentionally designed to allow for maximum learning, connections, and engagement. We advise the following in order to participate fully: Audio & Visual Needs

Finding Your Authentic Voice: Building Public Speaking Confidence

Communication is a critical skill for leaders. As the challenges facing higher education grow more complex and communication methods more diverse, developing competency and comfort with public speaking is essential. Join us for a virtual training designed to help you improve your public speaking skills. First, you’ll take a self-assessment designed to help you pinpoint both your strengths and areas for improvement when it comes to public speaking. Then, we’ll break the art and science of public speaking down and discuss each component in more depth: You will leave with a deeper understanding of how to arrive at your own authentic communication style, as well as a host of practical tools you can apply right away to improve your own public speaking skills and confidence. You can also consider adding three success coaching sessions with the speaker, Annie Phillips, or another success coach to continue honing your public speaking skills.

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