Dr. Melanie Hulbert currently serves as the Sr. Executive Director of Academic Equity and Student Support at University of Alaska Anchorage. Prior to this she served as the VIce Provost for Student Success and Dean of the Honor’s College. Melanie has spent the past 20 years in higher ed as a professor of sociology and in several executive level administrative positions. She cares deeply about student success and believes that it is our role, as leaders, to create academic pathways that are equitable and tailored to each unique student’s aspirations. “Student success isn’t just a buzz word in higher education, it is a fundamental commitment to holistically meeting students where they are in their academic journey.”
In my previous article with AI (“4 Things Academic Deans Can Do to Help Students Succeed After Graduation,” in August 2015), I offered advice on how academic deans and career professionals can collaborate to improve student career mentoring. In this follow-up article, I would like to offer four curricular strategies that can immediately improve student career prospects, by connecting more clearly what a student studies and what they aspire to do after college. Four strategies to make this happen: 1. Work directly with admissions to break the myth that specific majors lead to specific jobs. I have often found myself speaking to groups of prospective students and their parents immediately after an admissions director has literally drawn lines between specific majors and particular jobs. “If you want to be an A you should consider majoring in X,” s/he would exclaim, much to my chagrin. Parents especially like this equation, while students who are often not sure of what ‘they want to be’ usually find it uncomfortable. My subsequent presentation forcefully (and politely) breaks this myth by focusing on three simple notions: WHAT TO DO: Develop a small team that includes an academic dean, an admissions director and a career services director […]
This article is an excerpt from Sue Ohrablo’s acclaimed book High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors After an academic year begins, advisors can start to breathe a little easier once most of the fires have been put out, questions have been answered, schedule adjustments have been made, and students are mostly settled into their classes. The anxiety that accompanies long, fast-paced days may begin to dissipate. During this time, advisors are left scratching their heads, asking themselves, “Why can’t these students register themselves?”; “Why does this student continue to check with me even though I already gave her the information?”; and, even, on the worst days, “What is wrong with these students?” As things calm down during this period, I encourage advisors to reflect on the nature of student needs, and reconsider the dynamics involved in the student experience and the role of the academic advisor. As an advisor, there are several factors you can address to reduce a student’s continued reliance on you. These are: 1. Readiness Developmental advising involves taking a holistic approach to advising and forming partnerships with students. Students will most likely not expect to engage in a developmental advising relationship, as they often view the advisor as […]
With the apprentice model of mentoring, a mentee is assigned one mentor, usually someone senior in the organization, to provide guidance in all aspects of their career. Although this is a powerful model that typically serves mentees well, this approach to mentoring does require intensive commitments of time and energy from both individuals. And mentors may not always have all of the expertise a mentee needs. As an alternative, however, the consultative approach to mentoring can be used to replace or supplement the more traditional apprentice model of mentoring. The consultative approach encourages mentees to identify those discrete skills and focused areas of support in which they need mentorship, and to then identify multiple mentors to specifically meet those needs. In addition to being flexible enough to support individuals throughout their careers, the consultative approach can help departments promote greater equity and inclusion by empowering everyone to share their expertise with one another. In this course, you’ll be introduced to the consultative approach to mentoring, you’ll be able to build your network of potential mentors, and you’ll gain valuable tools to help manage sticking points in mentorship relationships. This course is appropriate for all higher ed professionals, both at the […]
Philanthropic work in higher education is as important as ever, as the cost of delivering a high-quality education continues to increase. Academic deans are situated in an important role that allows them to guide the strategic direction of their school or college to help meet the academic mission of their institution. But to achieve their strategic vision, deans must embrace their responsibility to foster a culture of philanthropy within their academic unit to ensure success for years to come. This video course will be beneficial to any academic dean—new or experienced—or those aspiring to the role who are seeking to develop or refine a plan to achieve philanthropic goals for their institution. This course is designed to help you understand what a culture of philanthropy is, why it is important, what your responsibility is as a dean in establishing a culture of philanthropy, and how to approach fundraising as a part of this culture. Our expert instructor, Dr. Wade Weast, will help you to understand how your roles as a visionary, collaborator, role model, and fundraiser come together to help alumni, donors, and friends of your academic unit leave a lasting impact. Accompanying this course is a workbook designed to […]
As online student enrollment grows, it is critical to ensure that you are creating an engaging support environment. Current models in student affairs are primarily oriented around face-to-face, brick and mortar institutions and interactions. This webinar will give you the information you need to help you create a pathway to transition your most important student services to meet the unconventional needs of online students. Toolkit for Translating Your Services In addition to your webcast registration, you will receive a resource packet to help you as you transition student development services online, including: Articles Institutional examples Case studies
Most college faculty behave in a professional manner, take their responsibilities seriously, work hard at their jobs, and value their relationships with colleagues. In fact, a recent survey found that college professors are the fifth most satisfied group of employees in the U.S, following pediatricians, singers, aircraft assemblers, and professional fire fighters. The flexibility and ability to control one’s time and tasks makes the career very rewarding. Unfortunately, a few faculty members don’t fit this profile. They may treat colleagues, staff or students with rudeness or harassment, may shirk their teaching, research or service obligations, and may make life generally difficult for their department chairs, deans, and departmental colleagues. If such a “difficult colleague” has tenure, many academics shrug and say there is nothing to be done. That could not be farther from the truth! Tenure is designed to protect academic freedom, not bad behavior. Academic freedom clearly gives faculty members the right to conduct research and teach as they choose, within the bounds of professionalism and institutional requirements for curricular content. But academic freedom also brings responsibilities—to behave with respect toward colleagues and students, to refrain from harassment or discrimination, and to use care in speaking out as a […]
Many institutions are not fully aware of the compliance expectations for their electronic and information technology (EIT) and often fail to meet accessibility requirements which can result in costly lawsuits and pesky OCR audits. EIT compliance is complex, yet manageable, and institutions have a duty to comply with the most recent OCR guidelines laid out in March 2014. To help your institution enhance compliance efforts within a reasonable timeframe, we interviewed an expert on disability compliance — L. Scott Lissner, ADA coordinator at The Ohio State University and past president of AHEAD, the Association on Higher Education and Disability. Why EIT Compliance Must Be a Priority This Year Lisa LaPoint: What are the common misperceptions about EIT compliance? Scott Lissner: There are four that are especially common. First, it is NOT just about classes.Discussions of EIT typically focus on web-based course delivery, etexts and virtual labs, but guidance and case law point to much more. A lot of other processes and documents must meet accessibility standards: As well as virtual tools of the workplace, such as: Developing standards will ensure access for students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and the general public who participate in your programs and activities. It is NOT […]
A small but growing number of colleges and universities have been adopting restorative justice (RJ) processes as an alternative (in some cases) to traditional, sanctions-focused student conduct proceedings. Taking an RJ approach requires a philosophical shift for the student conduct office – it entails new sets of questions for student conduct hearings and an alert ear for cases in which there is the possibility to restore harm that’s been done, rather than simply (or only) penalize. If a hearing indicates that restorative justice may be possible and desirable, RJ processes usually proceed to individual pre-conference meetings held with the offender and those harmed in the incident. Ultimately, if all parties are willing, the issue is dealt with through a group conference with trained facilitators. The goal of the conference is to arrive at a mutual understanding of the harm caused and a mutual agreement for how the harm will be repaired. To learn more about how to make a restorative justice program most successful, we interviewed two officials from Colorado State University, which has frequently been recognized for its restorative justice and other student conduct programs. The two officials are Paul Osincup and Melissa Emerson, the associate and assistant directors […]
The donor’s legacy and philanthropic goals need to be carried on through their gift to your institution. Before a formal proposal is presented, or prior to a meeting that focuses on outlining the gift agreement, you need to connect the donor family’s values to your institutional goals. This process begins by aligning family engagement strategies into your institutional fundraising goals. Join us in this third installment of our Family Giving Series to potentially unlock millions of dollars in giving by building upon your approach to cultivation and stewardship with your most loyal and engaged families. By drilling into the core value of what a family holds dear, you will be able to continue deep philanthropic partnerships with donor families for generations to come.
