Search Results for: meeting

Safety and Risk Management Training for Faculty Leading Study Abroad: Part 1

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

May 2010. After some initial controversy over FERPA and student privacy, a set of documents from Laramie County Community College were made public, prompting a media flurry and providing a cautionary case of how one college may have mishandled a response to the suicidal behaviors of a student while leading a 2008 class trip to Costa Rica. The incident raises questions for institutions of higher education, including what training to provide for faculty and other trip leaders who are taking students abroad, so that trip leaders know how to respond in the event of an emergency and who to contact. The Chronicle of Higher Education noted that before Eastern Illinois University faculty members can teach courses overseas, they are required to complete a workshop on risk management and student health and safety. At Academic Impressions, we followed up with Wendy Williamson, director of study abroad at Eastern Illinois University, and Brent Barker, the University of Washington’s travel security and information manager, to learn: The Safety Workshop for Faculty Both Eastern Illinois University and the University of Washington require that faculty or study abroad program directors complete a several-hour safety and risk management workshop prior to the trip. The University of Washington also requires that […]

Spotlight on Innovation: How Kennesaw’s TAG Program is Creating Better Degree Completion Pathways for Transfer Students

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. Transfer student support has seen something of a revolution over the last decade, as colleges have become increasingly aware that transfer students make up over 60% of all American undergraduates enrolled at four-year institutions, and that transfers often arrive without the system of peer support and transitional support services that have been made available to many first-year students. Many institutions, especially state flagships, have put in place robust transfer student support services or, in a few cases, established one-stop transfer student centers on campus. The one-stop approach for transfers remains rare, however, and it is more often that transfer student support is handled out of one department or office on campus. Bucking this trend is Kennesaw State University, which, with the aid of a $3.2 million First […]

Spotlight on Innovation: Retaining First-Gen Students at UNC-Chapel Hill

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. Percentages of first-generation students are rising at many institutions, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is taking an especially comprehensive approach to academic support for this growing and often challenged demographic. At AI, we’re looking forward to watching their FITW-funded project develop over the next four years; if successful, it will provide other institutions with one possible model for a holistic and effective approach to supporting and retaining first-generation students. Here’s a first look at the challenge UNC-Chapel Hill is up against and how they’re innovating to address it. The Challenge At UNC-Chapel Hill, 20 percent of undergraduates are first-generation students who are half as likely to graduate college as their peers. First-generation students who transfer from a community college or major in a […]

The Critical Step in Allocating Resources Across Alumni Relations and Annual Giving

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

Most alumni relations and annual giving operations have limited intelligence about who will be a strong reunion volunteer, annual giver, or alumni travel prospect—if the person has not previously participated in any of those activities. But rather than pulling a random database query and then reaching out at random to the contents of the entire resulting list, applying predictive analytics can help provide a more targeted allocation of your resources and more targeted messaging. Why Predictive Modeling is Critical Many organizations seeking to improve operating performance are turning to predictive analytics and predictive modeling to either increase revenues, decrease costs, or both. The size of our alumni population and database at Penn make focusing resources critical to fundraising success. The objectives of our early pilot projects in predictive modeling have been to reduce fundraising-related marketing costs and/or increase the dollars raised, or improve business performance in some other way. Here are examples of how our recent analytics efforts at Penn have informed critical resourcing decisions: The Steps for Effective Predictive Modeling The steps in the predictive modeling process are: Identification of the business need and a proper problem definition are critical for a successful project. In most data warehouse systems, […]

Doing Service Learning Right

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

At many institutions, service learning programs are pursued in an ad hoc manner. Here’s how to realize the full potential of a service learning initiative. Service learning programs have proliferated on college and university campuses over the past decade, leading in the best cases to measurable gains in student learning and engagement; yet at many institutions, these programs are still pursued in an ad hoc manner. Among the obstacles to realizing the full potential of a service learning initiative: To learn from the success of one of the more effective programs, we turned this week to Drew Stelljes, director of community engagement at the College of William and Mary. That institution has effectively scaled its interests in service learning up to a comprehensive civic engagement initiative with defined outcomes and structured collaboration across both the academic affairs and student affairs division. Here is Stelljes’ advice for colleagues at other institutions who may be looking to achieve more with their service learning efforts. Defining Your Outcomes First, Stelljes advises establishing clarity around the purpose of the initiative: “Tease out the objectives that are important to your school,” Stelljes advises, “and then articulate those to the faculty you hope to involve.” “We […]

Building Bridges: Understanding and Supporting Faculty, Staff, and Students Across Generations

Building Bridges: Understanding and Supporting Faculty, Staff, and Students Across Generations THREE-PART SERIES   Recorded on August 15, 2023 | Recorded on September 11, 2023 | Recorded on October 18, 2023 Overview Discussions around generational differences can too often feel more focused on competition than collaboration. However, despite their differing cultures and points of view, each generation offers its own unique benefits to society, and it is more vital than ever that those of different generations today find common ground. For the first time in history, there are five generations in the workplace. While it is easy to gripe and complain about generational differences (“Ugh, Millennials.” “I don’t know how Gen Z-ers get by.” “That’s such a Boomer thing to say.”), these kinds of stereotypes overlook the gifts and benefits that each generation brings. They can also lead to age discrimination that is both unproductive and damaging to inclusive environments and collaboration. Join us for a three-part webinar series to gain an objective overview of the differences and similarities that exist across generations. You’ll learn practical strategies for working more effectively with individuals in a variety of contexts. How it Works This webinar series consists of three separate trainings, each […]

Practicing Mindfulness: A 9-Day Program for Higher-Ed Professionals

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE Practicing Mindfulness: A 9-Day Program for Higher-Ed Professionals Combat burnout and stress by incorporating mindfulness techniques into your daily life. Sign up to receive bite-sized mindfulness lessons and activities daily for 9 business days. The next cohort starts on Monday. Overview We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to show up, keep going, and perform. It’s easy to lose sight of the simple moments of joy and substance in our everyday lives. Through this video course, you will develop a daily mindfulness practice that enables you to pause, connect more deeply with what’s going on around you, and stay grounded in the present moment. Comprised of simple techniques that make use of all your senses—thought, sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, and feeling—you will come away with a variety of mindfulness methods that you can easily integrate into your busy everyday life. Higher ed professionals at all levels who are seeking more intention, purpose, and connection will benefit from this course. This course is valued at $595, but is free for members.   Who Will Benefit This course is designed to meet the needs of busy higher-ed professionals at every level.   How It Works For 9 days, […]

Creating a Culture of Advisement: Engaging Faculty in Advising

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

Sometimes you don’t just need to change advising procedures; you need to change the culture of academic advising on campus. A few years ago at Ramapo College of New Jersey, our enrollment management division surveyed faculty, first-year students, and upper-class students to learn where students turned for help in making academic decisions as they progressed through the curriculum. What we learned was striking: Further, over 57% of first-year and 47% of upper-class students did not even know who their academic advisor was. What this survey told us was that we didn’t just need to improve our advising procedures; we needed to create a culture of advisement on campus. 3 Keys to Changing the Culture Knowing that a culture of advisement is as dependent (if not more so) on buy-in and commitment from faculty than buy-in from administrative units, we embarked on the creation of an overall academic advisement plan for our campus, which included a series of action plans that hinged on three key change management strategies: Engaging faculty in academic advisement is essential to advancing Ramapo’s work — or any college’s work — in student success. Here’s what we did to engage our faculty: 1. Modeling the Change We […]

From Student Affairs Professional to Student Affairs Scholar: Taking Charge of the Change You Want to See

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

FOR THE STUDENT AFFAIRS PROFESSIONAL:THE CHANGE YOU NEED TO SEE AT YOUR INSTITUTIONS We’re excited to share this article with you because at Academic Impressions, we believe that the change you need to see at your institution is often within your own control, and that your professional development is key to building the skills and identifying the opportunities to lead change at your institution and in your field. In this article by the authors of the book A guide to becoming a scholarly practitioner in student affairs, learn how positioning yourself as a scholar in student affairs can be critical to this process. If you could give voice to those who were marginalized, if you could change the field of student affairs through your voice, if you could create better collaborations across campus with our academic colleagues, and if you could share your insights with parents, students, and other invested stakeholders so that they know what we contribute to student learning and development, then why would you not? Student affairs practitioners need to engage in scholarship to give voice and to inform others about their impact on student lives. Scholarship addresses the concerns of stakeholders, and it is essential for professional […]

Minors Matter: How Interdisciplinary Solutions Benefit Institutions and Students

Posted on by bradystanton@ai_azuread

By Hilary L. Link, PhDPresident of Allegheny College Between the end of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th, higher education in this country became more and more specialized and fragmented due to a number of factors: new research findings, the growth of experimental and scientific methods, the application of science to industry, and “an increased awareness of social problems brought about by an increasingly industrial and urban society.” Emblematic of this specialization, which continues today, is the focus on a student’s major, required by almost every college and university. Most majors are too discipline-specific on their own to give graduates the tools to solve the ever-more-vexing problems of today’s complex world. A major in English may present a career path that is traditionally narrow; combine it with a minor in Environmental Science and graduates expand their opportunities, for instance, as researchers in the natural sciences, leaders in the burgeoning alternative energy sector, grant-writers for climate action nonprofits or environment-focused policymakers and communications professionals. Our problems demand solutions that integrate different perspectives and disciplines, which is precisely why minors matter today more than ever before. As an interdisciplinary scholar of Renaissance art and literature, I have been […]

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