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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, […]

A Year in Crisis: Lessons in Communication Learned as a Department Chair

Posted on by bradystanton@ai_azuread

Introduction We have just passed the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. While this experience may have provided opportunities for us to learn and grow, it has also taught us there are critical elements of our life and work where no substitute is sufficient. One of these elements is communication. The extreme safety measures of social distancing, lockdowns, quarantines, remote teaching, and working from home have made communicating with one another increasingly difficult and acutely essential. Let’s not forget, though, there has always been a need for academic leaders to improve communication—many of us have even read books and attended workshops dedicated to this topic. However, the current pandemic has magnified potential weak spots in our communication, providing the opportunity to develop new habits that will benefit those we lead. Allow me to share with you some lessons I have learned recently—some more painful than others—and how they can be applied right now, as well as in a post-pandemic world. Knowing Your Responsibilities Makes You a Better Communicator Being a department chair is the toughest job on campus, and the job does not get any easier during a pandemic. Students, faculty, and staff look to us for magical answers to […]

Improving Diversity in Higher Education: Beyond the Moral Imperative

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

Seizing the Moment November 18, 2015. We witnessed a pivotal moment for higher education last week with the resignations of Tim Wolfe, President of the University of Missouri System, and R. Bowen Loftin, Chancellor of the flagship campus in Columbia. Issues of diversity and inclusion have been challenging campuses for years, but I believe we have now reached a tipping point that will place this issue front and center on leaders’ agendas today and into the future. As we think about the importance of last week’s events, one thing is clear: the efforts by the students at the University of Missouri will help fuel the much-needed nation-wide conversation on this important topic. Already, dozens of campuses are hosting diversity forums, hosting town hall meetings, and issuing statements to demonstrate the many initiatives they are investing in to create a more inclusive and diverse environment. My hope is that these conversations are sincere efforts to move the diversity agenda forward. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s imperative for the success and sustainability of institutions. And there is no time to waste. The Business Case for Diversity The statistics are clear and sobering. Black students and Hispanic students are […]

3 Ways to Help Peer Educators Succeed

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

In a related article, we asked Sarah Whitley, director of first-year experience and family programs at Longwood University, to offer her insights on what critical items are often missing from peer mentor training. Whitley’s answers indicated the need for a shift in thinking about the support and development peer educators need, whether your peer educators serve primarily as peer mentors or whether they lead first-year seminar courses or other elements of the first-year student experience. We decided to dig deeper in a follow-up interview. Sarah Whitley and Jennifer Latino, the director of first-year experience at Campbell University, suggest three keys to helping peer educators step into a leadership role and take greater ownership of their work: Shift the Focus from Orientation to Leadership Development “Don’t think of this as just training,” Latino suggests. “Think of this as a process of development for peer educators. I think where we often fall short in administering these training programs is that we don’t take into consideration the impact on the peer mentor. We know that training peer educators is good for first-year students, but peer mentoring is also a profound experience for the mentors themselves. When our training is focused on what to […]

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 […]

5 Steps Any University Can Take to Develop Student Leaders

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

Beyond a workshop, what does developing student leaders effectively look like? The former president of Nichols College shares 5 quick steps any college can take – followed by advice on how to take student leadership development to the next level. by Susan West Engelkemeyer, Former President, Nichols College At many colleges and universities, student leadership development programming is limited or localized to an office in the student affairs division. Yet we know that leadership is one of the core capacities that employers (and society) require of our graduates in the 21st century. Leadership development should be integrated throughout the curriculum and co-curricular experience, for all students. We have been working on that integration systemically at Nichols College, but you don’t have to systemically re-imagine your general education curriculum in order to get started. Here are 5 things any university can do that supplement existing offerings and programs with meaningful leadership development: 1. Add a Module to Your First-Year Seminar In a course already required for first-year students, include a several-weeks-long module or two that focus on leadership practices and issues. Or offer a dedicated seminar during intercession. Having students work through case studies serves as useful format. The subjects can range […]

Overcoming Barriers to Student Affairs/Academic Affairs Partnerships: 4 Examples

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

In our 2016 article “Improving Student Success Can’t Be a One-Office Effort,” Paul Marthers at SUNY spoke of the power of leveraging strategic partnerships across traditionally divided functional areas: “Whole-campus efforts tend to have higher visibility and the power to motivate collective buy-in and effort. Student success became everyone’s job, because just about everyone who works on a college campus is involved in some part of the student lifecycle.” Developing strategic partnerships between student affairs and academic departments on your campus isn’t easy work, but it can be critical to improving students’ experience and success. That’s why we’re offering an intensive learn-and-work training this summer focused on the structural and cultural aspects of developing a successful partnership. In advance of that workshop, though, we wanted to collect powerful examples of how experts at different institutions have overcome common but significant hurdles to establishing and strengthening these partnerships. Here are the examples our expert panel want to share with you: Examples: How Each Panelist Overcame Hurdles to Successful SA/AA Partnerships Christopher Romano, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Ramapo College. Higher education is known for its siloed approach to serving students. However, one way that Ramapo College of New Jersey has […]

Many Faculty Misunderstand What Enhancing Customer Service Means in the Classroom, and You May, Too 

Posted on by bradystanton@ai_azuread

As a senior administrator in higher education for decades, I spent a great deal of time creating programs and policies that would enhance the student experience. This seemed natural, and it was done in pursuit of boosting student satisfaction and retention. As an instructor, however, reconciling “student satisfaction” within my classroom was not as straightforward. My goal as an instructor was to provide information and build knowledge for students, despite the fact that sometimes the outcome was disappointing for both of us. Since students pay for classes, but not grades, there was never an expectation that students would be universally satisfied.  Enhancing the student experience and customer service on campus is often delegated to administrators and staff who develop policies, procedures, and programs for students that will act as guardrails at the edge of the enrollment cliff. However, many discussions over the years surrounding this important topic have often purposely steered away from the classroom— as though classrooms are shrouded under an invisibility cloak and are not up for discussion when it comes to customer service.  On one occasion, I was meeting with a mixture of administrators and faculty, and I shared my belief that we needed to examine our […]

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