Low Cost Programming « The Student Affairs Collaborative

Low Cost Programming

Tyler

Build This House: An activity for discussing first-generation students with student leaders

Explaining the experience of first-generation college students is a task that many of us quickly deflect if at all possible. Just because a subject can be classified as “well, every situation is so different” does not mean that we cannot try. A few years back, a hall director I worked for needed me to come up with a first-generation college student (FGCS) program for her resident assistant staff. After some thought, I came up with the following, relatively quick program:

Materials needed:

Two (or more) sheets of paper

Pencils (preferably the stencil pencil kind)

Or use a whiteboard/chalkboard

(Groups should be 5 or less/group)

Preparation:

1. Design two like house outlines (basic blueprints with basic room options)

2. On back of each, list:

Rooms needed:

Kitchen

Bathroom

Living room

Master bedroom

Spare bedroom

Upstairs bathroom (shared between the two bedrooms)

Appliances needed:

Oven, fridge, sink, pantry, island, counters, cupboards, dishwasher

Sofa, couch, TV, coffee table, plants (x3)

Soap and towels

Bed, armoire (x2), treasure chest, nightstand (x2)

Repeat for spare bedroom (add a desk)

Rules:

Designate 2 “parents”

Divide group into (two) equal halves

Parent 1 = you know the ins-and-outs of home building. Feel free to help with all aspects of the basic design. Give pointers but allow for choices!

Parent 2 = you try to help with basic design but have no prior experience. Accidentally, you give the group bad advice and misguided direction. Five minutes into the activity, you get frustrated and leave.

Allow for 15-20 minutes for groups to finalize their houses.

Once completed, ask the following questions (plus your own):

How did the “parents” help/hurt?
What were the difficult decisions?
Why did you place/label each room where/what?
What are the differences between groups?
How does this relate to first generation college students?
1. Parents who can help/ parents who are inexperienced
2. Some decisions are made without understanding
3. Communication between student-home is stressed
4. Transitioning as a freshman becomes immediately more difficult
5. Does FGCS correlate with low socio-economic status (SES)*?

Treat this as a basic start to get the discussion/training session started. The point of the project is to metaphorically show students that matriculating through a successful college career is similar to building an efficient house— it helps to have an experienced architect. However, it takes student leaders and student affairs professionals to make sure that each student who does not have an experienced parental architect is aware of the plethora of resources offered by their university.

Remember, first-generation college students (FGCS) and students of low socioeconomic status (SES) are not necessarily correlated and should be understood as separate but equally important variables when further understanding our student populations.

Tyler Martin recently completed his M.Ed. in Higher Education and is seeking a position in Student Affairs.

Scott

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Event Ideas / Low Cost Programming / Uncategorized / Work/Life Balance — 9 Comments
20
Dec 10

Care for Thyself. 50 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays!

Today in the car while I was running errands, I heard a radio commercial from the Pennsylvania Department of Health regarding flu prevention. They are telling people with the flu to stay home from work in order to get better and, more importantly, not to spread the sickness to others at work. This naturally led me to think of this from a Student Affairs prospective specifically related to our own undying work ethic and the selfless defiance of “caring for thyself” in the service to others and the notion of always being at work. In many regards (particularly for ResLifers), we overwork ourselves, and it becomes a badge of courage to discuss spending countless hours with campus police or hospital staff, burning the midnight oil with staff on programming initiatives, and caring for the students that we serve. And as we all well know, a “day off” isn’t truly a day off.

That’s why this holiday season, I challenge you to put down the work and truly care for thyself. (As I told a stressed colleague this past week, “Work will be there tomorrow.”) Take the time to spend with friends and family or simply to rest and relax by yourself. Here are 50 suggestions for how you can care for thyself this holiday season:

Dont check your work emails during your vacation. Turn on your away message, and stick to it!
Do the same for work phone messages. Leave emergency forwarding information for other campus personnel that can assist.
Disconnect from all social media (ie., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) for one or two days. Social media has an uncanny way of drawing you back into work.
Go to the library and check out a book for casual reading you normally wouldn’t get to do.
Play a boardgame or card games when visiting friends and family.
Go to the mall and get an Auntie Anne’s pretzel. (Cinnamon sugar is so good!)
Treat yourself and a friend for a meal and a seasonal craft drink at a local brewpub.
Go ice skating (there are rinks in our nation’s warm regions as well).
Take a bunch of naps.
Watch those guilty pleasure holiday movies on ABC Family.
Check out Groupon.com for awesome holiday offers.
Go to a spa for a day of personal pampering.
Tailgate at your local NFL city even if you don’t have tickets to the game.
Call a family member or friend you haven’t spoken to in awhile.
Chill out all day watching Netflix movies online or on DVD.
Take your laptop to your local free WiFi spot to surf the web for fun.
Hang out at the mall and people watch.
Get a bunch of friends and family together to go to the movies and a snack afterwards.
Check the paper for free local cultural events and opportunities to attend.
Get some coloring books and crayons and color with your kids, grandkids, nieces, and nephews.
Share time looking at old family photos with relatives.
Rent an entire season of your favorite TV show and watch all of the episodes back-to-back.
Go for a longer run than normal.
Take a long car ride to a favorite local place or somewhere brand new to you (explore!)
Purchase and put together a holiday puzzle.
Try a new flavored coffee you’ve never tried.
Attend a local holiday parade.
Take friends and family and get photos with Santa.
Enjoy some holiday-colored-sprinkled Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
Play video games all day with no regret.
Attend a local sporting event.
Attend a holiday murder mystery dinner.
Create a 2010 memory photo book on Shutterfly or Snapfish.
Start a personal private journal.
Write a personal list (not work-related) of New Year’s Resoultions and share with friends and family.
Make New Year’s Eve plans to attend a dinner/dance/concert/comedian and mingle with people you do not know.
Plan and begin a new exercise routine.
Sign up for and attend a Zumba class.
Spend a day watching funny and entertaining videos on YouTube.
Take a train or bus trip to the city.
Invite a friend to go along with you to spend your holiday gift cards.
Test drive a brand new car you would like to buy.
Get a group of friends or relatives together and drive to see a large holiday light display.
Try cooking a new recipe and share a meal with a friend.
Bundle up with a loved-one and drink hot chocolate on the porch (if in colder climates)
Attend local “First Night” festivities on New Year’s Eve with friends and family.
Write a letter with pen and paper to someone special and mail it.
Spend extra time with your hobby (e.g., cooking, crafting, geneaology, scrapbooking, etc.)
Buy a fresh holiday flower arrangement or plant to enjoy in your home.
Indulge in something you have been denying yourself (e.g., goodies & treats, personal leisure time, etc.)

What are some other ways you’ll spend enjoying your holiday?

Scott M. Helfrich is the director of upper campus housing at California University of Pennsylvania, co-owner of Student Life Consultants, and the creator of http://www.studentlifeguru.com.

Cindy

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Budgets / Campus Issues / Club/Org Recruitment / Collaborative Learning / Conferences / Creativity / Leadership Training / Low Cost Programming / Online Tools / Orientation / Professional Organizations / Technology and Programming / Uncategorized / University / Web/Tech — 25 Comments
20
Sep 10

Blog Reflections: Student Leader Development

I always hope for that perfect storm of aligned experiences when sending a small group of organization representatives to a conference. In my mind, the students will be empowered with questions and ideas to pursue upon the return home; their energy ignites a new sense of motivation in their group; and they begin to pursue their new definition of the future.

Sound great?

Hasn’t happened for me yet, either.

Sure, our students had some great presentations and excellent experiences but nearly always my student groups struggle to accurately communicate the true picture of what they experienced. They struggle to not use too many “inside jokes” when describing their time at the conference and nearly always ended up engaged in a conversation about “why can’t we send more people next year?” Given that our travel funds are not likely to increase anytime in the near future, we needed a new plan.

So, my insanely talented staff member (that’s you, Matt!) says, let’s try blogging.

Our office now requires any students traveling to conferences sponsored by our department to blog each day while they are there. We create a blogging site for the group’s travels and make each of them the authors. I love the fact that those of us not attending the conference can keep track of their experiences and that we can comment and have dialogue while they are there. We also send the site around to our student affairs colleagues and division leadership so that they can get some insight into student experiences.

This has enabled us to document these travel experiences and now see, in writing, what we already knew about the impact of spending time with other students who are similarly committed to common goals. As one of our student orientation coordinators posted, “I don’t think I ever got completely used to everyone actually understanding ‘Orientation Speak’ and being able to have in-depth conversations about different aspects of their programs.”

The use of blogs has enabled our students to do more active reflection on these conference experiences and has allowed us to use the sites to help other students understand what the experience might be like the next time around. We get pretty active commentary from participants about what they like and don’t like about the conferences and, when warranted, our structured reflection topics allow for some time for them to pause during a busy conference and make meaning of this experience that the university has offered to them.

For our department, we reported themes communicated in these blogs as part of our annual report in hope of illustrating the impact that off-campus professional travel has on our student leaders. Themes of increased pride in our university, increased confidence in their own leadership efficacy, and enhanced sense of community with other student leaders certainly made this student affairs professional proud.

If you’d like to take a look at one of them, here’s a link to the blog from our delegates at the National Greek Leadership Association conference in Hartford, CT this year.

http://bscgreeksgotongla.blogspot.com/

And just for fun…check out the Wordle the blog for our Student Orientation Coordinators’ trip to the regional NODA Conference (at the top of this post) and the Wordle for our Program Committee’s travels to the NACA regional conference (2) pasted below. Looks to me like they had a good experience…and had some fun along the way!

So, how do you facilitate reflection when your students travel? Any interested in blogging? If you are, let’s correspond and if our students attend the same conferences we can cross-promote their sites!

Michael Cashman

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Creativity / Event Ideas / Low Cost Programming / Series Programming — 2 Comments
14
Sep 09

Random Days of Fun

Those of us who facilitate students activities know that a
lot goes into brainstorming, planning, advertising/executing, and evaluating our
programs. We can spend days, weeks and sometimes even months going through the
process. Though these more sophisticated programs are a blast to plan and
execute, simple programs that require very little planning can also be
favorites and successes.

One of the things our office does to supplement our
programming calendar is to coordinate monthly Random Days of Fun such as
International Talk Like a Pirate Day (just for fun), Bubble Wrap Appreciation
Day (a great stress reliever), and Licorice Day (accompanied with the history),
just to name a few. These activities occur in the college center just outside
our office. We table for two hours, handing out items and using the theme of
the day to interact with our students. The days go largely unpublicized and
tend to grab the students by surprise – making it random fun!

Last year was our first time implementing these Random Days
of Fun. One gained so much popularity it has become the kick off to this year’s
RDF series. September 19^thwill mark our 2^nd annual
International Talk like a Pirate Day celebration. Therefore,
we gunna once again celebrate by spendin' a pair o’ hours handin' out temporary
tattoos, eye patches, chocolate coins 'n other scurvy pirate booty. Additionally,
we gunna take pictures 'o students wit' scurvy pirate apparel.

Days like these have been very successful due to the buy in
from our colleagues. Administrators like our Vice President and our Director of
Residence Life get in the spirit by going by their Pirate Names http://www.froggynet.com/cgi-bin/pirate.cgi
for the day.

I encourage others to consider adding Random Days of Fun to your programming
calendar. Get started with International Talk like a Pirate Day http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html.
For more ideas, visit http://www.brownielocks.com/

Debra

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Announcements / Collaborative Learning / Creativity / Leadership Training / Low Cost Programming — 3 Comments
11
Jan 09

Create your Cover Story!

In need of a fun, interactive "getting to know you" icebreaker or class energizer? Barbara Nixon offers this gem for getting to know a new group of students: create a magazine cover! Nixon, an assistant professor at Georgia Southern, utilizes her blog to share assignments in her Public Relations courses. She shares a virtual file cabinet of creative ideas for integrating social media into the classroom which are applicable in a variety of student development arenas.

I am considering using the magazine concept to introduce our peer leaders to new first-year students in the fall, or as a catchy promotional piece for our new scholarship students. I may also use this in our next staff development.

What's your cover story?

Del

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Assessment / Campus Issues / Community College / Commuter Schools / Event Ideas / Low Cost Programming / University — 11 Comments
7
Nov 08

They Don’t Know What They Don’t Know

Students and new staff members will frequently ask me about surveying their students. They often seem very matter-of-fact and self assured that they’ve found an answer to one of their pressing programming issues: what to present on campus.

It makes sense at first glance. Wondering what to program on campus? Ask your students! Brilliant. And wrong.

Here’s the problem with surveying your students in order to plan your programs: They don’t know what they don’t know.

The vast majority of the students on any campus are blissfully unaware of the universe of student activities programs that are available. They don’t attend APCA and NACA conferences. They don’t read Student Activities Journal, Programming or Campus Activities magazines. They don’t even read this blog.

They essentially have no idea of what’s available in the marketplace. They don’t know what they don’t know.

Ask them what bands to book, they’ll tell you "My Morning Jacket" or "Fall Out Boy." If you ask about comedy, they’ll tell you Chris Rock or Dane Cook. Odds are, your campus can’t afford those acts. Or at least not all of them. So you haven’t gained much from your survey.

But more importantly, my original premise: They don’t know what they don’t know.

Ask your students: would you like to stick your hands in different colors of hot, molten wax? Really?

Yet we’ve all seen students at conferences line up for hours, waiting to produce their very own "Wax Hands."

Ask your students: would you like to see a ventriloquist? Really?

Many students may not even know what the word means. Yet we’ve all seen students rolling in laughter over Dan Horn, Jeff Dunham, or Taylor Mason.

I often liken entertainment surveys to asking children about dinner. If you ask the average child what he or she wants for dinner, they’ll tell you what they know: they want a Happy Meal. And if that’s what you always give them, they never learn to appreciate more exotic food like broccoli or sushi. Don’t we all know college students whose diet consists of burgers and chicken strips– because it’s the only food they learned to like?

Take your co-curricular duties to heart. Remember that you serve an important teaching function on your campus. Avoid a regular diet of "Happy Meals" for your students. Book some unusual programs, events that aren’t even on the students’ radar. Your students– and your campus– will be better for it.

SA Team

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Campus Issues / Event Ideas / Low Cost Programming / Themed Weeks — 4 Comments
26
Feb 08

National Eating Disorder Week (NEDAW) Feb 24th – March 1st 2008

We are in the midst of NEDAW and for both men and women, college is a vital time to educate them. Eating disorders are a silent epidemic on our campuses because no one wants to talk about it. This year’s key message is:

Be comfortable in your genes. Wear jeans that fit the TRUE you.

As an example of how to integrate it on campus, NU (Northeastern University) is hosting events all week in honor of NEDAW.

Each day is dedicated to a different cause, and each day is a different way for you to help!

MONDAY: Learn about disordered eating in the US, who is being affected, and Why those suffering from an eating disorder may not be getting the care they deserve.

TUESDAY: What Can You Do To Help? Come pick up information on the signs and symptoms of eating disorders and how to help a friend who may be struggling.

WEDNESDAY: “Be Comfortable in Your Genes!” – Donate your “skinny” jeans and other old clothes that no longer fit your body comfortably in the CSC. Encourage yourself to wear clothes that fit the REAL you! Donations will be made to Rosie’s Place.

THURSDAY: Declaration Day! Come to the CSC and sign our “No Weigh” contract, declare yourself
free from the constraints of a weight-obsessed world!

Check out the National Eating Disorders Association’s website for more info and other activities.

SA Team

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Event Ideas / Low Cost Programming — 12 Comments
7
Feb 08

Old Prom Dress Drive – Student Activites Event Idea

Ok, in my searching for event ideas – I came across another idea I thought was unique enough to post here. Montgomery County Community College and also The University of Southern Mississippi hosted an Old Prom Dress Drive to help local teens who can’t otherwise afford a nice dress.

Reporter Maggie Mays of USM said they collected around 375 dresses in total. They also recruited several beauty salons to donate their services to the girls on prom night.

Organizer for the USM event, Tyleen Caffrey, said:

All the dresses we have come from individuals who have kept their dresses for sentimental reasons. This gives them goodcause to give it to someone who needs it.

For more info on both contact:

Tyleen Caffrey – USM – 601-310-3881

Cindy Whitley – MCCC – cwhitley@mc3.edu

SA Team

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Event Ideas / Low Cost Programming / Themed Weeks — 2 Comments
7
Feb 08

Sexual Responsibility Week – Student Activites Event Idea

Pennsylvania College of Technology News & Information (I know it’s a mouth full is hosting a sexual responsibility week from Feb 11th to Feb 15th. Here is the flow for the themed week in case it’s something you’ve been thinking about doing on your campus. They also post all their upcoming events online as well.

Monday

Sex Jeopardy Game Show
8-10 p.m., ACC Auditorium
Test your sex IQ and win fabulous prizes.

Tuesday

Chocolate Photo-Pop Creations
11 a.m.-2 p.m., LEC Lobby
Do you still need a Valentine’s gift? If so, don’t miss the chance to stop by and get your picture put on a chocolate pop. It makes a great gift for that special someone.

Survival Stories
7:30 p.m., Penn’s Inn
Film, “Breaking the Silence,” and panel discussion about sexual assault.

Wednesday

Sexual Health Fair
10 a.m.-2 p.m., LEC Lobby
Information, demonstrations and giveaways!

Thursday

Self-Defense Demonstration with Dr. William B. Urosevich, associate professor of biology
7-8 p.m., Field House

Speed-Dating Game and Late Night Party
8-11 p.m., Susquehanna Room
Facts and fun … information, demonstrations, games, music, entertainment and refreshments!

SA Team

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Event Ideas / Low Cost Programming / Themed Weeks — 4 Comments
5
Feb 08

Random Acts of Kindness Week on College Campuses Feb 11th – 17th

In case you need to remind someone to do something nice for someone else, or if you are looking for a theme, there’s a week coming up dedicated to doing Random Acts of Kindness.
The official website is filled with stories, ideas, and inspiration to get you started. Here are some of the many suggestions it gives for colleges:

Give another driver your parking spot.
Give an extra concert or ball game ticket to a stranger. (Hand out free movie tickets)
Help someone struggling with heavy bags.
Invite someone new to lunch. (hand out free lunch cards)
Compliment a stranger about something he or she is wearing.
Smile at people you pass on your way to class.
Bring coffee, donuts, or chocolate kisses/hugs to campus workers who don’t usually get thanked.
Form a group to help the school staff with activities like clearing cafeteria lunch trays, picking up trash, or cleaning up classrooms for the evening custodian.
Write anonymous positive notes to one another, saying what makes the recipient special.
Hand out coffee and hot chocolate to passersby on a cold, wintry morning, or lemonade and water during warm weather.
Hold a campus-wide kindness story contest.
Put up blank banners in public areas and invite students and faculty to write their kindness stories for all to enjoy.
If you have a radio station, ask the radio staff to create Random Acts of Kindness programming, such as listeners calling in their stories of kindness, or the ANNOUNCER reading submitted stories or selected readings from kindness books.
Hold a campus kindness rally and invite speakers and musicians to give awards to kind students, professors and staff members.
Hold a teddy bear drive. Deliver the bears to police and firefighters to give to traumatized children.
Collect kindness stories and create a customized campus kindness book for distribution.
Post banners with kindness slogans.

Here are some for the staff:

Praise the work or attitude of a teacher.
Bring someone a cup of coffee, hot cocoa, or a soft drink.
At a faculty meeting, talk with teachers about acts of kindness you all have given or received.
Leave a kind note in the faculty lunchroom with suggestions like, “Take a deep breath and move peacefully through your day.”
Post copies of inspirational poems or thoughts for all to enjoy.
Put a supportive note on teacher’s desk or in his/her mailbox.
Carry small wrapped candies in your pocket to give as “angel kisses” to someone who needs a lift.
Attach suggestions for acts of kindness to Hershey Kisses and Hugs. Each administrator, teacher, or staff member takes a candy and then performs the RAK suggested to benefit another administrator, teacher, or staff member.
Sponsor a kindness drawing or coloring campaign for your staff’s children.
Put plants in your facility. A study at Washington State University indicates that living indoor plants may increase productivity and reduce stress for employees.
Boost morale on campus by having your staff submit stories about kindness in the workplace. Start with a memo giving them information about the RAK movement and asking them to submit their stories. When the week is over, distribute the stories as a collection, post them on a Kindness Bulletin Board, or include one or more in each school newsletter. If you don’t have a newsletter, create a weekly or monthly Kindness Bulletin and keep it going throughout the year!
Create a “good news” bulletin board to fill with upbeat news about teachers (such as write-ups about the teachers’ accomplishments and ideas, or photos of their families or newborn babies).
Invite someone new to lunch.
Welcome and get to know new hires.
Tell a fellow teacher or a principal why you appreciate him or her.
Walk a colleague to the car or bus at nighttime for safety.
Leave a treat on the desk of a teacher with whom you normally don’t get along.
Write, draw, make, or buy something encouraging for a colleague who is experiencing difficulties.
Place a flower on the desk of each of your team members or fellow teachers.
Surprise a colleague with a soft drink, coffee, or bottled water.
Keep a Kindness Journal of kind acts you observe among your students. Read it aloud and discuss it with your students once a week. This will help raise students’ awareness of the impact of their daily actions, and it may encourage you as well.
Give a compliment.
Allow a colleague’s teenager to shadow you for a day and learn about your job
Write a letter commending a colleague who helped you, and address it to your principal.

There’s even a PDF guide to start a RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) Club on your campus to keep the idea going throughout the year.
Acts of kindness do a lot more than just make someone smile. From their website:

Kindness activities teach students a lifelong interpersonal skill and affirm students who may not be recognized in other ways.

The Student Affairs Collaborative

Know-how from peers and professionals