The Student Affairs Collaborative

#SAChat Transcript – 4/25/13 – Best Practices for On Campus Interviews

Posted by Julie Larsen on 26 Apr 2013 / 0 Comment

Thanks to everyone who participated in our #SAchat focused on Best Practices for On Campus Interviews – for the Interviewers. This week’s topic produced over 320 tweets from several student affairs professionals, graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

View transcript here. (Note: we’re trying a new transcript platform. Click “transcript” on the left to read the discussion. Check out the other links to see lots of data, including top tweeters. Feedback welcomed!)

What are some other topics you would like to see us cover? Please let us know your ideas and feedback to keep #sachat growing strong. Until next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to LIKE our Facebook Page. Thanks for your continued support!

What March Madness Can Teach About Advising

Posted by LouAnna Tolliver on 24 Apr 2013 / 0 Comment

Indiana University (IU) has a long history with basketball. This March Madness was different not because IU was a contender, but because of the spotlight put on the academic advisors. It’s a tradition that on Senior Night, every single senior thanked their academic advisors for helping them do well in their studies and getting them to graduation and this year was no exception. Also, one of the juniors, Victor Oladipo, and his advisor were interviewed by the Indianapolis Star. Click here to read the article (there is a video, but the article tells the advising story).

I sent this article to an advisor/colleague and she emailed me saying “How cool would it be to advise those guys?” to which I responded, “I feel the same about the guys I advise”. I advise mostly males in the Engineering and Technology programs on my campus. I honestly look forward to going to work each day and being around such bright, intelligent, focused young men is inspiring and rewarding. My students won’t be joining the NBA like Oladipo, but I have no doubt that some will leave their mark on the world as they have on my life. Shouldn’t we all feel blessed to be difference-makers and academic supports to the students we serve? I think so.

Creating Committed Teams

Posted by Clare Cady on 22 Apr 2013 / 2 Comments

Image borrowed from HERE

Recently I watched a colleague struggle significantly with a committee she was heading up. Once a group of 10 active and reliable members, her group dropped to 8, then 7, and now stands at 4. The work the committee was doing ground to a halt. My friend was responsible. The work piled up, and she ended up putting in (even more) long hours. She lamented to me that of the people who had stopped coming to her meetings, only one had actually given notice. I saw the same issue again this week when I showed up to a task force I sit on – only 3 people there. Our leader made light of the situation, but I could tell he was upset that people had just stopped showing up.

We’ve all done this at least once in Student Affairs, and, we have at least had it done to us once. If you ask me, the most unfortunate part of it all is that it is widely accepted that it will happen, and people step off of committees/work groups/task forces usually by just never coming again. Rather than sharing with the planner or the group the reasons for leaving, and trying to find a replacement on the team, people quietly slip away. Most of them do not even get themselves removed from email lists for fear of bringing attention to the fact that they were a part of the group, and now are not.

I get it – we are busy, busy, people. We over commit. We don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. We have a hard time saying no. We want to help. We join things that are not within our position descriptions, and then our jobs kick into overdrive. There are a lot of reasons that are not at all malicious. In fact, I would imagine that the vast majority are not meant to be harmful. The issue lies in the fact that this can happen over and over in a group, and then the person in charge is left holding the whole thing together with duct tape, chewing gum, and their bare hands.

So hey, does that mean that we have to be martyrs? No. What it means is that we can do just a few things to have both the boundaries we need, and be the support for our colleagues in their endeavors:

Find out what you are agreeing to: ask some questions before you jump into the fray. What kind of time commitment do you think this will be? What will be expected of the members of this group? How do you see my skills/efforts fitting into the project? What is the timeline you are working with? Having just a bit of information can help you to determine if you are going to be able to commit or not.
Commit: When you say yes – say yes. Put the meetings on your calendar out as far as you need to, show up to the meetings present and ready to go, be engaged from the start, and keep that going until the finish. I find it so sad when people seem surprised I make it to all the meetings, or do the work asked of me (not to paint myself the hero here – I have definitely done the opposite too). If you are well-informed about your commitment, and them make it, you should be able to do most of what is asked. Be that awesome person people can rely on (of course this will mean you will get more invites to evaluate, and possibly to say no to).
Have boundaries on your commitment: If you do not think you can do everything asked, or can’t make most of the meetings, come up with a way to be involved where you can meet your commitment. Suggest you show up to a few meetings to consult, or meet separately with the leader to talk about things. Perhaps you can take on one piece of the project and do it on your own time, or read the meeting notes and weigh in. If you can fill a need and help out, do it.
Say no: It is a really hard thing to do in a culture of “yes” and a group of people who are committed helpers. I know that this often flies in the face of what you hear and what you see either on your campus and in Student Affairs. We feel peer-pressured into being yes-only people. I believe that often “no” is better than a “yes” if you really can’t meet the commitment being asked.
If you have to step down: Go out and find someone to take your place. Who do you know that could be a part of the group? Pitch it to them and see if you can make a switch. Doing this demonstrates your commitment to the group, keeps that much-needed spot on the team filled, and upholds your own boundaries and needs.
If you can’t find a replacement, but still need to leave: Be up front with the leader of the group at minimum, the whole group at best. Don’t just stop going and hope that no one notices you are no longer there. People notice. You don’t want a reputation for being someone who does not meet commitments. On some campuses once you have a reputation – it’s not going away

I think there are also some proactive things group leaders can do as well:

Help those you ask to be well-informed: If you know the commitment you are asking for, tell people. Give them not just an idea of the cool topic, important outcome, or necessary goal. People who join your group well-informed are more likely to stick with you.
Ask what else people are up to: Sometimes it is good to get a sense of how committed someone is before you ask them to join your group. If they seem very busy, perhaps you should look for someone else. You could ask the person you thought of first whether or not they have recommendations as to who you can ask.
Don’t always ask the same people: This can help with the over-commitment issue, but it is also awesome to meet new folks with new projects. I have met some amazing people on campus because a group leader brought together folks I would never have thought of.
If you see someone is no longer in attendance: Check in with that person. Let them know you are aware they are no longer coming to meetings, and ask them what is going on for them. Most people do not leave groups out of spite, so seeking to understand is really helpful. This might also provide you with some feedback on how your work is going. People might have left because they felt things were not productive, or did not like the direction being taken. That can improve your work moving forward. The final positive about this approach is that it holds people accountable, helps you to understand what is going on, and may help keep the relationship you have with that person intact for future endeavors.

In the end, we will all be on both sides of this fence. We want to serve, create, help, and say yes! Increasing communication to start, and keeping it going as things move along is key to having successful and useful group attendance.

Have you laced up to #RunForBoston?

Posted by Julie Larsen on 19 Apr 2013 / 1 Comment

We asked #SAChat superstar @OberBecca to reflect on her #RunForBoston movement.

In the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon people were left wanting to join together to show their support. Twitter was full of people pledging to Run For Boston that night or the next morning. I wanted to find a way to bring us all together in our efforts and created a Google Form for people to log their miles together. I shared the link with friends on Facebook and Twitter, sharing it with every running group and
fitness hashtag I could think of. I thought maybe my close friends and colleagues would log their miles, but never expected it go viral.

Since Monday night, it’s become a movement of support, empathy, and strength. Some of us are runners, some are joggers, some are walkers, and some are lacing up for the first time; all of us want to #RunForBoston. Whether you run your 26 miles miles or walk 2.6, you can log your miles in the form and share why you Run For Boston.

Within 48 hours, over 2100 runners logged 9000 miles and the list continues to grow quickly. These miles aren’t about raising money, but about showing our support for the runners, families, rescuers, and Bostonians. They are about being a part of something bigger than ourselves and being a part of a community.

One runner runs “For those who have to learn to walk all over again” while another says “Because my brother-in-law crossed the finish line 15 min before the explosions. Because Boston is my city. Because we are strong.”

Log as many runs as you like for as long as you like, the form will remain active and I will continue to share totals periodically on Facebook and Twitter (@OberBecca). To access the form and read stories of other runners, visit beccaobergefell.com. Join other runners on Twitter with the #RunForBoston hashtag and read the incredible (and sometimes heartbreaking) stories shared by people from across the United States and
several countries.

A special thanks to the #SAChat community for being among the first people to log their miles as they #RunForBoston and for sharing it so widely!

#SAChat Transcript — 4/18/13 — Campus Events after Community Tragedies

Posted by Julie Larsen on 19 Apr 2013 / 0 Comment

Thanks to everyone who participated in our #SAchat focused on Campus Events after Community Tragedies. This week’s topic produced over 400 tweets from several student affairs professionals, graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

View transcript on Storify.

I Don’t Want Your Idea. Show Me Your Product.

Posted by Matt Bloomingdale on 17 Apr 2013 / 3 Comments

Like many of my generation, I have what might be considered an unhealthy interest in personal technology. Yet, I find I am more fascinated by observing how tech companies are managed, the way work is accomplished, and studying how decisions are made, than the products these companies produce.

In higher education, work is often accomplished utilizing the same, well-established, formula. A decision is made that results in a task, individuals are assigned to the task, individuals meets to determine how to best complete the task – often several times – and finally produce a result intended to fulfill the criteria of the initial decision. In higher education, work – more often than not – begins with the idea and ends with the product.

Workplace at Expayway. Credits: WOVOX Team

Yet, much of the work in the technology industry is accomplished differently. Often, work begins with the product and ends with the idea or decision. There are a few interesting stories to illustrate this practice, but perhaps most notable is the origin story of the iPhone.

How does this apply to our work? I have noticed that professionals, particularly young professionals, are adept at identifying problems or needs within a department, yet often struggle addressing these needs. Perhaps they believe they lack the permission to address the need or recognize the divergence from the established practice for accomplishing work in our field. Yet, as a mid-level professional, I recognize that departmental needs have not gone unattended because one has failed to identify the issue. On the contrary, seldom are issues identified that have not yet been previously discovered. Priorities, workloads, dependency on related decisions, all can prevent identified issues from being resolved.

For example, a hall director may walk into your office and say, “I recognize we’ve had a number of roommate conflicts this year. I think we should have a roommate agreement for residents to complete at the beginning of the year to be proactive in addressing these issues.” Certainly, a roommate agreement is an established practice in housing departments. Likely, the problem is not lost on the supervisor, nor the solution. Yet, as previously stated, there may be reasons the department has yet to develop the solution. When the time arrives to implement one, we charge the task to a group of professionals. They meet, and after some time, develop a result.

However, how would the situation differ if the hall director walked into their supervisor’s office and stated, “I recognize we’ve had a number of roommate conflicts this year. I researched how other institutions address these issues using roommate agreements and worked with a colleague to create one that would best serve our communities.” I would content that the likelihood of the department adopting the presented roommate agreement (after providing appropriate feedback and suggested changes) is much higher than waiting to convene a group of individuals to create one.

Certainly, this will not always be the case. We may identify problems and develop solutions that ultimately will not be accepted. Yet, I contend that bringing a product, or a prototype, that solves the identified issue increases the possibility of the solution being adopted. I am not advocating that professionals neglect their responsibilities in favor of solving problems outside their purview. Nor, am I advocating that we accept solutions to issues simply because one is presented. Rather, I contend there is value in promoting this type of practice within our departments. Doing so, allows us to be innovative, robust, and promotes satisfaction among employees who believe they can positively contribute to their department’s growth and success.

The demands on higher education are increasing and it is important for us to establish practices that can effectively address identified issues soundly and quickly. I think it’s important that we encourage professionals not to simply be problem identifiers or problem solvers, but product developers.

You can connect with Matt on Twitter @mbloomingdale.

Tips for Candidates New to Post-Placement Anxiety

Posted by Hollie Chessman on 15 Apr 2013 / 1 Comment

Wow! The whirlwind of ACPA, Osh Kosh, NASPA and regional placements is over! Many of you connected with employers at this year’s placement exchanges. You may be hoping that your next email notification or cell phone ring is the dream employer calling you with an on-campus interview offer.

waiting-for-phone-to-ring

What happens between the conferences and the call? You’ll have some hours of waiting and second-guessing your interview responses. Instead, you may want to try some of the strategies below. Second-guessing only helps if you learn from it, otherwise it becomes a rocking chair. (It gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere).

Try these:

1) You will want to distill down which schools you ‘connected’ with during socials and the interviews. Was there a table of interviewers that immediatelymade you comfortable? Did you seem to connect with the themes of their questions? Was there a school that asked a question that you struggled with? Why? Were you invited and did you attend the school’s socials? Did you feel like you were socializing with long-lost colleagues at the event? Is there a particular mission or vision of a school or department that really spoke to you?

Contemplating some of these questions will help you preliminarily identify institutions that may be a “fit.” Fit becomes important because you will want to work somewhere you feel like you will learn and grow from the school and people around you.

2) Attending placements with a pre-determined “dream” school or position in mind is natural. I know I did. I went in thinking, I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get X position at Y school. Instead, I ended up connecting with an entirely different school and state – this is where I ended up working.

You want to have an open mind about the schools and positions you interviewed for during your time at the conference. Even if you really wanted an orientation position, but you connected with a school with a RD position – you may want to give that serious consideration.

When you get your foot in the door at a school – you connect with is going to give you excellent experience, the opportunity to gain skills in other areas as well the ability to connect with other opportunities at the school that may be an orientation position or a step-up in housing in a few years.

3) If a school calls you to offer an on campus interview, but you have absolutely no desire to work there. You will want to consider points one and two above.

Remember, your time and the schools’ are very valuable. If you do not think you would want to live or work there – be honest. Thank them for their consideration, but right now you are considering other opportunities.

You may think because you are not be getting any other interview offers you should jump at the chance for an on-campus. One of the hardest things to do is work at a school you do not connect with in a place where you do not want to live. This is hard on you, as well as on the school and your colleagues. You will want to factor this into your consideration.

If you accept the on campus offer, and then decide at the last minute that you do not want to go – you will need to do more than send an email to the search coordinator. You may want to call the person you were working with to make your interview arrangements. Thank them for all their time and consideration, and talk with them about your decision. You and the employer will be happy that you did. You both saved valuable time and resources.

4) While it is important to follow up on your application, you should give schools some time to get back home, get their search committees together, review all the applicants they interviewed, do follow-up phone interviews… -basically, it will take time. More time than you think it should – especially when you are on the other side waiting for the phone calls and emails to start rolling in.

Sometimes private schools can move faster in their search process than a state school. Private schools do not have state guidelines mandating search committee processes and procedures. They may be offering on-campus interviews more quickly, than their state counterparts.

It’s okay to drop an email to the people you met at the conference to let your interviewers know you are still interested – just make sure you are not overdoing it. Before hitting ‘send’ on that 12th follow-up email, you may want get some advice from a colleague or mentor.

5) Remember your job and/or grad school. Communicate with your supervisors and/or professors if you are having to head out of town on an on-campus interview during work or class. Reveal as much as you feel comfortable.

Enjoy the process! Stay positive and work with mentors and friends as you experience the adventure! You are writing a new chapter in your life – enjoy the moment.

Hollie Chessman is the Associate Director of Distributed Campus Projects at George Mason University. She is a PhD in education student whose research interests include student affairs professionals, well-being and work life balance.

#SAChat Transcript — 4/11/13 — Getting Involved in Professional Organizations

Posted by Julie Larsen on 12 Apr 2013 / 0 Comment

Thanks to everyone who participated in our #SAchat focused on Getting Involved with Professional Organizations. This week’s topic produced over 450 tweets from several student affairs professionals, graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

View transcript as a Google doc.

Best Practices in Student Conferences — Planning #ConsentFest

Posted by Benjamin Lamb on 10 Apr 2013 / 2 Comments

Image borrowed from here.

One of the trends I’ve noticed recently with my student groups is an increased desire in hosting small and medium sized conferences and meetings of peer institutions to discuss a wide breadth of topics. Most recently, this trend led to my involvement in a topical conference that would not generally be directly affiliated with our office…Sexual Assault. In the past, our office had been seen as the housing and activities office, not necessarily the office you go to, to work on such a meaty and heavy issue. Needless to say…I was elated!

To think that the cultural shift on campus now provided us the opportunity to have a hand in addressing this very serious issue, which impacts all of our institutions in one way or another, was very exciting to me. Working collaboratively with two stellar students, we coordinated a small regional conference, who’s topic became the issue of consensual relationships…thus…ConsentFest was planned.

Students from 6 colleges, from as far away as Chicago, invaded campus for a 24 hour conference, conversation, and critique on the issue of consent. The products? Hopeful, inspirational, inviting, and above all, meaningful to both those in attendance, and the campus population in general.

This topic is something that touches the lives of all students, whether they know someone who is a survivor of sexual assault, or if they themselves don’t really know the meaning of “consent”. Consent in itself is by no means the end all be all of developing a campus culture with no sexual assaults. As those of us working in student affairs know, it’s an uphill battle that requires immense resources, structured policy and protocol, and a shift in the psyche of the entire student population. But what this small taste of a conference did do is help begin to frame the conversation for the people in the room. It gave a construct from which a seed can be planted on each individuals’ campus. From there, with appropriate nurturing and attention, who knows what can grow?!

So why write a blog post about this? Well, in the process of entering into this meaty world of meaningful mini-conferences, I learned some very important logistical and developmental tidbits, and I want others to both learn from my mistakes and successes so that you too can feel increasingly comfortable tackling these sorts of issues in a similar fashion.

Develop the most thorough outline and check list you ever have! With all events we do we have a plan of attack most likely, but when you begin to envelop these very direct, sensitive, and necessary conversations and dialogues into the system, making sure it all goes off without a hitch is even more important. Stumbles and trips along the way can lead to a more significant impact in a more negative way than when it’s a fun and games sort of event.
Extend your timeline to an unconventional level. Along with your checklist/plan of attack, think beyond your normal timeline, beyond your assessment forms at the end. Think 6 months out; a year out. What is the goal impact of you helping to coordinate this conference? Is your hope that this will be a one-off or perhaps a recurring annual event? Do you plan to follow up in a reflective manner with the participants? Should you help to facilitate an ongoing dialogue via the use of a website or listserv? Obviously the ultimate goal of a topical conference is to impact a broader issue in a positive way, and although steps can be taken on a short timeline, true action and sustainability needs to be tracked and provided administrative traction. Keeping that bug in people’s ears alive can do more than you may suspect.
Imagine you have $0. I have used this mentality since I can remember, because many times I did have $0. It was matter of arguing a point and fighting for my cause to get money from others. In this, I don’t mean that you should be underhanded and not pay your keynote, or that you shouldn’t feed participants; rather, think of what is most valuable for this conference. It’s most likely the inter-group dialogue and exchange of ideas among participants, which in reality is free. It’s the peripheral niceties that help to collect these people in a place, at a given point in time, with a powerful presenter. So focus on the priceless core of the program, and fight for the money to build the layers that hold it together.
Tap those who have come before you. I’ll admit I went a little over zealous initially with this one, and I learned from that mistake. Although this event hadn’t happened at my institution before, it HAD happened in various incarnations at other places. Plus, there are INCREDIBLE folks working in higher education who have been tackling the issues at hand for decades. This is where networking year-round comes to your rescue. Build relationships with all types of people in all types of places, because it’s to your advantage and theirs to have a working relationship before either one of you needs to tap it as a resource. Consult the experts who have been doing this longer than you.

All in all, these new-fangled mini conferences I’m becoming increasingly familiar with are teaching me a lot about my own abilities, limitations, passions and values. I’m sure many of you are experiencing the same sort of process, and I only hope that these tidbits offer a glimmer of something new, different, and valuable for you.

Does your campus have student run conferences? What best practices would you share?

The Best of #SAchat Tweets – Week of 4/9/13

Posted by The SA Team on 09 Apr 2013 / 0 Comment

Everyday the #sachat feed is full of great resources, professional musings, and important questions that have been posed to the community. Here is a highlight of some of the tweets from the stream during the last week. We know this list is only scratching the surface, but we hope it will encourage you to keep the conversation going. Chat on!

“We don’t always do a good job at communicating the how or why behind decision making.” #sachat