College Student Catch and Release

April 25th, 2012 | Posted by The SA Team in Campus Issues | Engagement - (3 Comments)

In my last post I wrote the following line: “Let me just say, the ‘real world’ as a term is bogus. If college is a fake world then it’s our fault for creating it.”  The line came out naturally, and I didn’t think about it much after typing it, although it kept grabbing my attention as I proof read the post.  I took some time to reflect and ended up  taking a walk and jotting down some notes.

I realized I hear those statements all the time from students: “When I enter the real world…”  I struggle with the idea that somehow college is not the real world. That belief is counter to what college is about: exploration and adventure, trial and error, and embracing things that are different.  Most universities do offer a comfy world within their campus by offering every service needed: food, shelter, medical care, counseling, activities, etc.  Four-year institutions market themselves in nice neat packages, a get away of sorts for students.  It’s the last hideaway before the scary real world takes over and worries like taxes, mortgages, and car payments creep in.  Even though the majority of freshmen are 18 and considered adults, we provide most services for them, without students even having to ask. What are students losing by having everything at their fingertips?

There are very few things that traditional four-year institutions do not offer.  There are competing thoughts on how this came about. It might be because the collective buying power of a large group affords the opportunity to offer discounted services, or universities wanted to attract students and ensure they had a comfortable stay.  I will say for certain that it’s not due to student development theory.  Student affairs grew from campus need, student development theories hadn’t even been dreamed up yet when the student affairs movement began. No matter how it came about, we ultimately ended up here:  A mix between an all-inclusive resort and a home for the elderly (with less elderly… although that population is growing).

Beyond the fact that students have everything they would need at their disposal, the part that concerns me the most is the relative alienation of our students from the surrounding community.  Students don’t to need to venture out into the community unless for small activities like going to get food or grocery shopping.  The community within the campus is enough for most students. The problem then becomes students don’t engage their community because they don’t need to.  Universities promote community engagement but it doesn’t go much further then community service and internships. My concern is institutions don’t hold these ideals valuable enough to urge our students to step beyond the walls and truly engage the diverse communities they reside in. Community engagement should go much deeper. Same for diversity, it  shouldn’t mean just the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of those attending college. Our communities are built on diversity and should be embraced as a resource and learning tool.  What stories are we cutting out by building walls between community and college. Are we afraid of having students leave campus?

There are programs across the country that urge student-community interaction.  While doing benchmarking interviews for a project I came upon two welcome week programs that piqued my interest: American University’s Discover D.C. program and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s SLO Bound program.  Both programs recognize the necessity of student familiarity with their surrounding communities, not as a passing experience, but as a resource and integral part in learning.

I hope institutions urge their students to embrace community for everything it offers. If not, we are missing an opportunity to show students how truly amazing our communities can be.

Steven Harowitz is a graduate student at the University of South Carolina, and serves as the Graduate Assistant for Carolina Productions.

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TuesTally: Burnout

April 24th, 2012 | Posted by The SA Team in #sachat | Poll - (0 Comments)


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Trench Warfare: How I plan to win the war of visibility on Twitter

March 21st, 2012 | Posted by Chris Huebner in Engagement | Social Networks | Web/Tech - (2 Comments)

With 250 million active users and over one billion pieces of content being shared weekly on Twitter, the reality is the realty can be rather crammed. When I started my first advising job back in January, I was unofficially given the reins to the office’s Twitter account. No one else wanted the responsibility. Here I was, first job and already steering the office leftovers. I was rather intimidated at first, because up until that point I had only used Twitter to acquire information- never to create it. So I played it safe. I sent out lifeless Tweets. Guilty as charged!

Job Fair Tomorrow!…Oh to those poor students who were currently following my drab, dust collecting, antique-Tweets!

Boring right? Never had I paid any attention to strategy or even looked into what others were doing. Over the summer I was finally fed up with getting steam-rolled by the newsfeed. It was time to create some elbowroom.

I now see the utility in social platforms as a means to student engagement. When I first started I was merely pushing out information with no real direction. As I explored what others were doing and really got into social listening, I started to conceptualize how our account could be used as an engagement mechanism.

Through trail and error and the use of simple analytics, I have found a set of guidelines that I feel work for our academic advising office (and perhaps others). While I am still developing my mode of operations I am confident that my guidelines will create the framework for a much more interactive account and will meet my expectations for creating engagement opportunities for our students.

Find common ground:

According to Forrester Research Group  students fall under the category of creators and conversationalists. This means not only are students highly connected, they operate on a higher level of social activity. While they may not create as much content, they are about sharing content. It took me awhile to figure this out, but I believe the key to engaging students has come from finding common ground or unique ways to identify with my student population. While it has been difficult with the 140-character limit, I try to tie in the relevant info with a colorful anecdote. I have found that the bulk of retweets occur when I used something they can identify either personally or experientially.

Know your network:

 I know that not every one of our students follows our account. That does not mean we cannot reach them. Informal networks of offices on campus can be a huge benefit. This is something that I have learned early on.  So create ecosystems of campus partners to help provide information that you may not have access to at all time, along with a great way to increase your potential impressions. For example, I have a great relationship with our student run production office. I know a lot of our students follow their account, because they are involved in some capacity. Through conversations with their account manager, I now have a larger outlet for information, because we constantly retweet or reference what the other is doing. This nearly doubled my reach. I think the ability to nurture our network with students is just as important as this informal network of organizations and offices.

Influence through action words:

 Like many others, I too have seen the studies that suggest word choice can influence actions HERE HERE HERE . What the data will tell you is the use of verbs and action phrases like ‘via,’ ‘RT,’ ‘PLEASE RT!’ will increase the likelihood of retweets or students clicking on your links. It also has been shown that overusing #hashtags and ‘@’ will decrease the likelihood of link clicks. I initially set out to utilize these principles. If I have a clear outcome for what I am sending out, the last thing I want to do is muddle it with #hashtags. If I use a #hashtag it is to file things that will continually that I hope will be beneficial for students (club happenings, involvement opportunities, seminars).

Lesson learned along the way:

I have gained a lot of insight and base my decisions through the use of Crowdbooster and bit.ly. Both platforms provide free analytics to users. I use Crowdbooster as a visual guide to examine the effects of each tweet. I can see the reach it has and how students interact with it. Two good features that are available are the recommendations tab and the ability to time tweets. The recommendations tab highlights positive interactions others have had with you and how you can best address it. You can also set up timed tweets. I know through my data, that our students respond more in the afternoon hours. I can set up a complete timeline for the dissemination of tweets for an entire week based on this data. Secondly, if I find out something is occurring next week, but I do not want to forget about it, I can go ahead and create the content and set it for a more appropriate day. This makes things much easier when I am in a time crunch.

I use bit.ly to see what is happening off of Twitter per se. You can track how students are getting to and from the links you are sending out and how often they are being clicked. Bit.ly integrates nicely with Twitter and you can tweet directly from their site. The bonus is that while students may not be engaged in your Tweet directly (i.e. retweeting or responding), you can examine traffic to and from the links you provide.

I firmly believe that without the use of these tools, I would be running on pure speculation. These platforms have really shaped not only what I am doing, but creating a better experience for those who follow.

The one thing I must remember is that building a platform that students are engaged with takes time. This is a slow process. For an account that has lain dormant for a semester and has little advertising, I am happy with the growth that has occurred.

I hope this post sparks some ideas in others who are struggling with their account and even creates some conversations on best practices. I would welcome the chance to explore further avenues through additional comments.

Chris Huebner is an academic advisor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina

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Using Search Committee Work to Improve Your Approach

March 7th, 2012 | Posted by Adam Ortiz in Careers | SA Job Listings - (1 Comments)

Nerd alert: One of my favorite professional activities is serving on search committees. I love it. I like meeting new professionals and spending extra time with my colleagues. I also enjoy using time spent on search committees as an opportunity to learn more about myself by carefully observing how applicants carry themselves through the process.

Some of the best lessons I have learned about how to adjust my own style have come from being observant to nuances such as fonts on resumes, or how people title their documents.

Little things can make a huge difference.

While looking through application materials, for example, I have learned that “ADAMRESUME2006.docx” probably is not the most professional-looking title choice. I have also developed a belief that all application materials should be submitted in PDF form to preserve formatting. And no Comic Sans allowed. If you are going to submit a personal website, make sure that it’s relevant to the position. Do not gloat.

I could go on for volumes.

Serving on search committees and paying attention can be a superb way of developing what works and what does not work for one’s personal style. There is no guaranteed recipe for application success, because committees are subjective. Yet, in a time when the economy is crunched and job competition is fierce, making a great first impression as a job applicant is monumentally important.

So, my unwarranted advice: really use search committee experience as an exercise in self-reflection and make notes about what you feel is effective and what you feel hurts an applicant’s chances. When you look at a resume or cover letter and react with a feeling of discomfort, pay attention to what exactly is eliciting the response. If something really impresses you, write that down as well. When it comes time to take the next step in your own career, you may be glad you did.

Adam J. Ortiz is a House Director at Hampshire College.

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Where Are They Now?

February 27th, 2012 | Posted by Ed Cabellon in Social Networks | Technology and Programming - (1 Comments)

Its hard to believe, but two years ago I wrote a post here on the SA Blog about some then outstanding Student Affairs Graduate Students.  Joe Ginese encouraged me to gather information and write a follow up to showcase where exactly those folks are now as working professionals.  Besides asking them what has happened over the last two years, I also asked them share their best advice for those who will be job searching this spring. I’m thrilled (and proud) to share their stories!

Photo of Connie Cabello

Constanza (Connie) Cabello

“In August I accepted a position at Bryant University (Smithfield, RI). I was hired as the Program Advisor in the Center for Student Involvement. My main responsibilities were overseeing the Community Service Office and the Late Night Program (Bryant@Night). Due to various staffing changes in my first semester I took on more responsibilities like overseeing the Program Board and working closely with the Orientation Leaders. Although the staffing changes left us down two professional staff members, it allowed me to work with more students and programs. I was even promoted to Assistant Director after 8 months, which was exciting. After about a year of working in Student Involvement I realized that while my interests were programming and advising, my passion is multicultural education and diversity training. I am passionate about providing services and programs for underrepresented students and providing opportunities for all students to become more culturally aware. This past November I accepted the Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs position at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. So far, so good! I am working directly with heritage awareness programs and piloting a Diversity Peer Educator program. I enjoy that I get to work collaboratively with a variety of offices and departments on campus. I am even supervising a graduate student and our student worker staff.” Follow me on Twitter!

“I’m happy to report that my job search process landed me at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and I’m still here!  I serve as the Coordinator for Activities and Programs in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership.  In this role, I advise the university programming board (called Student Activities Council here), the Monarch Maniac athletic spirit organization, oversee Homecoming at the university, supervise the graduate assistant for programming, coordinate the “Programs All Weekend” calendar for the division (a late night & weekend programming effort), manage some other programming and assessment initiatives for our office, and serve on a variety of other projects and committees.  I’m also passionate about being involved with the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) and am so happy to be at an institution that is so supportive of that.  Currently, I’m serving in a variety of volunteer roles with conference and institute planning, as well as presenting a number of sessions at the upcoming NACA National Conference in Charlotte.” Follow me on Twitter!

Photo of Julia Duhan Julia Duhan

“I was able to gain experience in both academic advising and admission and develop a love for creating meaning in my experiences and personal reflection. Currently, I am searching for a full time position in student affairs, but am able to fulfill my desire to work in education by working as a substitute teacher in my community.  It is fun and challenging and is certainly developing my ability to work “on the fly.”  Two years ago, I shied away from using social media for professional purposes but have since seen the light. I became active in the #SAChat community about a year ago and have grown my personal and professional network by leaps and bounds. Through social media, I’ve stayed engaged in what’s happening in the field and created a method of personal reflection by starting a blog in which I share some of my experiences as a “future” professional. I would definitely say that social media is an essential part of my professional life!   In the last two years my commitment to students has not wavered, but grown stronger. It has also become more focused in that I am committed to helping students define and create success for themselves both in college and beyond.” Follow me on Twitter!

 

Emily Clare Sharples

“I’m currently working at Duke University School of Law, in the Career & Professional Development Center. My official title is Office Coordinator, so I tend to do a little bit of a lot of things. I’ve ramped up our use of Twitter and our blog to reach our students; I also spearheaded an overhaul of our website this summer. Its more user-friendly and more user-driven now, and seems to have been successful since its launch (www.law.duke.edu/career). I haven’t tried to do more Social Media outreach in the form of facebook, as I learned in graduate school that post-grad students aren’t as likely to engage that way.”

Photo of Gavin WeiserStephen “Gavin” Weiser

“I am now working in the same office that I was in grad school, but left for a year and a half working elsewhere. Both that job and this one I got the word about through contacts on twitter! I am now the Assistant Director for the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at the University of South Carolina.  I truly feel that my technological bend has helped my career. My colleagues know that I am an understanding ally and educator of these mediums which is very helpful to them, particularly when they have no idea what a twitter or a Facebook is. I think using social media to connect with other professionals using active hashtags is almost a necessity anymore. Posting articles that you learned something from, as well as partaking in the dialogue to the sign of someone who is driven to learn.” Follow me on Twitter!

Photo of Shannon HealyShannon Healy

“I’m currently a Living Center Director at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, where I completed my graduate program back in 2010. Since graduating and starting a full-time position I have stayed active on Twitter and Facebook, and it is now part of my job responsibilities to help run the social media pages for the Housing department here. Social Media played a huge part in my Student Affairs career, from the initial job search, to idea sharing in my first job, to finally meeting some long-time Twitter friends in real life at various conferences.” Follow me on Twitter!

Photo of Becca ObergefellBecca (Fick) Obergefell

“I am the Assistant Director of Student Involvement and Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. My work includes advising the campus programming board, developing and implementing leadership curriculum through a Leadership Living Learning Community, certificate programs, training, and development opportunities. I also oversee the implementation and planning of evening and weekend programming, including welcome weeks and a summer programming calendar. Social Media continues to open doors for me in Student Affairs. I am the Social Media chair for the NACA South Regional Conference Planning Committee and have helped create a strategic Social Media plan for my office and the programming board. I’ve presented with my supervisor, Mike Severy about utilizing Social Media in the job search at ACPA, NACA, NACA South, and campus-based leadership conferences. My use of Twitter as a networking tool also connected me with the Women’s Leadership Institute and gave me the opportunity to serve on the faculty for that conference in December.  Connect with me on my blog, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn!”

Photo of Zack FordZack Ford

“Well, it turns out I found a job that utilizes all the strengths I highlighted two years ago  — it just isn’t in student affairs! 2009-2010 was a tough time to be a new professional looking for work in the niche of LGBT affairs and social justice education, and during my unemployment, I tried to stay connected to the issues I cared about by blogging about them. It turns out that blogging suits me very well and my unemployment hobby has become my new career. I started at ThinkProgress.org in March 2011 and my days are now filled with generating content about LGBT politics. I love that I get to be a daily advocate for social justice and that my primary responsibility is educating the public, and I would encourage future graduates to keep in mind that the passion that led you to student affairs could still take you other places! Nevertheless, I still miss the campus and classroom environments. Hopefully, someday I can find a way to bring my work and expertise back to higher education to have the kind of intense student dialogues I cherish. In the mean time, I’ve got blog posts to write and legislative hearings to livetweet!” Follow me on Twitter!

Photo of Jon TingleyJon Tingley

“I ended up working as a Graduate Hall Director for Minnesota State University, Mankato and I’m about to finish my Master’s degree in Counseling & Student Personnel: College Student Affairs track. As part of my program I’ve done my practicum and internship work with the LGBT Center on our campus, which has allowed me to lead a student group and create an LGBT roommate matching service for on-campus residents.  Two years ago, I didn’t have any experience working in Residential Life, now I feel like a full-fledged ResLifer ready to pursue my first professional hall director position.  When looking back at the person I was when I submitted my information for the original post, I can’t believe how fast the time has gone and how much I’ve grown as a professional. Part of that growth is because of the professional connections I’ve made through #SAChat and with my #SAGrow mentor Laurie Berry. Liz Gross was the person who first got me interested in #SAChat and she inspired me to present on social media and my LGBT research at conferences and on my campus. Professionals I’ve met through social media have helped me narrow a research topic and have helped me find research on LGBT Campus Climate, eventually leading me to do my own primary research.  The professionals who participate in this online community have helped me in so many ways that it’s hard to mention them all here and they continue to provide guidance as I search for my first professional position.”  Follow me on Twitter!

Photo of Laura RogalskiLaura Rogalski

“I am currently the Program Coordinator for the Office of Student Activities & Leadership Development at Western New England University in Springfield, MA. What my position consists of is: advising clubs/organizations; coordinating the student events calendar; marketing and advertising for our office and for all student events; event planning support for clubs/organizations; contracting and purchasing for clubs/organizations; coordinating and running the “Late Night at the Rock” program; supervising four (4) student Marketing Specialists and four (4) Rock Café Coordinators; serving on the Diversity Task Force Committee on campus; assisting in the planning of Homecoming Weekend and Family & Friends Weekend; coordinating the Student Activities EXPO; assisting in summer and winter orientations; and many other duties as assigned.  Social media has been a large influence and asset to my professional career thus far. I use it every day to promote student events, get information out to the campus community and to further advance my professional development. I was a little hesitant at the start of my career to use it both in my professional and personal life but have learned the positive impacts that each can have so I now find that I use social media interchangeably between both personal and work environments. It is an incredible professional development tool as you are able to get to know colleagues from across the country and access information on a variety of student affairs topics at all times. While social media is still a tool that I am developing, I don’t think my professional experiences thus far in my career would be quite as impactful without it.” Follow me on Twitter!

Congratulations to everyone above on all their fantastic professional progress!  These are just some of the many Student Affairs Graduate stories out there.  To all those searching, continue to connect with those in person and online to help propel your career forward!

What is your story? How did you get into the Student Affairs field? What advice would you add to prospective Student Affairs Professionals?

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You’ll Only Wear the Spiked Heels Once

February 8th, 2012 | Posted by Julie Larsen in Conferences | Professional Organizations - (11 Comments)

My first student affairs association conference was the 2006 NASPA held in Washington, D.C. I was graduating from my master’s program that spring, and several of us were heading East to participate in The Placement Exchange.

As graduate students, we had taken the time to figure out many cost saving measures. We flew into the cheaper airport, fit nine of us in a shuttle into downtown, and me and my three closest cohort friends shared a $99/night room in the Days Inn. (No, it was not one of the conference hotels.) The room was “non-smoking” yet we all had a slight stale smoke smell to our interview clothes, and I am still not sure if something of a questionable nature was rolled up in the carpet that sat at the end of the hall all week.

I forgot pajamas, packed uncomfortable shoes, and spent more time agonizing over what sessions I should go to instead of actually attending the sessions. I can honestly say, my conference experiences have only gotten better as I have spent more time in the field. As I started planning my conference season, I thought it would be useful to solicit advice from others in the profession to share with those attending their first conference this year. Thank you to all who shared, I think we have a great collection of wisdom to pass along. If you didn’t get a chance to share your tips, please feel free to add them to the list!

My own advice from the D.C. conference years ago? 1) If you are able to, splurge on a conference hotel. Being in a comfortable space really makes the conference more enjoyable, and being in the midst of all the happenings gives you a chance to make some great connections. 2) Pack snacks and bring a reusable water bottle. 3) Take some time to explore the city and sights around the conference location. It’s a good mental break, and a great way to find good restaurants and unique souvenirs. 4) Everyone around you may be a potential colleague or supervisor. Be kind, be courteous, and don’t get too crazy at the regional receptions.

I wish you all a successful and fulfilling conference season!

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Education Reform: Feeling Like An Outsider

December 6th, 2011 | Posted by Tom Krieglstein in Conferences - (2 Comments)

Earlier this year, I was honored to be invited to attended the inaugural #140edu conference in NYC which brought together several hundred educators for two days to talk about the future of education. Modeled after TED, each person was given roughly 10 minutes to talk about his/her topic. My topic was on leveraging social media to increase student engagement outside the classroom. You can watch my keynote here.

After the first day of the conference it was clear that the focus of my talk was different than almost everyone else. While everyone was involved in education some how and had a desire to improve it, almost all the topics involved how to make “in-classroom” learning better, while my focus was on “out-of-classroom” learning. In higher ed this is often an area managed by a Student Affairs department.

I’ve attended dozens of education reform/revolution type conferences over the years, and I always end up feeling like the lone wolf talking about the “out-of-classroom” learning space. The informal learning moments that happen in-between classes.

Higher education analyst, Thomas G. Mortenson, revealed that a typical student will spend 15% of their day in class or working on classroom work and 35% of their day sleeping. That leaves 50% of the day for working or hanging around the campus community.

According to a UCLA national study of college seniors 4 out of 5 seniors say their most significant learning moments happened outside the classroom.

Academic researchers Astin, Tinto, and several others, conclude that the more socially involved a student is within the campus community, the higher his/her retention and graduation rates are.

With such strong data to support the work I’m doing, why do I always feel like an outsider at the education reform conferences where the conversation is dominated by in-classroom learning?

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Seven Competencies for Professional Development

September 28th, 2011 | Posted by The SA Team in Careers | Collaborative Learning | Leadership Training | University - (2 Comments)

The Journal of College and University Student Housing recently published a study by Gavin W. Henning, Kristan M. Cilente, Dean F. Kennedy and Tomecca M. Sloane titled, Professional Development Needs for New Residential Life Professionals. Participants of the study ranked competencies necessary for the professional growth and development of entry-level professionals in residential life. Briefly, the top seven competencies are as follows:

1. Understanding job expectations
2. Enhancing supervision skills
3. Moving up in the field of student affairs
4. Adequate support from supervisors, mentors, and colleagues
5. Fostering student learning
6. Developing multicultural competencies
7. Understanding the culture and facilities of the college/university

I think it is worth it to note that the top three competencies are not typically topics found in a student affairs graduate curriculum. I agree these competencies are important; if not the most important for a new professional to master quickly. If you cannot understand your job, meet job expectations, and manage the people you supervise efficiently; moving up in the field will be challenging.

The article also speaks to the fact that there is no real consensus on what competencies new professionals should master to progress through the field. I have noticed personally and through other colleagues, that we briefly start out as generalist and then begin to develop interests in areas that will give us “expertise.” Once we become an office-proclaimed guru, our new found expertise makes us more marketable for the jobs we want in the future.

Participants also ranked their preferred delivery method for professional development. In almost every category mentoring was the preferred method of professional development followed by workshops, self-teaching, and administrative shadowing. It is clear to me why mentoring is the preferred method of delivery. No surprises here; mentorships offer many benefits including an unbiased opinion, one-on-one consultation, and networking opportunities. I wish the study expounded more on methods of self-teaching, but I’m assuming this means new professionals are taking advantage of webinars, scholarly books and articles, etc.

This is a reoccurring topic in students affairs, typically under the heading, “What I Wish I Would Have Learned in Graduate School.” The article does state that while there are professional organizations that have outlined core competencies for professionals; there is limited data on whether graduate programs are using these core competencies in graduate curriculums.

I have been out of graduate school for a while, but have programs evolved to include more core competencies like staff supervision, management, workplace politics and human resource management? If not, shouldn’t they be doing so?

Carla Finklea Green is a residence hall director at Old Dominion University.

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Your Strategic Network

September 19th, 2011 | Posted by Tom Krieglstein in Social Networks - (2 Comments)

Harvard Business Review writers Linda Hill & Kent Lineback recently wrote an article titled “The Three Networks You Need.” Here’s a quick overview of each network:

- Your Operational Network – People you lean on to complete your day-to-day work within your job role.

- Your Developmental Network – People you lean on for emotional support.

- Your Strategic Network – People who work on the outskirts of your profession who dabble in the worlds that surround your own.

The article argues that operational and developmental networks happen naturally, but strategic networks don’t but are equally as important because…

“the forces that drive change in your field will probably come from outside your current world.”

Education is known for its walled gardens, but with shifting times and increasing external pressures, the need for Educators to build up their strategic network is extremely important so they can better be prepared for the outside forces that are driving change in their field. This theme has been echoed at Student Affairs conferences I attend:

We agree H.Ed. fails to use outside expertise. I'd argue further: H.Ed. doesn't repect or value outside expertise. Thoughts? #heresy #sachat
March 29, 2011 4:40 pm via UberSocialReplyRetweetFavorite
@MelRoc7
Melissa Rocco

It’s an honor to have so many Educators include me in their strategic network and respect my opinion and thoughts even though I don’t work day-to-day at an institution. Instead, my time is spent working on identity development, technology, social media, and online engagement with hundreds of institutions and businesses. My view, and world, are different but often very relevant to the shift happening in Education. Some value my view, others refuse to listen.

I consider many within the #SAchat community to be a part of my strategic network because they DO work day-to-day at an institution. I lean on many educators almost daily for advice and suggestions. Some of my best ideas come from people who are totally outside the work I do.

What about you? If you were to map out your strategic network, what people from what worlds would you want to include?

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Is Engagement the Answer or the Question?

May 4th, 2011 | Posted by Nick Simonton in Marketing | Social Networks - (16 Comments)

As Student Affairs (or in my case Student Life) professionals, one of the key metrics by which we measure ourselves is the level of “engagement” with our students – how they engage with our programs, services and campus in general. We’re constantly trying to find ways to involve our students and encourage them to use our services and come to our events – to share knowledge and build community and, well, engage.

We’re constantly asking how we can engage with our students more. In fact, we ask it so routinely that when I hear it, part of me shudders a little.

As I look across the landscape of channels in which we push out to communicate and engage with our students (walk-in appointments, events, individual counseling sessions, workshops, infosessions, posters, TV screens, flyers, postcards, Facebook posts, Twitter feeds, Foursquare check-ins, blogs, vlogs, text messages, websites and email – lots and lots of email) I’m often left wondering: in what way are we not engaging with them?

We communicate and engage with them through pretty much every imaginable pathway, yet we still believe we’re not engaging with students and they’re not engaging with us as they should.

This brings up the next question: in what way are we expecting engagement? At what point will we believe students have engaged? Is this possible?

What do you think?

Are we over communicating with our students? Are we asking them to be too engaged? At what point will we feel we have successfully met that engagement threshold or are we truly asking the wrong question?

Nick Simonton manages the marketing and communications for Student Life and the Career Center at the University of Washington.

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