VanHorn-Week 7- University of Utah Recruitment

So, I’m finishing up my last few days here in Utah. I have really enjoyed being off campus and seeing and experiencing the differences in the institution and the overall culture.

This past week I have worked a good bit with the assistant directors. They are trying to begin a program that is similar to Miss. State’s Roadrunner Program. Last year was the first year they did the program and it went pretty well. They are trying to enhance and grow it from currently 8 students to 20 students. Their plan is to have half of the students stay on campus at the U and do strictly on campus visits and torus. The other ten will go off campus to area high schools and do off campus recruitment. It is an unpaid position and that is obviously one of the biggest struggles so we have spent a lot of time talking about how you make an organization, such as our Roadrunners, something that students want to put time into without pay. They are also working on a new name for the program, which is currently called Recruitment Intern Program. (Real catchy….RIP). They are wanting something that is special to the U and not something like “Ambassadors”. So, if you have any ideas of a marketable name let me know.

Thursday, I was able to join two of the counselors in going to a high school counselor meeting. High school counselors meet with Univ. of Utah admissions and recruitment for an afternoon before school starts to talk about any changes in the process and what their students are going to be required to have to attend the U. It is the same basic presentation that is given to the students but of course with much more in depth questions. One thing we talked about on the way back to campus is that there are very few audiences of twenty that you will every present to that everyone is truly interested and high school counselors is one of those groups. It is also somewhat disheartening thought he number of high school counselors encourage students not to take college prep courses in high school because they believe certain students “just can’t make it”.

I have really enjoyed this last week because I have been able to be involved in some of the behind the scenes of the office and see things that I never knew or understood went into the recruitment process.

Thompson - Week 7

Team Practicum,

Hello hello! I am up and running with my computer. I accidentally spilled Gatoraid on it and needless to say, it stopped working.  Thanks to the Geniuses at the Apple Store they fixed me right up.  Anyway, last week was a very interesting week for me because I used the time for a significant amount of personal reflection.  I also managed to finalize all the details for the mascot policy manual.  Lastly, I assisted in Saint Leo's final orientation.

As far as the personal reflection goes, I walked outside one night to the sunset pictured.  The sunsets here are phenomenal! -- jaw dropping, if you will.  The sunsets also have had the ability to make my worries, concerns, and fears drop by the wayside.

Sometimes in student affairs we need to find our sunset.  Don't get me wrong, we need to be proactive and accomplishing our goals as professionals.  However, the less we are consumed by our pressure to succeed and the more we embrace our desire to serve the better we will be both professionally and personally.  I challenge each of you to find time in your life to sit back, relax, and reflect on why we got into student affairs.  Find your sunset!  I'd love to read or discuss with you what you discover.

Moving forward, I'm loving my experience at Saint Leo.  I have been privileged to work with some great people.  The students, staff, and faculty all have a desire to see this school succeed.  This was very apparent while I assisted in developing the mascot manual/policy.  Some of the most interesting and productive conversations I have had at Saint Leo have dealt with the mascot.  The student leaders know they have a duty to represent the student body's  opinion, and the staff/faculty know they have a duty to ensure that the students' ideas align with Saint Leo's core values and mission.  This cooperation can be related to any school regardless of the size, demographic, or history of the institution.

Working with both sides during the policy development has allowed me to see what student affairs professionals undergo while working with students.  Yes, student affairs practitioners want to provide students with every resources available.  Yes, they want every students'  event to happen.  And yes, they want to carry out all student idea.  However, they must keep in mind the institution that they serve.  Every institution is different.  That's what makes higher education so unique.  Each institution has their own mission, their own values, their own purpose, and their own culture.  Professionals must know this information in order to fully serve their students.

At Saint Leo, their core values are rooted in every aspect of Saint Leo life.  From their orientation (community style), types of water fountains they install (promotes reusable water bottles), to the relationships they have with their students (my supervisors are called mom and dad).  It has been an interesting 4 weeks, and I hate that my time is drawing close to an end.   I'll take what I have learned here and apply it to my both my professional career and personal life.  Because I really believe that this experience has shaped me into a better professional and person.

Week 7-Hall-Close to the end

Hi!

So, it’s Monday night, and I am blogging once again. This is the last week of my practicum, and I am very close to completing my hours. I have settled into my practicum site and a huge part of what I do now, is working with the TracDAT software. The process by which individual units on campus complete their institutional effectiveness reports has long been a paper process. This process is very slow, yet effective. The dilemma that the OIRE is facing is how we streamline this process without losing the effectiveness.

Since I have been working here, I have had the opportunity to convert many of the Institutional reports from word documents to pdf files. By converting these word files to pdf files, the OIRE will be able to load all files onto the j: drive and give each department access to their individual report. By giving these departments access to the j: drive with their reports, it cuts down a lot on the paper process which gives some efficiency to the process.

 I am also responsible for inputting every degree offered into the TracDAT software, this is a somewhat tedious process, but it does allow me to see every degree that’s offered on campus, and in what unit/department it is housed in. The information that I am inputting will be used in years to come as each department logs into their TracDAT software account and accesses their degree program.

Jeremy.  

Week 7- Hall

Hello Guys/Girls!!!

I’m super excited about the upcoming week being the last week of practicum.  This past week was particularly rough for me, because now that I am settled into my job here at practicum, things have sort of settled down and I have daily responsibilities when I get to my practicum site. These daily responsibilities are usually only interrupted by IE help sessions or on the spot interviews.

The interviews I conducted this past week were very educational in learning about student affairs, university organization, and also just seeing how each individual brings their own dynamic to the culture of the office as a whole. I sort of struggled when deciding how to talk about the interviews. To be more specific, each person that interviewed, I typically asked the same questions. What’s your name, your job title, how long have you been on the job, what do you feel you contribute to the office, and what advice would you have for a young professional beginning to enter the job field. There were times when I was impressed by answers, motivated, and even disappointed. I realized very quickly as a director of a department, you are in command. This command isn’t a power hunger command, but it is an awareness command. As director you should have knowledge of each person’s strengths as well as their weaknesses.  Through interviewing close to ten people, and each interview lasting close to two hours, some almost 3 hours, it gave me an idea of what each person brought to the department.

Jeremy.

Thomas - Week 7 - MSU Admissions

With the Admissions office closed this week, I saw that as my opportunity to plan a short vacation that was definitely much needed. My boyfriend, Brad, and I traveled to Fayetteville, AR, for the weekend to visit his dad who lives here.

I won’t be blogging about MSU Admissions this week, but I thought I would discuss two colleges I’ve visited while vacationing in this region.

On Saturday, the three of us actually made the two-hour ride to Branson, MO – a town that is definitely geared towards the typical tourist family. While touring the city, I spotted the College of the Ozarks. This is a small, Presbyterian liberal arts college that was founded in 1906 as School of the Ozarks. It transformed into a junior college in the 1950’s before it eventually became a four-year institution in 1965. This college has been nicknamed Hard Work U because they have a private work-study program where full-time students must work on campus in order to pay for their tuition. Loans are not possible here at CofU because the college does not participate in any governmental loan programs, and alcohol is prohibited on and off campus. It is truly amazing to compare this institution to MSU and see the outstanding differences.

In addition to College of the Ozarks, I was also able to see University of Arkansas for the second time. UA and MSU are both land-grant, research institutions but the culture seems much different. Even though I did not receive an official tour from a university representative, a few differences are evident just from traveling through the campus. For instance, it is extremely hard to distinguish where UA starts and the city of Fayetteville begins. The campus blends into the city making it feel like there isn’t really much an actual campus. It does not feel welcoming and “homey” like Mississippi State does.

Even though I wasn’t able to tour these campuses with a guide who would be able to answer my questions about the institutions’ cultures, traditions, and histories, I still earned a great amount of information just by witnessing the two distinct institutions. These two colleges just go to further exemplify how diverse higher education institutions really are and how each of us needs to know what institution type fits us best.

Megan

Lane-MUW- Almost at the End

This has truly been a journey there has been so much I've discovered about myself and gained a greater appreciation for my future profession through this process. Before going into major details, I wanted to let you all know that the retreat was a major success and the students have continued to talk about the fun they had on the trip but they appreciated the wealth of information received at the retreat. During many of their planning session, it was warming to see the students embrace change and not be stuck on what has been done in the past. Many of the students asked me about programs and activities that I participated in undergrad and grad school. Even more impressing is how the students embrace constructive criticism. They were sincere in their want to change the program for the better. After completing the planning and training stages of the retreat, the students were able to take part in some of the extracurricular activities like shopping, relaxing, and going to the beach again. As you can see I did a little shopping myself.




Overall the retreat was a success. I gained so much from this process of planning and implementing.On Sunday we returned back to Columbus. I really look forward to returning to the "W" this week to finish up my hours. Looking back on this experience, I do not think I could have asked for a better practicum location. I had the opportunity to take par in some campus-wide events and to plan a weekend retreat, while being able to advise and mentor students. This next week I will be completing a guide for individuals who come after my site supervisor. This guide will tell them how to plan and execute a successful retreat. Wish me LUCK!!

Tate - Dept of Counseling & Ed Psych - Week 7

Hi all - In our text for this Tuesday, we read about some words of wisdom as we finish this experience and head into our next ones. One author says that from the moment we meet someone, we're working on the "terms" of our relationship (pg. 210). I like thinking that I have begun working on quite a few "terms" during the last four (sometimes loooong) years. :)

I've learned a lot from working with so many students during these past years, and I was reminded of that this weekend as Reggie, Megan, Jason, and I worked on our call for programs. Getting to put our ideas together, getting to laugh together over shared experiences, and getting to talk about future plans and goals really makes for a special bond that I hope will continue once we're in the workplace.

Looking forward to more experiences together! L

Thomas - Week 7 - MSU Admissions

For the past week, the Admissions counselors have been on their annual staff retreat. As I mentioned to you guys last week, the first two days of the retreat consisted of meetings around campus. The graduate assistants and I were invited to accompany the staff on these meetings and luncheons.

After we met with the academic departments on Monday, Tuesday was a much more laid-back day. We started out with a tour of the athletic facilities while learning more about the sports related majors that MSU offers. The afternoon consisted of meetings with Cheryl Dill, Associate Director of Admissions & Scholarships, and also two representatives from Holmes Cultural Diversity Center.

After receiving such negative feedback from the academic departments, it was refreshing to hear praise from the Holmes Diversity Center regarding the population of diverse students that MSU has attracted. They informed us of future activities they have planned to educate our students of cultures around the world, and they also expressed their interest in forming a deal with the Office of Admissions to begin traveling with the admissions counselors to recruit. Everyone was excited about this idea and the counselors are anxious for this partnership to begin. It's exciting to witness two completely different departments partner together with one common goal in mind -- something we should definitely be mindful of as we begin our careers as practitioners.

As the staff departed Starkville to travel to the Gulf Coast for the second half of the retreat, I came to the office on Wednesday to learn the "underground" of Admissions: admitting applicants. I was able to meet with Crystal Sloan, Admissions Coordinator, to learn how to read transcripts and process applications. Throughout the morning of learning the ins and outs of admitting, I definitely realized I had much rather travel, recruit, and interact with students -- computer work is NOT fun... especially when it involves denying admission into MSU!

Megan

Radke - Week 7 - Dickinson

On Friday, I had the opportunity to participate in a meeting about Dickinson’s upcoming Sophomore Neighborhood Experience Program.  This program is piggy-backing off the initial program that was launched last year with a Freshmen Neighborhood Program.  The idea of the neighborhood programs was brought to campus to instill the values of community engagement and leadership at an early level upon coming to Dickinson.  I could talk about the details of this program for hours on the blog, but so I don’t bore yall with the details, I will focus on the success of the program.  In one year they were able to see tremendous success in the goals they were trying to achieve with their students.  When their Student Affairs division was revamped a few years ago, they brought in consulting firms to review ways to get their institutions mission in more than just the classroom.  They saw a need for a more structured residential system that placed responsibility and freedom among its students, but also gave them a sense of belonging within the neighborhood they were placed.  At State we see these groups form in the way of our greek system and learning communities; 200 plus living together.  On a small campus where greek life isn’t as large and the incoming class settles around 600, this option works very well.

Freshman Residence Hall - Adams

After all the success of the first year program, the college has decided to build into a Sophomore Neighborhood Program.  The meeting I mentioned before was one of the initial planning stages of the meeting to see how the years were different, but still valuable to students.  We were charged with the simple questions of how would the neighborhood be split up? How many would there be? What would be the mission and focus of this neighborhood and how would it be marketed?  It was a great learning experience to be in a meeting with planning that was really just starting from the beginning.  I was asked to attend not only as a learning experience, but to contribute some objective, not as invested, thoughts over what was trying to be accomplished.  We will be meeting again before I leave and everyone in attendance at the meeting chose specific issues to work through to bring back to that meeting. 

The one problem that I’m beginning to see with this practicum is how I will be leaving things incomplete and only through keeping up with the Office of Campus Life, will I be able to know how it all played out through the semester.  I guess this is the price you pay when going away somewhere for this experience.

Carrie

Lane-Week 7- Fun in the Sun

As many of you may know this weekend, I accompanied the Hearin Leadership Council for their annual summer retreat in Foley, Alabama. I was so excited about the opportunity to go on this trip because I had the awesome privileged of planning this retreat and most of the activities that would take place during the retreat. On Friday morning, I got to meet the whole council which included 13 of the 15 members. These members make up the leadership council for the three main committees. The committees are the Hearin High School Leadership Conference, Community Service, and Monthly Events. It is the responsibility of each committee to create and plan the events that the student members of the group will take part in.

We traveled to Foley in a Van and two cars. When we arrived at the hotel, we got settled and then the fun began. We started with a small icebreaker that was used for the group to get to know each othere, however, I believe it really was for me because the group gets along so well that you wold think they knew each other for years. After completing the icebreaker we went to Mellow Mushrooms. While their we had a working dinner, where we focused on the goals for the upcoming year. After eating dinner, the group began to work on their expectations of each other and Jessica, the Coordinator of the program. I enjoyed this session because the students were honest with one another and expressed their feeling to Jess about the program.

Saturday would prove to be the best part of the trip/ We went to the beach and completed some teambuilders. After the teambuilders we had a nice picnic on the beach and had some free time to play on the beach. As you can see the students got together and built a lighthouse which is the logo for the Hearin Leadership Council. The most important aspect of the trip came after lunch. During the time after lunch each committee would plan their events, decide their budgets, and compile all the events into one calendar. This would take the most time throughout the whole retreat. The student came up with some great ideas and shared them amongst the group. Each idea received some type of feedback and/or criticism. Nevertheless, the group finalized their calender and are ready for the school year to start. I have learned so much from this program and this retreat only pushes me more and more to become a part of this field known as Student Affairs.

Barauskas - Week 7 - Maroon Friday!

I had the same problem that Carrie had, but...Happy Maroon Friday from Columbus!

Radke - Week 7 - Dickinson

As I arrived at work this morning I was welcomed with looks of disgust from the heat that has invaded the Northeast this weekend.  The office has decided to blame it upon me since I, “brought this from Mississippi” and has made life unbearable to them.  Between us I’ve had to stop from laughing over the conversations because as we know, this is pretty typical for this time of year and heat indexes floating around 105 seem like normal July and August.  But for Carlisle, PA and the rest of the Northeast, this weather is unheard of.  (I think this is what I get for gloating about the 85 degree weather last week.)  I say all this though because it has brought the attention of how different your location and culture can impact where you are working and how you serve those students.

I have had many conversations over topics that seem to shock me initially, but after taking a step back and remembering where I am, it has been taken as a learning experience.  Some of these things include the fact that alcohol is allowed on this campus and their stance on it.  I spoke about this in class this week, but it is all seen as educational opportunities.  This allows faculty to hold events on campus with alcohol, there is the annual champagne brunch for graduating seniors, opportunities that have become valued here as a part of their institutional culture. Another is letting men and women students live together in their campus apartments.  I have to admit that this one shocked me more than the alcohol, but it’s a simple stance that they are adults and can decide who to live with.  This is not an option in the residence halls, but if you are an upper classman living in special interest housing or apartments then you have the right to choose.  I think this shows more of a cultural change and while this probably goes on all over the country, not just the Northeast, it will be a very long time before the South ever allows availability like this.

We talk about how we must factor in our institutional fit whenever we are starting the job searching process, but I am quickly seeing how cultural fit should be factored in as well.  Just another one of the many things that is now on my radar when thinking about my final year in the program as I prep for finding the right institution.

Suffering in the heat like my Mississippi friends,
Carrie

Barauskas - Week 7 - Interview

Today was a very interesting day at MUW. I walked in after lunch and immediately had things to do. The first thing was to get updated on the student organizations that have signed up for the Organization Fair during Welcome Week, dubbed Involvement-Palooza. After that was completed, I had the opportunity to sit in on a student-run interview. The candidate was interviewing for the counselor position here, and the Director of Housing, who most of you know, placed the responsibility of organizing the interview on me. This would have been much more nerve-wrecking if I hadn't had so much experience with professional interviews, thanks to the RD recruitment committee at MSU.

There were about five students that work in the office of Student Life asking questions of the candidate and they all seemed very comfortable doing so. I think this exemplifies one of the great things about working at a small institution; the fact that students and professional staff work very closely together. The students rarely used the questions that were given to them, and asked the candidate questions that really mattered to them. They related everything to their own experience and I was very impressed to see how poised they were in asking relevant questions despite not having a background in Student Affairs or Counseling. This energy that the students gave off flowed through the candidate, and she was very friendly, and clear with her intentions and experiences. She didn't try to sugarcoat anything, and allowed the students to view into her past experience clearly.

I appreciated the trust that Sirena placed in me, and the opportunity to sit in on this interview. It allowed me to learn just a little bit more about the student culture here, in addition to getting to know the possible future counselor for MUW. In addition to this opportunity, Jess has referred one of the Orientation Leaders to me, who is interested in the Student Affairs program at MSU. The student is entering her senior year, and is curious to learn the differences between various graduate Student Affairs programs that are out there. I have my own ideas, but with that being said, I'm curious to know how you guys feel the counseling background that we are receiving will benefit us compared to those that may have gone through a program that is administratively-based.

Thanks in advance for your input!

VanHorn-Week 7- University of Utah Recruitment

Since I have been at The U I have dealt and interacted mostly with first time freshmen and high school students. Every Wednesday, the university goes and sets up a table/booth at Salt Lake Community College to answer transfer questions and help with some general academic advising. Salt Lake Community College serves the Salt Lake City area and has an enrollment around 33,000 students.

I was not much help with the academic advising side of the trip but I did enjoy talking with some of the students and hearing their different backgrounds. It was a much more diverse population with a wide array of backgrounds and situations. There was a large number of students with children and families along with students who were in their thirties and forties. The thing that amazed me the most with these students are the number of them that were just looking for a degree no matter what field. When asked what they were interested in doing most would respond with whatever I can do to finish the quickest. Many of the students were already working full time and were simply told they needed a degree to move up in their organization. In some ways I understand their situations but I also feel like if someone is going to take the time to go to college they should get a degree that will be more useful to them. Many were very close-minded and just saw the next step up in their organization and knew all they needed was a college diploma to get to that point. They did not consider the possibilities beyond that next step.

I have also been working with one of the admissions counselors with an alumni project he is working on in Texas and California. There are hundreds of college fairs in each state and there is no physical way that a counselor can get to all of the events. So, he has been organizing some alumni who are willing to work tables and some of these fairs.

P.S. This picture has be Photoshoped/doctored or something.... it is not this nice.

Barauskas - Week 7 - Making Staff Connections

I was able to take that beautiful picture of the gazebo, and the lane of magnolia trees because the parking lot next to my building was full. This led me to have to park across campus, which I can't complain because it's only about a 3 minute walk. One of the positives about working on a small campus, it never takes you too long to get anywhere.

This week I've been able to bond a lot more with the staff here at MUW's Student Life Office. I feel a lot better about my position now that I have worked with various staff members and those bonds are becoming solid. During the first half of my practicum, I was in and out of the office, and really collaborating with admissions, whose office is across the street. Therefore, I didn't have the opportunity to get to know those that work in the Student Life Department.

It also helps that two people from MSU work in the office as well. It's been great to work with them on more of a professional level, as opposed to being classmates. I'm thankful for the people in this office, and the sense of community that they create. Everybody has a pretty good sense of humor and they all know how to work with each other towards a common goal. My practicum is quickly coming to an end and while I won't miss driving to Columbus everyday, I will miss the people here. I definitely plan on maintaining the relationships I've created here.

Radke - Week 7 - Dickinson

Earlier this week I was invited to go to Dickinson’s College Farm.  I am continually amazed with how Dickinson is so prideful and innovative on the ways in which they are leading college campuses in sustainability efforts.  The farm is just one of the many examples of this.  While out at the farm I learned that it supplies 85% of the fruits, vegetables, and seasonings for university dining.  The other 15% that it produces is sold at the local farmers market and also is distributed through a program; C.S.A: Community Supported Agriculture.  This program feeds over 100 families in the Carlisle area with these fresh products.  While we were out there I learned that everything that they produce is organic and the ways in which they make sure they stay true to what organic means. 

We also rode around in their Solar Powered Wheeler, which may be one of the coolest things I’ve done in a while.  This farm trip really left me thinking, “If this campus can make great strides to eating healthy, doing it in a positive environmental way, and educating others on it…why aren’t more starting this trend?”

I also learned after meeting with the provost this week that Dickinson ranks in the top 5 nationally in campus sustainability efforts.  I’ve noticed it during my time here by just the little things of you never seeing a regular trash can without a recycling trash can beside it.  Every light switch that does not have an automatic off switch if activity is dead in the room, has a reminder above it asking you to turn off the lights.  And personally I think the coolest thing is when you walk into the Student Union every morning you are greeted by the current energy levels of the college.  Dickinson is a leader in this effort and I would love to see it passed on more throughout the rest of higher education.

 (I know it's sideways, but I can't get it to flip and I wanted everyone to see it!)

Carrie

VanHorn-Week 7- University of Utah Recruitment

Tuesday was one of the more interesting and somewhat challenging days I have had since I’ve been here at Utah. After our class, the entire office met and had diversity training. The office has recently turned its attention to attempting to recruit a more diverse student body.

The group included the entire office and four outside members who were from different offices throughout campus such as the Women’s Resource Center and the Dean of Students Office. Going into it, no one knew exactly what to expect from the meeting. Each of the leaders began talking about their backgrounds and how they had been led to work in counseling settings dealing with the issues of white privilege. It was interesting to hear some of their backgrounds and what brought them to higher education and especially that concentration. The talked for almost two hours which I did not enjoy because I felt like it didn’t give everyone else a chance to comment on the topics. After they were finished we spent about an hour with members asking questions and commenting. There were several points throughout the conversation that it was apparent that everyone was extremely uncomfortable. Looking back on the session there were some opinions that I fully agreed with but then again there were also some that I did not. Although there were some parts of the meeting that were not exactly enjoyable for everyone, I feel like the it served its purpose and somewhat forced everyone to think about the way they interact with diverse populations and individuals who are of different ethnicities or backgrounds.

After that meeting I was also able to sit in on the Leadership Team, which is basically the director and the three assistant directors. The meeting basically was about planning travel and events for the upcoming fall semester and some of the changes that are being made. This was very helpful to see from my standpoint because I was able to see the small details that go into student recruitment. 

VanHorn-Week 6- University of Utah Recruitment

Over the past few days of work I have done a little less interaction with actual students and parents but I have worked with and learned a great deal about the behind the scenes part of the recruitment process.

As I have mentioned before I started the same time as another admissions counselor so I have been able to tag along with much of her training and have been trained similar to if I were going to be working full time. Each one of their admissions counselors is assigned a region of school districts in the state of Utah and also another state in the region. Each counselor is responsible for the schools in these areas and determining where they get the most “bang for their buck” and which schools they should spend the most time working. Before each fall semester the counselors spend the summer looking at different statistics such as the number of graduating seniors that year, the number of students that attended Utah from previous graduating classes, and also their average GPAs and ACT/SAT scores. This simply helps the counselors determine what has been successful in the past and where they should work to make improvements. I have also been learning about the software they use to track these numbers and also manage their recruits. I have been amazed by how much these different software packages are capable of doing how many different areas they can track within their incoming class.

I have also been meeting with each person in the office and learning about their specific areas. One of my favorite areas is the counselor who works in recruiting diverse students. One area that really surprised me was the low number of Native Americans and African Americans at the U. Each group makes up about 1-2% of the student body. So, as you would expect this is a population of students they are looking to heavily recruit. The remainder of the week I will continue to co-lead some of the information sessions and tours and eventually by the end of the week begin doing them on my own. I am also going to begin helping with an effort with California alumni who have shown interest in recruiting California high school students to come to the U. There are numerous high school fairs throughout the state that the university simply does not have the resources to send a representative to each. So, the recruitment office is attempting to find alumni to help with these events. 

Hall-OIRE- Interview with the Director

Yo!

Did you guys know that the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness was once two separate offices? You had the office of Institutional Research, and also the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. When the office of Institutional Effectiveness was created, it was created on the assumption that an office was needed to be solely dedicated to assessment and reaffirmation for the university.

The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness are now split between, one of the houses behind Rice Hall, and the 2^nd floor of Allen Hall rm 269. Today I had the opportunity to visit Allen Hall, and speak with some of the staff there. I sat down with one of the data analyst and they walked me through, some of the expectations of their department there.

In Allen Hall they work a lot with student evaluations of faculty using software known as Class Climate.  I never thought I would understand all the different software, but in the last couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to work with several different data input software. I have had experience with TracDAT, SAS, as well as Class Climate software. While I am still unable to accurately interpret the data that comes out of this software, I am beginning to understand the chain of command. Whether its recognizing a need for assessment, determining the kind of assessment, what are you assessing, what you want to assess in your survey, selecting a survey, administering a survey, returning the survey, receiving the results, interpreting the results, and using the results to improve effectiveness, and then documenting the importance of these results and how they improved effectiveness.

I also had the opportunity to interview the director of the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness today. This was a very exclusive interview, that I anticipated lasting 30 minutes, but instead lasted 3 hours.  The interview was very informative, but was not what I anticipated…..and I’m glad of that. Dr. Chamblee was very down to earth, and gave me a different perspective of what the OIRE’s purpose really is.  With other staff members we focused heavily on the two A’s, assessment and accreditation. However after speaking with Dr. Chamblee, I see how the bigger picture focuses more on the two R’s. Retention and Recruiting. Let me clarify for you guys as I did for Dr. Chamblee, retention and recruiting is not just for students. We recruit students. Yes, but we also recruit faculty and staff as well. The OIRE’s purpose is to improve effectiveness through research, by improving this effectiveness you ensure you are doing your best, to offer the best. By offering the best, we are able to recruit the best students, staff, and faculty. If we are the best, we can retain the best students, staff, and faculty. Recruiting and retention are major factors at any institution, and definitely within our field of Student Affairs.

Words can’t explain the amount of knowledge I gained from this 3 hour interview with Dr. Chamblee, but I will share with you a profound statement he made during our interview. I’m not sure if he intended it to hit home the way it did, but here it goes. ….Sitting across the desk from me, Dr. Chamblee slumped in his chair, crossed his legs, and casually put his hands behind his head, interlocking his fingers, he said, “I am a bulldog through and through, I love Mississippi State, this is my Alma Mater. So much emphasis and attention is given to Reaffirmation, and departments are quick to say, “I only have to do this for reaffirmation”, but what I say to them is this, Accreditation is secondary, it’s not the driving force. If we are doing what we should do, accreditation becomes easy. If we are making sure that we are doing all that we can do to improve all that we can, of course we will be accredited.  Doing what’s right SHOULD be the driving force, and in doing so, Accreditation becomes secondary.

Jeremy.

Hall-OIRE- Interviewing, Interviewing, Interviewing

Hey guys!!!

I started my interview process today. Beginning with the assessment specialist, this individual gave me a rundown of their duties and responsibilities within the office. The office shares many responsibilities and tasks, but each person is responsible for a major component of the office. The assessment specialists work a lot with the curriculum of the university.  While interviewing with the assessment specialist, what was common knowledge to this person was new to me. Sounds basic, but I had no idea was “gen-ed” was. I realize now “gen-ed” refers to general education courses which are fundamental knowledge for students. These are your core classes such as, comp I, college algebra, psychology, etc. 

Part of proving institutional effectiveness is determining how well students learn and what they learn from freshman year to senior year. When assessing this sort of population the strategy that is implemented is to test freshman in the fall in a course such as Comp I, and then “native” seniors in the spring. Native seniors are the students who have been at MSU for all four years.  We discussed how ITS works with the OIRE to run a list of classes with native students in them, and also how the OIRE builds relationships with other departments on campus, such as the English department, to be able to come into their classroom and test their students.

During our conversation, the term FERPA came up, and in the back of my head, there was a slight flashback to Legal. I was impressed that as the staff member spoke about FERPA, the knowledge I gained during Legal allowed me to follow along in the conversation as we spoke about this wonderful profession, known as Student Affairs.

The interview was sort of all over the place, we discussed how every degree on campus has to be assessed prior to reaffirmation.  Along with degrees being assessed, the OIRE has also started assessing certificates.  The problem with assessing certificates is that we are not able to determine the difference between students in masters programs, and those who are receiving their certificate in the same program. The argument here is what would be the difference between the performance of a master’s student taking a course for their masters, and a student who has graduated with their bachelors, who is also pursuing a certificate in the same field?

Jeremy.

Hall-OIRE- Low supply of staff, High demand for Help!

Hello!!

I hope practicum is going well for everyone! In the Office of Institutional research and effectiveness there is no such thing as a slow part of the year. Every day I get here, there is always more than enough work for everyone.  With so many units on campus starting to realize the importance of improvement, the demand for guidance on completing Institutional Effectiveness reports is an ongoing process.  Units recognize what other units on campus are putting into their IE reports, and therefore want to do the same for theirs.

My understanding of how assessment plays a role in accreditation is growing. I see how the help sessions are strategic planning in preparing the university for Reaffirmation in 2014. The staff works with each unit by ensuring that every department is conveying the effectiveness of their department through their IE report. By illustrating improvements in learning outcomes through the use of the results in assessments, they are proactively streamlining the reaffirmation process that the university has been behind on for years.

Working with the staff in the OIRE I have had the ability to sit down with units and complete IE reports, as well as review the comments from the IE report committees, combine these comments with IE reports, for both on campus and distance learning, and return the combined documents to the respective departments.

After a couple of days in the office performing tasks such as: clerical work, and putting practice with the knowledge of what the OIRE is responsible for I am ready to move on and began speaking with individuals about what they feel their duties in the office are. I start interviewing the staff this week, and I have a ton of questions on hand. This is going to be fun!!!

Jeremy.

Thomas - Week 6 - MSU Admissions

This week, the Office of Admissions began its annual staff retreat. For Monday and Tuesday, Molly and Dan have a full itinerary planned for the admissions counselors, graduate assistants, and me.

We had a long day today, starting the morning with breakfast at 8:30 AM and ending with a staff meeting at 5 PM. Throughout the day, we met with representatives from seven of the colleges here on campus. Each representative was asked to provide the staff with a basic rundown of their department, what majors and/or scholarships are offered, and some points of pride in order to better market the specific departments while on the road.

Throughout many of our classes, we have discussed how Admissions differs at each university; sometimes it is included in the department of Student Affairs, but many times it is classified as academics. After today, that concept was made very clear to me as I was able to witness this struggle firsthand. The admissions counselors know almost everything about each academic department on campus -- how else are they going to market our university to each specific student who needs to know about one of our 100+ majors?  However, many of the academic representatives do not feel that the admissions counselors need to recruit students. They expressed today that they feel it is their responsibility and they do not seem willing to cooperate and work together with the AC's to join forces in recruiting. It was very disappointing to the AC's because they began to feel like their hard work and dedication is not appreciated when they strive to recruit the best students and continue to break enrollment trends from previous years.

Excited for tomorrow -- we will be touring all of the athletic facilities including the Mize Pavillion!

Megan

Thomas - Week 6 - MSU Admissions

As I began my practicum journey this summer, Molly informed me that I would have a much different experience working in the Office of Admissions during the summer rather than normal operation hours of the fall or spring. When I started out simply shadowing orientation leaders and admissions counselors, I felt pretty useless and I was very disappointed because it seemed like I would not be gaining much hands-on experience in the planning and preparation of events since most of that is already done way before summer starts. However, July has proven itself otherwise.

I am now an active member of the office giving 3-4 campus tours per day. This is helping to alleviate a lot of excess workload off the admissions counselors because they typically do not give campus tours -- that job is assigned to the Roadrunners during the fall and spring semesters. This summer, the AC's are busy meeting with the families to discuss the admissions process and requirements while also preparing their schedules for the fall semester which is loaded with college fairs, high school visits, and preview days. The summer can be viewed as their "off season."

Last week, Dan asked me to design a new inquiry card for the admissions counselors to use during college fairs. Students are asked to fill out these inquiry cards in order to gain additional information about the university. I'm not sure if any of you have seen the old cards, but they are incredibly long and require the student to spend a great amount of time filling out the blanks. My task was to design an inquiry card that would provide us with the vital information needed to identify the student -- demographics, school, GPA, hometown, email, projected major, etc. Dan actually had card examples from universities across the country so I was able to analyze each card and combine them to make the perfect card for MSU. He loved my design and they are being printed as we speak. I will get to see my final product next Friday when they arrive in the office! I'm very excited, and don't worry, I will be sure to provide you guys with a copy.

Megan

Lane - Preparing for the Retreat- Week 6

Today in the office, I worked on the upcoming retreat for the Hearin Leadership Council. The retreat schedule is finally completed and from the looks of it, the students will benefit greatly from this retreat. We will leave early Friday morning headed to Foley, Alabama which lies on the coast. Throughout this planning process, I have learned so many valuable lessons when it comes to coordinating an event. Several issues have put this trip in a bind.

The first thing that took place was the issue with the hotel and their tax id number. Myself and Jess tried several times to get the correct number but after several tries we could not get the correct information. After that whole fiasco, Jess decided that she would pay for the hotel in another way so the tax id would no longer be a problem. Now that all of that had been taken care of Jess called the hotel this week and they had a mess up on the rooms and has us down for one room for 15 people. After searching around we have just found another hotel that will be more expensive but it is the only option.

Working with Jess on this event has taught me that in Student Affairs you have to roll with the punches. When things change we have to be prepared as professional to adjust and get the task completed. The experiences that I am receiving at MUW will play a large part in professional life when I become a full-time practitioner. Now that most of the details are finalized, the count down begins. Four days to we arrive in Foley, AL.

Week 6- MUW- Lane

This past week has offered me many different opportunities. As many of you may know majority of my responsibility is working with the Hearin Leadership Council. As plans are coming along accordingly for the Hearin Council Retreat, I was offered to work with Ms. Towanda Williams, Assitant Director of Student Life for Career Services. Currently, the MUW's Career Services is anticipating hosting their first ever graduate fair. After speaking with Ms. Williams, she informed me that they have always had career fairs but nothing focusing on post-baccalaureate education. Her goal is to host this event in early November in order to get students motivated for graduate school.

The reason I met with Ms. Towanda was to give her my opinion about graduate fairs and my experiences with searching for a graduate assistantship. We had a very intriguing discussion. We met for about 30 minutes but in that time I learned so much more from her than I think she did of me. She informed me that the opportunities to meet majority of her students was one of the reason she loves MUW. Ms. Williams is the sole Career Services department, along with an Office Associate. Together they are responsible for assisting students and community members with career options and goals. She spoke to the importance of knowing the students on a personal level to gain a sense of who they are.

Working at MUW has been a experience. I truly appreciate my site supervisor, as she allows me opportunities to meet with other university officials. Throughout my time here I have been able to meet with several individuals that I hope to continue to build better professional relationships with as I move forward with job searching next year. This weekend we leave for the Gulf so be looking out for more updates. 

Radke - Week 6 - Dickinson

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few days working on the Orientation Assistant and Leader training before Orientation in August.  This project has been sped up a bit due to the Director of Orientation hitting full term in her pregnancy this week and a slight scare last week of the baby arriving early.  After a long meeting with everyone involved in any sort of Orientation prep role, we are all pushing ahead with that work to try and ease the Director when she does have to leave us.

Here at Dickinson they do Orientation on campus right as freshmen arrive to move in.  It is the overwhelming; “Welcome to campus, here is your schedule, here is where you are living, and let’s start orientation!” This concept is apparently very familiar with smaller schools in the Northeast.  After learning about the process, I can clearly see why it would never work at a larger institution like State, but it works to perfection here at Dickinson.  Freshmen do not have the opportunity to opt out of Orientation like some could at schools where it is spread out for the summer.  And this also leaves every freshman on the same page once they arrive.   When learning about the student culture at Dickinson, I’ve been told they run into a real problem with separation of social classes among students.  By bringing students in the exact same way at the same time, they hope to minimize that as much as possible as soon as they arrive. Because I’m leaving at the beginning of August and classes start towards the very end of August at Dickinson, I won’t be able to see my training happen in addition to witnessing move-in and Orientation.  Thankfully I’ve already been promised updates along the way after my departure!

Carrie

VanHorn-Week 6- University of Utah Recruitment

I have been getting more comfortable around the office here and Utah and I am really enjoying the recruitment field. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we continued to have presentations from different departments from around campus. I have been introduced to several vice presidents and have learned a great deal about the structure of Utah.

I have also been able to begin leading and assisting more in with the campus tours and the information sessions. I have gotten lucky over the past few days and been able to interact with some nontraditional students and students from different backgrounds. Thursday there was a group of Chinese students who visited campus. The group was on a two week trip from China and were visiting several different college campuses across the country. This was a very interesting group because they spoke very little English and were also somewhat not interested in being here. I also worked with a parent last week who’s daughter was graduating high school and will be classified as a junior coming into college. The mother was very demanding and did not really understand the college process, which caused some communication problems. She was also very “involved” in her daughters academic career so much to the point where she spoke of “our” ACT score and when “we” applied. The student was also not with the mother at the time.

I have really enjoyed working with these different students and learning from the different experiences. It has also been really interesting hearing about the different opportunities and experiences Utah offers to their students. I have also enjoyed learning how they are ahead of Southeastern schools in some aspects but also behind the curve in other areas but it is all based off of the population they are serving. 

-I also made a trip to Park City this weekend and this is what I folded into-

Barauskas - Week 6 - Supervision and Coordinating

This past Thursday, my site supervisor (Jess) formally introduced me to the undergraduate student that I will be supervising and working with throughout the reminder of my practicum. She's a sweet girl and a hard worker. Jess was very intentional about this meeting, and explained what we will be doing. She made it clear that  I was in charge of the 2 projects, which I explained in my last blog, the Organizations Fair and Day of Service. I'm grateful that Jess had the foresight to set up the meeting in the way that she did, because it helps to avoid any future messy situations.

This can be a difficult situation, which I'm sure a lot of us have gone through, where you may be supervising somebody who knows more about the project at hand. I certainly went through this situation last year when I first got to MSU, and the returning RA's knew a bit more of the in's and out's of Housing and Residence Life. Eventually, you get caught up with everything, and all of your training kicks in, but those first few stages can be very awkward. They may even lead to some power struggles amongst the staff. Thankfully, my supervisee doesn't seem to mind the situation, and so far, has been great to work with.

Thompson - Week 6

I'm reaching the half way point of my practicum, and my experience at Saint Leo has been extremely beneficial. I left MSU with the expectation of learning how small, private institutions functioned and developed their students. I also planned to use this time away from family and friends to reflect on my life and future career. Although these are two totally different set of expectations, they both will impact how I approach my second year of graduate school.

The moment I arrived on campus at Saint Leo I was embraced with open arms and smiling faces. This was a preview of what was to come during my time at Saint Leo. Since my first day, everyone I have met has had that same welcoming spirit. And it's not just me. The people here have a passion for service. They want to see their students succeed. This is obvious with the programs they host. One in particular that I'll mention is LEAP. LEAP stands for learning enhancement for academic progress. It's a program designed for conditional admits in hopes of giving a student a second opportunity to attend college. This program defines Saint Leo's commitment to serving the student.

That is just one of many Saint Leo programs designed to benefit the student. Reflecting on this program has helped me understand that although larger institutions care about their students, smaller institutions have a chance to connect more intimately with the student to change their life for the better. I have enjoyed working closely with Ana and Ken to see the impact they have on their students. I have enjoyed working with their current students developing a new mascot policy. Lastly, I have enjoyed meeting their incoming freshmen through the orientations I have worked. All of these opportunities have shown me how small institutions function and develop their students.

I plan to continue working closely with their LEAP program, students, and orientation team for the next couple of weeks until it's time for me to leave. When I leave Saint Leo I will leave a more complete student affairs professional. I will also leave knowing the last year of school is a time for me to polish my skills and prepare myself for my career after college.