Bailey - Week 7 - EMCC

Activities:
- Collaborated with the Michael Black, Recruitment Coordinator on the faculty advising manual
- Attended a Continuous Improvement staff meeting
- Met with the Retention Committee and discussed manual

Reflection:

This was the first week I have attended EMCC everyday. All I can say... it's about time! Since I have been working on the faculty advising manual, it has been difficult moving forward at the pace in which I enjoy. Previously, three days a week work time on the manual just was not enough, so it was nice to finally devote a full weeks worth of work toward the manual. Last week and this upcoming week will probably be spent working on the manual. The manual, as you can see, is taking some time to complete. After meeting with the different offices that will be represented in the manual, we are finally at the stage of making a rough draft and seeking approval from other staff members. Michael and I coordinated an outline of the manual, sent it to the committee members, then presented it during our retention committee meeting on Thursday. The group loved the manual but we happily accepted suggestions and revisions. The group was supportive of my contribution to this project, because they said it is imperative for this campus as they begin moving forward. In an effort to have a global way of doing things between Scooba and Mayhew, the committee believes this manual will help faculty advisors answer students' questions in a uniform manner. Also, this manual seeks to improve communication and customer service between the faculty advisors and the students. This project is really teaching me patience. Even though it does not seem like a hard task, anytime money is involved, which it will be as the college funds the manual, the information has to be correct. The information must also be set up in an order that is easy to follow. It is also easy to get off topic; therefore, I am learning to stay focused on the reason we are doing this manual so I do not add information that is not necessary. We are really trying to make this manual as small as possible so this lesson must be learned quickly.

During this week, I also sat in on a continuous improvement staff meeting where Dr. Miller, Vice President, spoke on customer service. I also heard from various other committees that make up the continuous improvement team, their projects, and the results seen so far. This college is growing. They just announced it will soon become a residential college plus it is building a student union that will house classrooms, a career center, and a student success center. These changes are the reasons for coordinating a continuous improvement group and analyzing different variables within the campus that can be improved such as customer service.

  Also learned an interesting fact this week. This cemetery can be found on the backside of campus. It is not on the EMCC property, but it does look as if it is a part of campus. This cemetery has a former Mississippi governor buried in it. I was told, occasionally, it is not uncommon to see a procession entering campus for funeral which really makes for an interesting event on campus.

This picture is of the gazebo and fountain that is seen between the math/science building. This is a beautiful part of campus that is not seen from the road. I did not know this part of campus existed until about three days after I started working at EMCC.