HEAD START: August 2011

Monday, August 22, 2011

Alternative Professional Development panel talk at SXSW

According to the hosts of SXSW (South by Southwest), the conferences and festivals that take place in March in Austin, Texas are all about "fostering creative and professional growth" and that SXSW is "the premier destination for discovery." Sounds pretty good to me. While those who work in higher education have often made the trek to SXSW, one group of professionals has been relatively absent. At last year's event, there were very few sessions by student affairs professionals, even though a concerted effort was made to hosts panels for student affairs professionals from the local region.

One such session on Alternative Professional Development Networks http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/10985
addressed the following questions

Why are informal learning networks important for professional development?
How does a higher ed professional/faculty explore the network & personalize their learning for professional development?
What are some of the pros & cons for engaging in a personal learning networks for professional development?
As PLNs develop, how can these networks support the future of higher education?
How can higher education institutions adopt a “start up” of PLNs for their campus community and beyond?

Economic impact is deep & challenging higher education institutions around the globe, which effects all aspects of higher education institution. Employers seek talented minds that are innovative and creative for higher education, so it is critical for professionals to seek support to stay on top of the most innovative and creative practices in the field. HEAD START consulting provides creative solutions and systemic support at reasonable rates at the save your organization money in the long term. HEAD START consulting supports financial sustainability thru investing in the people of all types of student affairs organizations, resulting in improved organizational processes and supported decision making that can save time and reduce administrative turnover. Save money for your organization thru proactive planning and development; see what HEAD START consulting can do for you.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

How campus leaders can help student seeking federal jobs

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/06/22/senate_hearing_on_inspiring_students_to_join_federal_government_workforce

"At a Senate hearing Tuesday on inspiring students to seek federal government work, one think was clear: the feds need to do a better job of recruiting and hiring recent graduates. What was less clear was whether they know how."

This article essentially addresses that if the federal government wants to employ new college graduates, it must clean up many of its hiring processes. Though similarly, student affairs leaders looking to support students in their desire to pursue government employment must speak up in advocacy for students. Student affairs employees are often times the adults students spend the most time with, and subsequently are the ones who best understand the mentalities of current college students. Student affairs leaders who share what they know with employers seeking to hire college graduates can support consideration for how to revise hiring processes to target new college graduate demographics.

How HEAD START can help: The essence of this problem for busy student affairs professionals and federal hiring agents is finding time to consider and revise their processes to target millennial generation college graduates. HEAD START can offer consultation to both parties in this situation; to address the "how to" question for federal hiring agents for recruiting college graduates, and support student affairs career services offices in translating these processes to students. Contact vaheyk@gmail.com to explore how HEAD START can work for you.

Why HEAD START?

Higher education and student affairs offices face constant challenges that distract from the essential systemic learning purpose of advanced education. Such challenges include social and political issues, changing technologies, diverse demographics, demands for accountability, and increasing costs. All higher education institutions are faced with similar challenges, regardless whether the type of institution is a large university, regional state institution, community college, or small collegiate environment.

The way that employees respond to these challenges shapes a higher education environment. Specifically student affairs work will demand more creativity and flexibility as these challenges increase in complexity. Achieving professionalism necessary for student affairs staff to excel at their varied tasks requires professional development opportunities to acquire knowledge and skill. Empirical literature demonstrates there is widespread agreement about the value and need for professional development in student affairs. However, despite evidence supporting the need for continual training for employee and organizational development, a number of factors have made this a difficult goal to actualize.

A national review of staff development practices found that most student affairs divisions had inadequate workplace resources, among other issues, including senior staff that had time and skill to provide in-house training, or orientations to support employee best practices. Busy institutional leaders often must focus on immediate concerns and are challenged to provide development strategies for their organization's long term health. The paradox is, improved long term organizational health directly supports employee's daily work life.

Founder and principle for HEAD START, Katie Vahey, M.A., Ph.D., has the experience and skills to provide holistic assessment, program development, and leadership support for long term development in all types of student affairs organizations.

Let HEAD START work for you.