For the Record, An AACRAO Podcast

Working with vendors is a fact of life for registrars and admissions officers. But a lot of us might feel reluctant to engage with vendors at a conference. If that’s you, this episode is a must listen! Vendors are there to support the organization (either AACRAO or your state and regional) as they provide important services to our industry, and they’re there to be seen, get their company name out, and build relationships with people rather than pushing a sale. You can ask them things! You can give direct feedback about products you use! There’s significant value to be gleaned from these interactions–for you AND the vendor.

Key Takeaways:

• Don’t stress about talking to vendors at a conference: they’re there to get their name out and to receive feedback, they don’t expect anyone to sign a contract in the vendor hall: they know how higher education works.
• The Corporate Relations or Corporate Liaison position in your State and Regional Association spends time building relationships with vendors to get sponsors for conferences and meetings, and to ensure that the time spent at the conference is valuable for both parties.
• You can preview which vendors are going to be at the conference in the conference app; make a plan for which vendors you want to touch base with, which vendors you want to explore, and which vendors you just want to pick up swag for your staff back in the office.

Host:

Doug McKenna, University Registrar
George Mason University
[email protected]

Guests:

Colleen Harms, Associate Registrar
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
[email protected]
Connect on LinkedIn

Sara Morelli, Senior Associate Registrar
University of Iowa
[email protected]
Connect on LinkedIn

References and Additional Information:

AACRAO Core Competencies - Leadership & Management

AACRAO Professional Proficiencies - Records and Academic Services

With the backdrop of a global pandemic (and a suspected case of COVID-19 at George Mason--which turned out to be negative), this episode explores the way that registrars support the work of the emergency manager at their institution. We’ll get a glimpse into the public safety and emergency response world, and talk about ways that the registrar’s mission aligns with that of emergency managers. While not specifically about COVID-19, we will talk about prevention of, planning for, and responses to various emergency situations, including infectious disease outbreaks.

Guests:

Dr. David Farris, Director of Public Safety and Emergency Response
George Mason University
[email protected]
https://ready.gmu.edu/

Key Takeaways:

The vast majority of work done by emergency managers is focused on the prevention of and planning for emergencies, and for providing training and resources to assist with campus readiness. (Also, participating on committees.)

Registrars play a critical role in supporting the emergency management process at an institution--including during planning, response, and recovery.

Emergency managers are great people to know and registrars should cultivate that relationship *before* an emergency happens.

References and Additional Reading:

Ready.gov
National Preparedness Leadership Initiative
CDC Prevention Guidelines
Introduction to Emergency Management, by Haddow, Bullock, and Coppola
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes, and Why, by Amanda Ripley

AACRAO Competencies:

Leadership and Management
Communication
Collaborative Decision-Making

Community colleges play a vital role in the higher education ecosystem. With more than 6.8 million students enrolled in for-credit classes, four-year institutions can and should be partnering with community colleges to help students succeed in achieving their educational goals. In this episode we talk to Barbara Hopkins and Jen Nelson, both of Northern Virginia Community College, about the benefits of community colleges, the student experience, ways four-years can partner to assist with student success, and what it’s like to work at a community college.

This is the first in what will be a series of episodes focused on the community college experience, the transfer experience, reverse transfer, and ways registrars can be involved in these processes.

Guests:

Barbara Hopkins, Interim Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs
Northern Virginia Community College
[email protected]

Jen Nelson, Coordinator of University Transfer & Initiatives and Chief Transfer Officer
Northern Virginia Community College
[email protected]

Key Takeaways:

• Community colleges of today offer significantly more than “your grandfather’s community college” in the way of student academic support services, athletics, clubs, and other activities and resources.
• Community colleges are a hidden gem in higher education because they provide so much flexibility with the way they offer courses and the way they enable students to explore academic interests without incurring enormous amounts of debt.
• Students attending community colleges with the intention of transferring to a four-year institution should be in touch early and often with academic support services at both the community college and the intended transfer school. Four-year schools should partner with community colleges to make sure that information about admission requirements and program pathways is readily available, up-to-date, and easy to find.

References and Additional Information:

ADVANCE - Partnership between George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College

American Association of Community Colleges

AACRAO Signature Initiative - Re-Envisioning Transfer

AACRAO - Transfer & Articulation

The modern registrar’s office moves readily from one project to the next in our work to support student success and provide outstanding service to the university community. Employing best practices from a project management framework can go a long way to making those projects run more smoothly, efficiently, and more successfully. Rita Peaster and Aaron Apel talk about their background and experience with project management frameworks, provide insights into ways to improve your office’s overall project management capabilities, and reflect on various aspects of project management.

Key Takeaways:

• Application of project management best practices can make the work of your office more efficient, effective, and successful.
• Pursuing project management certification makes sense if your work includes significant project work. Otherwise, informal training will be sufficient. The Project Management Institute is a good place to start if you are interested in formal training or certification. There are also many free resources available with a simple web search.
• Many downstream issues can be alleviated with careful, thoughtful preparation and consistent, transparent communication in the early stages of a project. Consider the stakeholders who will be affected and keep them in the loop. There will be surprises with every project and open communication from the start will help immensely.

Hosts:

Doug McKenna, University Registrar
George Mason University
[email protected]

Sarah Reed, Registrar
University of California Hastings College of the Law
[email protected]

Guests:

Rita Peaster
University Registrar
Oklahoma State University - Main Campus
[email protected]

Aaron Apel
Assistant Registrar for Enrollment & Residency
University of Wisconsin - Madison
[email protected]

References and Additional Information:

Project Management Institute

scrum.org - the home of scrum

Project Management Best Practices: Salapatas, J. N. (2000). Best practices—the nine elements to success. Paper presented at Project Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposium, Houston, TX. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

PMBOK Guide - A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge - 7th Edition

Project Management classes via LinkedIn Learning

Core Competencies and Professional Proficiencies:

Leadership & Management
Data Systems Management

Change Management

Another episode recorded at the Convergence conference co-hosted by UPCEA and AACRAO focusing on credential innovation. Microcredentials have popped up in many places, but what about at a research-intensive institution? This episode explores the ways that Rutgers University went about discerning the best path forward with microcredentials. Chris Retzko, Director of Academic Assessment and Accreditation shares his experiences working with the implementation and roll out of microcredentials from the beginning.

Key Takeaways:

• There was a significant amount of collaboration and involvement from stakeholders to push a report with recommendations on microcredentials forward. Reach out to others across your institution to study, explore, and identify ways that microcredentials will work for your institution. Institutional culture will dictate a lot!
• Incorporating the microcredential review and approval process into existing administrative systems makes things easier for everyone involved. And don’t forget the assessment piece!
• Microcredentials can be a way to make concrete abstract concepts that students are learning as part of their degree programs. Look to your curriculum’s learning objectives for opportunities!

Host:

Doug McKenna, University Registrar
George Mason University
[email protected]

Guests:

Christopher Retzko
Director of Academic Assessment and Accreditation
Rutgers University
[email protected]

References and Additional Information:

https://conferences.upcea.edu/convergence2023/

https://www.aacrao.org/signature-initiatives/learning-mobility/digital-credentials

https://academicaffairs.rutgers.edu/microcredentialing-and-digital-badging