For the Record, An AACRAO Podcast

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

At the AACRAO SEM Conference in Miami, Florida, I had the opportunity to present the Registrar 101 and FERPA workshop with Heather Abbott from Yale Law School and LeRoy Rooker from AACRAO. The two-day workshop covers a broad range of registrar functions, responsibilities, and roles. And of course, so much FERPA info.
I was able to convince some of the participants to share some reflections on any or all of the following questions:

• What brought them to the registrar’s office?
• What has surprised them the most about being a registrar?
• What are they concerned they don’t know enough about?

And to share an emergent challenge or opportunity their office is facing.

Key Takeaways:

• There’s an in-person and an online version of REG101, and we’ll offer the in-person version again at the Annual Meeting in Portland in April 2022;
• There are many different kinds of institutions in the United States and so there will obviously be many different kinds of registrars, and many different paths taken to become a registrar;
• The registrar position requires a broad range of knowledge and skills; AACRAO has a bunch of resources to support and assist with professional development for you and your staff.
  

Guests:

Angi Long,
Registrar, Lawrence University
[email protected]

Bob Morris
Dean, Enrollment Management, Joliet Junior College
[email protected]

Calandria Yee-Bullock
Registrar, Aviator College of Aeronautical Science and Technology
[email protected]

Lori McNeal
Registrar, Northern Pennsylvania Regional College
[email protected]

Nicollette Matesic
Director of Registration and Records, Felician University
[email protected]

References and Additional Information:

AACRAO Training

Core Competencies:

Leadership & Management

Change Management

Professional Proficiencies:

Data Stewardship

Student Records Management

The past several weeks have been tumultuous for international students registered to study at American higher education institutions this fall, as SEVP released much more restrictive guidance than had been issued in the spring. We talk with Steve Springer from NAFSA about the regular requirements for international students, and how the recently released (then subsequently rescinded) guidance affects those. We also hear from Jay Ligon, Director of International Student Scholar Services at Louisiana Tech and Rob Berwick, AVP and Registrar at Jacksonville University about their institutions’ responses.

The saga continues! Part of this episode was recorded between July 6 and July 14 when the restrictive guidance was rescinded. Steve and I spoke after the rescission, but we both anticipated additional guidance being released, and as of Friday afternoon, July 24, there is updated guidance for fall.
Key Takeaways:

• There’s a significant amount of uncertainty relating to fall 2020, especially for international students, as multiple rounds of sometimes conflicting guidance has been issued by SEVP. Registrars should be sure to check in with their ISSS offices to partner in any way they can.
• The role of the registrar is always expanded in a crisis, and the double-whammy of COVID-19 and restrictive guidance from SEVP relating to international students is no exception.
• Take a students-first perspective: reach out to your international students and listen to their concerns and their needs and see what you can do to provide some certainty for that population especially during these very uncertain times.

References and Additional Reading:

Student and Exchange Visitor Program

Most recent SEVP guidance for International Students

https://www.ice.gov/coronavirus

AACRAO International

Core Competency: Diversity and Inclusion

NAFSA Timeline of SEVP Guidance

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