"The Pulse" May 2014

ResearchResearch-Writer: Hiring Professional Staff— Staff—pg. 7

“Corporate Partner Spotlight”— Spotlight”—pg. 6

“CHO Corner” with Glen Weppler— Weppler—pg. 2

Ma y 2 0 14

Leadership & Purpose

President’s Corner Hello OACUHO, This issue of the Pulse shares the theme of the annual Spring Conference – Leadership & Purpose. Those are some big words! At last years Spring Conference at Queen’s I tried to articulate very clear goals for the year. Not just for the OACUHO board of directors – but for the whole association.

One of those goals was raising OACUHO’s profile. Although OACUHO is provincial in jurisdiction we are national in reach. Some of our members contribute regularly internationally through ACUHO-I. However here at home we still have work to do. Profile can be connected to visibility, or even ego.

However I think I connect raising OACUHO’s profile with the theme of Leadership & Purpose. The association will need everyone’s help in advancing our field.

Recently, I met with members of the Value of Living and Learning in Residence taskforce at the University of Waterloo. Peggy, the task force chair guided us through discussions on how best to collect data. It is important for us a field to be able to communicate the value of living and learning in residence. We all know that we provide value – but we must be able to communicate this with evidence.

I am so excited to meet with all of you at the upcoming spring conference at Laurier.

Looking forward to discussing Leadership & Purpose and how all of us will contribute of the Student Housing field in Canada.

Thank You! Chad Nuttall President, OACUHO

An important part of this development is evidence. Evidence can be a lot of different things. When the membership review taskforce was completing their work – a lot of their evidence was collected from the membership or our sister organization. When the curriculum taskforce was developing the learning outcomes for the New Professional Training Institute they used literature and existing competencies.

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#OACUHO360

Glen Weppler Director of Housing, University of Waterloo and uW - http://www.waterloo.ca/en/government/ northdale.asp. You'll see many private rental properties tarI started as the uWateloo Director of Housing in July of 2012. geting students ranging from houses to 20-story towers. TheComing into the role, I had worked at several institutions over se are a prime example of the growing range of housing options available to students. a 17 year period and so had many reference points to help me understand what I was seeing in Waterloo. I knew the As campus housing providers I believe we have distinct adWaterloo student housing market was different from anyvantage over others who provide housing to our students. We where else I had been. My thinking came into focus while attending Derek Lobo's first Canadian Student Housing Sym- can create a superior learning environment given that we provide far more resources towards student success then other posium in October 2012, where he stated that as much purstudent housing providers. We dedicate a large number of pose-built student housing had been developed in Waterloo in the past decade, about 9,000 beds, as in the rest of Cana- student staff as well as full-time staff to supporting our student's experience; we have access to educators and a netda combined! work of support at our institutions that landlords cannot easily replicate; and, we can access information to assess learning This underscored for me that the level of competition my and development that requires time and resources few landteam and I faced was unlike anywhere else in Canada. For lords can match. decades, all across North America, demand to live in residence has always exceeded supply. While we still enjoy this I'm sharing my experience with you to demonstrate what I phenomenon at uWaterloo, I believe we cannot count on this believe is the essence of what makes our work distinct. Our continuing far into the future. Campus housing is now part of purpose is to create a learning environment for our students. a much larger student housing industry, with many more playThe environment in which we exist today is changing and we ers offering housing. In Waterloo alone we are part of a multimust ensure our approach to leadership changes as well. million dollar business; across North America student housing has become a multi-billion dollar business.

Glen Weppler Director of Housing, University of Waterloo When you join the Laurier crew at this year's conference, I would encourage you to drive around the City of Waterloo. In particular the Northdale community, located between WLU

LEADING IN

AN INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE MARKET

The Path to your Purpose Amanda Ziegler—Brock University Each year at our year-end staff celebration, known as Dénouement at Brock, Les McCurdy-Myers tell the same story as part of his speech to the outgoing staff. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Les, he has been responsible for the majority of the facilitation of Don training at Brock for over thirty years. Each year, this story reminds me of the importance of self-reflection in finding one’s purpose. So when the call went out for articles, I immediately thought of this story and approached Les about sharing it in the Pulse. That’s when he let me in on the secret that the story wasn’t even his! He was able to point me in the direction of the correct resource and I have included an excerpt from Kevin Cashman’s “Leadership From the Inside Out” which relates the tale: I once heard a poignant story about a priest who was confronted by a soldier while he was walking down a road in pre-revolutionary Russia. The soldier, aiming his rifle at the priest, commanded, “Who are you? Where are you going? Why are you going there?” Unfazed, the priest calmly replied, “How much do they pay you?” Somewhat surprised, the soldier responded, “Twenty-five kopecks a month.” The priest paused, and in a deeply thoughtful manner said, “I have a proposal for you. I’ll pay you fifty kopecks each month if you stop me here every day and challenge me to respond to those same three questions.”

Now as I read the story back from the screen, it does not ring as strongly for me as it does when told, with actions and voices, by Les at Dénouement. Despite the missing animation and inflection, I hope each of you is able to find or identify your soldier(s) and let them know how important they have been on the path toward your purpose.

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Attending OACUHO’s Spring Conference? Make sure the annual exhibitor Fair is on your Schedule!

As many of you know our annual conference is fast approaching! The annual exhibitor fair is a key part of the OACUHO conference.

During the exhibitor fair all of the conference delegates (YOU) will have the opportunity to connect with some of our Universities top suppliers and check out new and upcoming products.

It is very important for the membership to make an effort to engage during this fair. Between partnership fees and sponsorship these exhibitors provide over $23 000 annually and help make a lot of the great Professional Development opportunities within OACUHO a possibility.

You don’t have buying power you say! Why should you still attend?

There are a few reasons that it is valuable to attend the exhibitor fair no matter what your position within housing is.

Think big! You might have buying power someday. Many of the exhibitors attending the fair are consistent year to year and understand the importance of building these relationships early.

There will be a really good lunch!

Each of the exhibitors donates prizes for a raffle. By engaging with exhibitors during the fair you increase your opportunity of winning. Don’t forget to have some business cards on hand.

Exhibitors have swag! During the 2012 exhibitor fair I won a Kindle through a draw at the Star Rez booth. It’s also a great place to stock up on pens and stationary.

How do you engage with Exhibitors at the fair you ask?

Make conversation and have fun. Sit in their furniture and really test it out!

Stop by their booth and ask about their business, learn more about what they do and how they support Colleges and Universities.

Inquire about new products.

Chat with your facilities colleagues in advance. Find out if there is a particular product or company that they are looking to learn more about and bring materials back for them.

Provide ideas on how they can better engage with OAUCHO and our membership It is very important for us to interact with these Exhibitors so they continue to see the value in continuing their partnership with OACUHO and continue participating in the future. I cannot tell you how many times facilities colleagues have popped into my office to ask my opinion on new furniture or products that they are thinking of purchasing. These relationships can come in handy when you least expect it!

Spotlight Exhibitors this Year!

Our two biggest sponsors of the spring conference at this time are Foliot and Residence Linens! Be sure to check out the Hospitality Suite during your stay! Foliot will be providing furniture to make the space extra cozy.

Samantha Wiebe & the Corporate Member Engagement Committee

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Engaging in Conduct Processes – Students’ Perceived Value and Learning Research and Reflection by Phil Legate Note: It has been exactly one year since I completed my Master’s thesis – Educational Value and Learning within Humber College’s Student Conduct Program. Since this time, I have not written anything of a scholarly nature – I was quite happy to be done with writing for quite some time. At first when I was approached to write an article for The Pulse, I thought a reflection on this experience one year later (or the research process in general) may be appropriate. However, having never officially shared this research outside of the department (Student Success & Engagement), I thought it might make more sense to share some of this with the OACUHO world. The following is an excerpt and taste of this research project and my findings.

ject adhered to the three core guidelines outlined in the Tri-Council Policy: respect for persons, concern for welfare, and justice (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2010, p. 8).

This research study yielded six findings, which were used to draw four conclusions:

Humber College’s conduct processes could provide some students with added educational and/or experiential value (opportunity to understand impact of actions, opportunity to take responsibility/accountability in the situation, etc.). Both students and administrators suggested that the process provided an opportunity to understand the impact, and to take responsibility for the student’s actions. Students suggested that the opportunity provided the chance to demonstrate caring and to take a positive approach towards planning for the future. Likewise, administrators felt that processes provided an opportunity for students to learn To date, there has been little research conducted on the perceived and reflect, to understand the big picture, and to gain new life skills and knowledge. King (2012) suggested that conduct administraeducational value of conduct processes (King, 2012; Howell, tors have a great role in student perceived value. “The most influ2005). A lot of the work that is done by conduct administrators at ential factor affecting the overall educational value gained was post-secondary institutions is aimed at not only resolving conflict, but also facilitating an educational opportunity for students as well how favorably students rated their disciplinary hearing” (King, (Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, 2012; 2012). Likewise, Mullane (1995) looked specifically at the impact that a student’s stage of moral development played in perceived Eerkes, 2010; Howell, 2005; Janosik & Stimpson, 2009; King, educational value. The author found that a higher level of moral 2012). The main inquiry question of my thesis aimed to explore this idea: how can Student Success and Engagement ensure that development was correlated with higher perceived value from the conduct processes provide valuable learning opportunities for stu- process (Mullane, 1995, p. 122). The author further suggested that it was critical for the student to perceive that processes were fair in dents? Over the course of investigating this question, I also addressed and asked other important questions: what value is added order for them to perceive value (Mullane, 1995, p. 122). for students that have been involved in conduct processes; what For some students, Humber College’s conduct processes could have students learned as a result of involvement in conduct processes; and, what are the potential barriers to learning opportuni- provide learning opportunities (opportunity to learn from a specific situation, to learn about rules, processes, procedures, etc.) ties during conduct processes? throughout multiple points in the process. The data and findings This project was founded upon an action research approach. Ac- suggest that there are many different types of learning that are tion research aims at taking the researcher, and thus the research, acquired by students throughout conduct processes. Although not through a continual progression of cycles based on stages such as all, several students suggested that this learning likely encompreparation and planning, acting or implementing, as well as eval- passed a better understanding of overall conduct procedures and uating the action (Coghlan & Brannick, 2010; Stringer, 2007). The rules, such as a better understanding of the reason for rules and participants for this project involved two pools. The first participant the specific learning from their unique situation. Similarly, Howell (2005) found similar findings in regards to procedural understandpool was defined as students who were involved in one or more ing, and in addition noticed specific learning in the form of enconduct processes on campus as part of either the Code of Stuhanced moral thinking. “For some students, that learning may dent Conduct, or Residence Code of Conduct. The Code of Student Conduct is a document that governs the processes, policies, take the form of more sophisticated moral thinking; for others, it may simply take the form of increased awareness of the instituand rights for all students in the college, whereas the Residence tion’s expectations or the institution’s procedures” (Howell, 2005, Code of Conduct dictates the same policies for students living in p. 389). Similarities were also found between the Humber data residence. I selected surveys for this participant pool in order to conserve confidentiality and anonymity with the respondents. The work by Allen in 1994, where the author found that there was an remaining participant pool was the internal conduct administrators “(a) increased inclination to think through actions before acting, (b) accepting responsibility for actions, and (c) abiding by college poligroup. These individuals were identified as responsible for noncies in the future” (p. 112). Humber data suggested that there was academic conduct administration on campus. I analyzed the data a similar learning in regards to (b), and an acceptance of accountcollected from the survey, and used it to form conclusions and ability for misconduct. recommendations. Closed-ended survey questions resulted in basic number aggregation results. All themes from open-ended questions in the survey and interviews were identified by analyzing Conduct administrators suggested that there were multiple points data report printouts and transcriptions respectively. Over-arching within the overall process that provided potential opportunities, or themes were developed in a similar fashion by combining themes venues, for student learning. The main points discussed related to from each method. Conclusions were drawn based upon the final the many opportunities for reflection along the way, including the overarching themes, with recommendations being drawn from the conduct administrator investigation stage. This was not the only venue that was mentioned, though. Other “micro-opportunities” conclusions. were presented as learning opportunities during the explanation of the bigger picture stage, incident understanding stage, and adminTo comply with ethical limitations and standards, a research proistrator questioning stage. Several students further supported this posal detailing the methods was submitted to both the Royal Roads University Research Ethics Board and the Humber College notion with evidence that there had been opportunities to reflect on Research Ethics Board for approval. In addition, this research pro- their own personal growth and development, and that an effort had been made to help them learn throughout the conduct process.

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There are opportunities that could reduce barriers to student perceived value and learning from the process. Of the small population of students who relayed potential barriers to their own learning, it was suggested that this had arisen because of incorrect facts/information, feelings of an unfair process, in addition to the student’s level of frustration. As one author suggested, “perceived fairness emerged as the second most influential factor in predicting the amount of educational value students associated with their discipline experience” (King, 2012, p. 577). The conduct administrator pool echoed some of these potential barriers, suggesting that the emotionality of the situation, such as feelings of frustration, could also impact learning. In Howell’s study in 2005, the author further explored the cause of student’s emotionality. “The sense of anxiety was related in part to confusion and uncertainty about what to expect from the process and the meeting with the judicial officer, and in part to concerns about what effect the process would have on their academic careers” (Howell, 2005, p. 387).

Article Content: Legate, P. (2013). Educational value and learning within Humber College’s student conduct program. Unpublished Master’s Organizational Leadership Project). Royal Roads University, Victoria, B.C. References Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans, December 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2013 from http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/pdf/ eng/tcps2/TCPS_2_FINAL_Web.pdf Coch, L., & French, J. R. P. (1965). Overcoming resistance to change. In Burke, W. W., Lake, D. G., & Paine J. W. (Eds.) (2009). Organization change: A comprehensive reader (pp. 341-363) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Many of the conduct administrators mentioned that the students themselves could act as a barrier depending on their developCoghlan, D. & Brannick, T. (2010). Doing action research in your mental stage. For obvious reasons, this was not something that own organization (3rd Ed.). Los Angeles, London, New was directly found within the student surveys; however, there Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC: Sage Publications were several instances where students suggested that there was Inc. a perception of “nothing to learn.” This barrier of “nothing to learn” was also witnessed in the study by Howell in 2005 (p.

Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education 387).

(2012). CAS professional standards for higher education. Retrieved June 2, 2012 from http://www.cas.edu/ There are opportunities (approaches, structures, methods, techniques, etc.) that could increase student perceived value and Eerkes, D. (2010). Student judicial affairs and academic integrilearning from the process. The data collection and findings rety. In D.H. Cox, & C.C. Strange (Eds.), Achieving stuvealed that there are many opportunities, both large scale, or dent success (pp. 100-111). Montreal, Kingston, Lonmicro, that had the potential for enhancing opportunities for studon, Ithica: McGill-Queen’s University Press. dent perceived learning and value from conduct processes. The student participants strongly suggested that if communication Howell, M. T. (2005). Students' perceived learning and anticipatcould be enhanced and clear in a given area during the investied future behaviors as a result of participation in the gation stage, for example, that barriers could be overcome. The student judicial process. Journal of College Student Deconduct administrators as a group suggested that there were velopment, 46(4), 374-392. several opportunities to enhance the process. For example, with increased peer components within the process, mechanisms for Janosik, S. & Stimpson, M. (2009). Improving outcomes assessgathering student feedback, or by increasing developmental outment in student conduct administration. Association for comes and reflective conversations. Schein (1964) viewed this Student Conduct Administration. Journal of Student attitude and openness to change as related to many individuals Conduct Administration, 2(1), 46-56. and their ability to let go of previous values, attitudes and behaviours that they believed to be right (Schein, 1964, p. 78). “If King, R. H. (2012). Student conduct administration: How stuchange is to occur, therefore, it must be preceded by an alteradents perceive the educational value and procedural tion of the present stable equilibrium that supports the present fairness of their disciplinary experiences. The Journal of behaviour and attitudes” (Schein, 1964, p. 78). Coch and College Student Development, 53(5), 563-580.

French (1965) discussed communication enhancement in their work, and suggested that “this change can be accomplished by Mullane, S. P. (1995). The fairness and educational value of an the use of group meetings in which management effectively undergraduate disciplinary program from a moral develcommunicates the need for change and stimulates group particiopment perspective. ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Pubpation in planning the changes” (Coch & French, 1965, p. 362). lishing. Retrieved March 24, 2013 from http:// Likewise, in the previous study discussed by King (2012) on the search.proquest.com educational value that students assigned to their conduct experience, the author shared that conduct “practitioners have the op- Schein, E. H. (1964). The mechanism of change. In Burke, W. portunity to transform a potentially adversarial disciplinary proW., Lake, D. G., & Paine J. W. (Eds.)(2009). Organizaceeding into a developmental intervention that fosters student tion change: A comprehensive reader (pp. 78-88) San learning” (p. 578).

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

If you have questions or would like to learn more, please feel free to send an email to Phil Legate at phil.legate@humber.ca. I would be more than happy to share a soft copy of the project with you, and answer any questions you may have!

Stringer, E. (2007). Action Research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc.

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Hiring Professional Staff Trevor Corkum—OACUHO Research-Writer

Technology provides additional opportunities for hiring staff.

Most panelists agreed that technologies such as Skype or videoconferencing can help widen the net to attract potential candiAs a manager, how do you go about hiring the best employee? dates from further afield, particularly for more senior roles. EnHow do you sift through applications, initiate and carry through a sure the technology is working in advance and give it a good test recruitment search, and ensure you find a candidate who is the run before the actual interview. right fit for your team and institution?

If you missed the recent OACUHO webinar on Hiring Profession- All webinar panelists stressed the importance of being strategic al Staff, and you’d like some tips and pointers, read on. in checking references. Honing in your reference questions so Finding the Right Fit Bruce Pfau and Ira Kay, authors of The Human Capital Edge, believe your mission as a manager is to find staff who can hit the ground running for your institution. They believe that “past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour” and that paying attention to past employment performance will help you hire winners.

you can detect potential red flags is good policy, according to Cathie. Framing questions in a way that allows references to provide further information is important. For example, go beyond merely asking “Would you hire this person again?” to “Would you rehire this person for a more senior role?” in order to get the most illuminating feedback. Irene encourages you to trust your sixth sense if something about the candidate is niggling you, and to use references to investigate further.

Irene Thompson, Director of Student Housing Services at Guelph University, stresses the importance of planning your hiring search far in advance. An environmental scan is an important tool. Irene suggests considering who might be out there already who’s a rising star in the industry? Who has demonstrated leadership and potential by making presentations, joining committees, and staying active in industry organizations?

In Conclusion More generally, make sure to build strong and effective relationships with members of your Human Resources department.

They are experts in the field and can be your best sounding board as you move into the hiring process. Use your current or outgoing staff to generate ideas and to involve in the interview process itself. Be sure to include faculty, other administrative staff, and other stakeholders in the panel wherever possible, in Mike Porritt, Executive Director of Student Engagement at Huron order to reflect a wide range of views and opinions.

University College, believes in networking well in advance of posting for a position. As professionals, he says, we’re network- For more hiring suggestions, check out some of the resources ing all the time, so treating people with respect at industry below. events, is important, as they may be potential future employees.

Plan Ahead The job search can be a daunting process, so it’s important to plan well ahead to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible Chad Nuttall, Manager of Student Housing Services at Ryerson University, suggests creating a detailed work plan to map out the job description and the hiring process at a “capture” meeting. Cathie Miller, Director of Housing and Conference Services at McMaster University, concurs. “You need to know where you want the bus to go before driving the bus,” she says. Having a clear vision of the role and its responsibilities, and creating realistic hiring milestones, then, are both critical to hiring good staff.

Online Resources for Hiring Professional Staff General: http://humanresources.about.com/od/recruiting/a/ recruitingtips.htm

For Irene, hiring may also provide the opportunity to revisit the job description at hand and ensure it’s still accurately reflecting the role and the scope of its responsibilities. Also, she says, make sure to take time to connect the position description with your overall unit or departmental strategy and work closely with Human Resources to ensure the position reflects fair market value. Chad also sees planning ahead as a way to ensure the onboarding process for the new employee runs as efficiently as possible.

University and College Housing Resources http://reslife.net/html/training_0400a.html http://www.iwu.edu/orl/ethics.pdf

Take Time to Reflect On the actual day of interviews, building in enough time to see potential staff outside the formal interview is highly desirable.

Lunch or other unstructured time with potential employees provides an opportunity to see how they interact in a casual, less formal situation. Incorporating a campus tour with student volunteers offers a chance to see how they engage with students and respond to administrative staff on-campus. Mike also suggests ensuring potential new employees are aware of your specific institutional values, philosophy and mission in advance, so they’re able to bring their A-game into the interview and ensure there’s a good potential fit.

http://www.employmentprofessionalscanada.com/2014/03/28/ hiring-recruiting-services-ontario/ A Sample Checklist for Hiring Staff http://humanresources.about.com/cs/selectionstaffing/a/ hiringchecklist.htm

Examples of University and College Housing Recruitment Sites http://www.nyu.edu/life/living-at-nyu/on-campus-living/staff/ professional-staff.html

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