'The Pulse' - November 2013

Tips & Tricks - Student Staff Hiring

ACUHO-I Fall Conference Series

November 2013

November’s OACUHO Spotlight Moment This month’s OACUHO spotlight is on Jason Verhoeve from the University of Guelph and Shaun McCracken from Wilfrid Laurier University – Brantford Campus, for their excellent work in reviewing and revising the OACUHO Year-End Awards process.

As volunteers on the OACUHO Membership Engagement Committee, Jason and Shaun have been working to develop nomination packages and assessment criteria for those awards given out annually at the OACUHO Spring Conference.

Keep up the great work you two - OAKUDOS to you!

Jason Verhoeve

CONNECT WITH OACUHO #OACUHO1314

Shaun McCracken

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CLOSURE PROCEDURES Carleton University’s residences are closed for the holiday period, this year, from 4 pm December 23, to noon on January 5. Some buildings do remain open to accommodate students who are unable to leave. The remaining buildings are locked with no access what so ever.

When applying for residence, students are asked if they will require accommodation for the closedown period. Students who answered “yes” are assigned to buildings which remain open. Early in the Fall Term, these students are asked if they still require accommodation and arrangements are made for approval and payment of the stayover fee. Students with violations to the residence contract are not welcome to stay. Access will be taken down for all students who have not registered to remain.

Our biggest challenges are: Students who’s plans have changed and suddenly require accommodation but are assigned to closed buildings International students book flights beyond the departure date or before the return date Students who don’t register to stay and find themselves without access after the residences have closed, Students who have forgotten items in their room and can’t access them We go to great lengths to direct students’ attention to the closedown period and the need to register before the deadline dates. Frequent emails, posts on social media and reminders students during floor meetings are sent to nudge students to make arrangements for the closedown period.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ACUHO-I FALL CONFERENCE SERIES By: Dan Cantiller (Ryerson University) and Elizabeth Wong (University of Waterloo) In the Fall, ACUHO-I coordinates a conference series for student affairs professionals, faculty and other professionals, focused on residence academic programs, residence facilities, and business operations. This October, several OACUHO members had the opportunity to attend the Living Learning Programs, Housing Facilities, and Business Operations conferences in Providence, Rhode Island. We are very thankful to following colleagues, who are sharing back highlights from their conference experiences and what learning they are applying to their work at their home institutions.\ Paige Doherty, Queen’s University The diversity of the structure and design of the Living Learning Programs (LLPs) at OACUHO institutions is impressive. Compounding that with an international scope at the ACUHO-I LLP conference in Rhode Island this October, it was amazing to discover how many different types, sizes, and methods there are for LLPs in Higher Education.

Having a relatively new LLC program at Queen's, I went to the conference with an eagerness to learn, and learn did I ever! Focusing primarily on Nuts and Bolts sessions, and institutions that were early in their LLC program development, I was able to develop a plan as to where we could grow, and what we would need to do to execute that effectively in the next few years.

The highlight for me aside from the sessions was how well OACUHO was represented. We had 3 institutions who had representatives presenting, delegates who volunteered with the conference, and we had lots of fun as an international delegation touring Providence (highlights included walking tours, the Jack-o-lantern Spectacular, and Water Fire night).

Samantha Wiebe, University of Waterloo Jessi Neill and I had the opportunity to attend and present at 2013 ACUHO-I Living Learning Programs Conference hosted in Providence, Rhode Island this past October. We had a blast exploring the city, dining with fellow colleagues and sharing our program model during our presentation.

We both attended the 2011 conference and found that our Living-Learning model was very unique, which is what inspired us to present this year. Our challenge was coming up with a presentation that was engaging as well as included all of the key components of our program. In the end, we decided to walk our group through the entire process from student interest to participation in the Living-Learning

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program. Another important part that we had to be sure to cover was the differing terms and acronyms we use at our institution, so that our audience wouldn't be lost five minutes in. We had a lot of great questions throughout the session and only 3 out of 75 fell asleep, which is pretty good for the 4:30pm time slot!

Taking advantage of the city’s attractions with fellow colleagues is always one of the best parts of attending these conferences.

There is nothing like sharing a good meal and the best practices of your program in a new city. These opportunities often inspire multiple "I've never thought of that” moments and really make you think about how and why you do things the way you do.

Dan Cantiller, Ryerson University Excerpts from an article for the Ryerson Student Affairs Blog Over two and a half days, the Living Learning Programs Conference brought together more than 300 delegates (primarily from the across the United States), all with a background in or connection to Residence Life and Education. I was happy to be among the delegates representing Ontario and Canadian institutions, to learn and exchange ideas with my colleagues about how we can improve our residence students’ experiences and academic success.

Returning to the conference this year, I was invited to be a panelist for a session to discuss my journey with my work with residence academic programs. One of my key messages to the audience was that building and fostering relationships with faculty, staff and students is critical for the work that I do. It’s something that takes time, patience, attention and intention. I also encouraged the audience to be engaged in their professional development, whether that is through conferences, reading and writing articles, or mentoring opportunities within their network of colleagues.

I was most impressed by a session presented by a colleague at Marshall University on Appreciative Advising. She discussed an intensive series of surveys that she administered in residence at Marshall that illuminated what students recognized as academically enriching experiences and what on-campus support resources they were utilizing. She described Bloom and Martin’s appreciative advising approach that intends to bring out students’ strengths, encouraging meaningful conversations and connection between the student and the advisor. Each student we assist may need something unique. By asking positive, open-ended questions, our hope is to optimize the student’s educational experience. Though these points may seem a bit intuitive, I found they have been helpful to inform the structure of one-on-one meetings that our student staff are conducting with residence students this term. This year, as part of the Residence Curriculum, each resident will have a one-on-one with both their Resident Advisor and Academic Link in each of the Fall and Winter terms.

Deborah Lamch, Ryerson University I had the opportunity to attend the 2013 ACUHO-I - APPA Housing Facilities Conference in picturesque Providence, Rhode Island. The theme this year was ‘Excellence from Coast to Coast’, and I certainly met a lot of excellence from coast to coast. Brian Olson and his team put on a fabulous event. There were over 60 program topics and presenters. There were a wide variety of topics so no one should have been bored.

The keynote speaker, Vinnie Gore (past president of ACUHO-I), was delayed by a day; however, that did not stop his fabulous presentation the next morning. I attended Vinnie's session called “People + Buildings = Student Success”. Vinnie has a lot of experience in Housing and ACUHO-I - he is very down to earth and a delight to listen to.

ACUHO-I has aligned itself with APPA. I think this is such a fabulous partnership. APPA was on site throughout the conference and I would highly recommend taking the APPA Facilities program should any of you have the opportunity.

In summary, the networking was great and the week was a great success!

Wanda Bochert and Karen Haarbosch, Carleton University It had been several years since my colleagues and I attended a conference. We always seemed to be too busy to remove ourselves from the office. This year, we tore ourselves away to attend the ACUHO-I Business Operations Conference in Providence, Rhode Island.

Our three days at ACUHO-I were definitely an eye-opener. We thought our processes were pretty good…however, we came away with so many ideas to make out processes so much better! We can’t wait to add these extras to make the Carleton Residence experience more amazing. Everyone was so willing to share their practices - certainly no “secret keeping”.

It was definitely a boost for us, a couple of ladies who have been doing the job for a long time. We were revitalized!! We both agreed that we would make attending this conference an annual event.

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planning how to take care of your mind and body.

Think about: Try preparing all your proteins and lunches on a free day before hiring. If you can make a few healthy dishes and freeze them, you’ll have a variety of quick yet healthy meal options to choose from when you have less time to cook!

By: Amanda Kalbfleisch (Wilfrid Laurier University) What are you snacking on? Bags of chips and soda, however delicious, aren’t likely to help you get through the afterand Dan Cantiller (Ryerson University) noon crash. Instead, try to balance a selection of these comfort With student staff selection nearing around the corner for many foods with healthier/energizing snacks - healthy snacks can proof us, it’s important to think about your personal and team strate- vide comfort too!

Finally, what can you do to take care of your mind? With gies as we head into this time of the year. Hiring can be tough as we find ourselves completing our regular tasks with the addi- a variety of scores, interview responses and decisions to make, it’s likely that you’ll need to focus on regaining your energy. tional priority of hiring. Whether your hiring process lasts two weeks or continues all year round, our hope is that you can use Think now about how you gain your energy; Are you an introvert, this article to reflect on how you want to manage yourself at this extrovert, somewhere in between? Find an activity that will help restore your mind at the end of the day! time of year.

TIPS AND TRICKS: STUDENT STAFF HIRING

“I’m torn with working on my vision for the following year, while finishing the current year strongly.”

Just as we want our students to finish the year well, so should we. It’s important for us to plan for the future so we can improve our practices and develop new ventures. However, we need to also keep focus on our current year to ensure our students receive the support they require year-round.

“It’s a challenge to keep up with commitments to my stuThink about: How can you organize your work so you can both dent staff during this time; How should I manage their explan for the future while meeting current needs? Perhaps setpectations?” ting aside an afternoon or lunch hour each week for visioning It’s important to reflect on how we manage our staff’s expectacan help you in managing this process. Are there measurement tions. Share with your team how you’ll be working on hiring for the next little while. Being open about your schedule and times or feedback tools you can use to concurrently finish the year when you’ll be available for them will send the message that you strongly while you plan for the following year? Smaller needs assessment surveys can be useful for completing your year and recognize their needs and want to support them. If they know what to expect, they’ll be more understanding when it comes to this data can help shape your plan for the following year. asking for support.

Think about: How can you use this time to give staff more lead- “Finding social time is so hard during hiring season – how can I bring this in to check?” ership or development opportunities? Can you delegate senior It’s important to recognize you have interests and commitments student staff to take the lead on organizing social programs for outside of work during the hiring process. Do you have a regular the staff team, or assist with preparing for meetings? Using a fitness class, volunteer work, or want to catch the latest movstaff meeting to discuss what they can expect from you during ie? These are examples of outlets that can be important to help hiring is a great way of being proactive in managing expectaus feel grounded and connected to our friends and our wellness. tions.

Think about: Are there opportunities for our team to share a “How can I keep on top of the everyday concerns of my role meal together, take breaks from deliberations, or focus energies on different topics? Maybe different teammates can be responif I’m more occupied or unavailable?” sible for different evening or social opportunities for the week.

Discussing with your manager and colleagues about how the Can you try to be more purposeful in taking breaks from hiring? work of the office will be covered can be helpful. You’ll want to Coming back with a clear mind is always helpful! know what part of the day you can dedicate to responding to emails and administrative tasks. It may help to be more We would like to thank our colleagues who shared their ideas “schedule oriented” than usual to ensure you are getting in all and strategies to help develop this article: Sarah Memme that you need to accomplish (including eating and sleeping (University of Toronto), and Brian Cunha (University of Waterwell!). loo).

Think about: Can your hiring schedule build in time for team members to address the ongoing priorities of the office? Are Do you have more helpful tips and tricks as to how you plan for team members involved in interviews and deliberations on a hiring? What self-care strategies do you or your team employ rotating basis, allowing time for student meetings and followduring this time? Do you have a great recipe for a healthy meal up? Should the team be setting “busy” messages on office email and voicemail? Perhaps point people are assigned to re- or snack that you’d like to share with your colleagues? Let’s continue the conversation - we’d love to hear from you! Feel spond to more immediate concerns from campus partners, stufree to post to the OACUHO Facebook group, or on Twitter usdents and families. ing the hashtags: “I find myself completely exhausted by the end of the #oacuho1314 day. How can I avoid this?”

Hiring can be both an opportunity and challenge to practice selfcare. With the longer days of interviews, schedules don’t always #tipsandtricks. permit a few hours to prepare, cook and enjoy a well-balanced meal. Try to be proactive about your upcoming commitments by We’ve collected some of the most common questions or concerns about this time of year and have offered some responses.

It’s important to note that these are suggestions only, as every institution will have unique needs and traditions which must be considered.

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