2015 Conference Sessions

2015 OACRAO Conference at Maumee Bay State Park

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Session Title

Session Description

The Faculty& Advising Center: A custom solution

The Faculty & Advising Center is a custom, web-based system that combines data from PeopleSoft, DARS, OnBase, and other systems. It provides advisors with access to their advisees, degree audits, communication tools, a hold release process integrated with PeopleSoft, and the ability to create and maintain advising notes. It provides faculty with their class lists, communication tools, and grade rosters. It provides students with access to their degree audits and what-if DARS. A new feature implemented this fall is the ability to view the students’ Consent to Release Records forms. This was implemented due to College Credit Plus, but we’ve taken the opportunity to centrally store all authorizations and make them available to faculty, advisors, and students. Come to this session to see all the features instructors and advisors (and others) have access to in one place, and to hear what ideas are already being considered for future enhancements.

One StopProsandCons

Come listen to what four of our member institutions have to share about the benefits and the challenges of one-stop shops.

Practical ProjectManagement

On campus, Enrollment Services Offices play a leading role in implementing the ever-evolving technologies and business processes to deliver academic services. Effective project management skills will help your office be successful in new initiatives big and small, in process re-engineering as well as software and system upgrades and implementations. This presentation covers key components of project management including project scope, resources, timelines, stakeholders, and communications. Leaders from and Effectiveness and Efficiency initiative at the Ohio State University will share how they redesigned processes and organizational structure in order to save or reinvest more than $700,000 in office operating funds.

ExaminingHelpSpotandSharePointandHowtheseCommunicationTools ImpactedtheStudentExperience at Ohio State University

Staff from the Student Service Center will discuss how they utilized SharePoint to facilitate internal communications between colleagues and among offices within Enrollment Services at OSU. A member of the Graduate and Professional Admissions Office also will show how the use of HelpSpot eliminates redundancy and enables a student to get good, consistent communication regardless of whom they talk to in their office.

What’sin a name? Implementation of Preferred Name and Pronoun

Ohio University recently created and implemented a new Student Names policy. This policy allows for the collection of a preferred name and preferred pronoun for students. This session will review how the policy came into existence, how it was implemented, how the University’s systems were updated to accommodate the new information, and how preferred names and pronouns are being used throughout the University.

StrategicStaffing:Can I Clone My Best Employees?

Have you ever looked at your best employees and wondered, “Can I clone them?” Good news: Yes, you can! Hiring the right people is one of the most important decisions an office will make and it hinges on understanding what traits lead to success in your office and how to recognize them in a candidate. We share our staffing process, guided by core values of excellence and service, covering the topics of: selection of search committee, resume screening, development of position-specific, behavioral interview questions, interviewing techniques, and candidate evaluation. Invest in making your best decision and enjoy the newest member of your work family.

AdmissionsandIn-StateResidency

Where does the decision begin? How does your school determine Ohio Residency for Tuition Puroses? Where does it end? All these questions and more will be answered in this session.

The EnrollmentCycleofan Athlete

This presentation will focus on the recruitment cycle of a student athlete. The process will be broken down into three major components: coach’s recruitment, admissions process, and registrar involvement. Our goal is to give you a clear understanding of a school’s effort in enrolling and retaining the student athlete.

State AuthorizationUpdate

Recently revised federal regulations raised the awareness of state authorization requirements for institutions serving students in multiple states. Although state regulations regarding approvals to operate have been in place for years, institutions could save themselves time and effort by receiving guidance on how to manage the processes and track regulations, applications, approvals, and renewals. This presentation will provide how-to’s from an institution with years of experience which has led to recognized expertise in this area.                            Topics addressed in the session will include: best practices in managing multiple-state authorizations, useful resources, and strategies for obtaining appropriate state authorizations, cost considerations, SARA

Dr. Pamela K. Shay, Vice President for Accreditation & Institutional Effectiveness Franklin University 201 S Grant Ave Columbus, OH 43140 (614) 947.6135 [email protected]   Dr. Pamela Shay is Vice President of Accreditation & Institutional Effectiveness at Franklin University. With a leadership role in SAN-O (State Authorization Network – Ohio), presentations for large groups at HLC, IACBE, NASASPS and WCET conferences, and over 25 years of experience in higher education, Dr. Shay has become an acknowledged expert in the intricacies of state authorizations, governmental and regulatory compliance, and accreditation.  She is a member of the Higher Learning Commission’s peer reviewer corps and a site evaluator for the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). She led Franklin’s self-study and reaccreditation process for the Higher Learning Commission and the Ohio Board of Regents. Dr. Shay holds an MBA from Eastern Kentucky University, and a DBA from Argosy University.

Gotpaper?The benefit of reducing your hard copies.

This session will discuss the challenges and opportunities with taking an office aperless. Representatives from Otterbein University’s Office of Financial Aid will give tips and tricks on how to facilitate the cultural change due to our reliance on paper. This process was accomplished using Banner, Banner Document Manger, Argos Reporting, and Workflow.

OnlineRecruitment& Orientation

This session will show how Franklin University created the myTransfer Credit tool to help perspective students understand on their own the value of Franklin in terms of speed to degree, transfer and cost. Also this session will show how we have developed an entire online orientation program for new students.

BackUp---Shake It Out

Sometimes it helps to lay out your frustrations on the table. Come to a safe place to let your frustrations flow but you have to be willing to look for solutions or take advice from your peers. This is the session for you if you want to name your topic!

Why you need a Data Wizard in the Registrar's Office

Hear about some of the projects tackled in the Registrar's Office at Miami University by the resident Data Wizard (some call him Tim). Topics will include student athlete certification, building the academic calendar, catching data errors, helping students with registration errors, and more.

In the News

Have a hard timing keeping up with industry acronyms? Or feel out of the loop with current topics in the news impacting our offices? If so, this session is for you and new professionals are welcomed.

DiscussionForum - Political Initiatives in Higher Education

A chance to participate in a new session type of OACRAO, this session provides attendees an opportunity to discuss a series of hot topics in higher education policy at both the federal and state level. The session hosts will facilitate small group discussions on a variety of topics and then share information across the group.  This can help inform our members of hot topics in higher education but can also help inform OACRAO and AACRAO on potential public policy impacts facing higher education

Best Practices in LGBT Record Management

Universities across the country are refocusing how they work with LGBT students. From name and gender changes for transgender students to ensuring that your office is inclusive and welcoming for students to actively recruiting LGBT students as part of your diversity profile, this is a new frontier for many schools. Listen to some best practices from across the nation including resources to deal with legal issues, record changes, student tracking and making your campus more LGBT friendly.

Speaking in Public

Speaking in public doesn't have to be public speaking. This session was developed to provide tips to individuals who are apprehensive with speaking in public. Settings to be explored are counter service, telephone, and committee involvement.

Professional Transitions

Where do you see yourself still in 5, 10 or even 15 years from now? You may want to progress in your career. Join this session to learn how one of your colleagues went from being a cook in a castle to an associate registrar or another who left higher education for the private sector. Be prepared to join in the conversation and see how their experiences relate to where you see yourself in the future.

Transfer Students Panel on Best Practices

This session is open to all members of the profession that are interested in transfer students. The session deals with the many fundamental transfer issues that face 2-yr and 4-yr institutions. Experienced members of the profession faciltate a panel discussion. Participants compare notes on a wide range of best practices and topic of common interest to creat a helpful network of colleagues at other institutions of higher education.

GraduationProcessesRoundatable

From getting your students to apply to getting them degreed, come prepared to share your best practices, frustrations and dreams to make graduation a stress-free process. We will discuss waivers/substitutions, the role of advisors, duplicate and failed courses, student denial, and other obstacles to graduation. We will also compare notes on Latin honors, financial holds and cords.  Learn how to handle last-minute problems and approvals that were never documented while maintaining your sanity.

Personality Assessment

This session will take a look at personality assessments and will offer a sample of an assessment to see how your personality works with others. This exercise has been at campuses who want to offer support for staff to maximize interpersonal communication.

DACA - Current State/Future State

An overview of the definition of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, admission procedures, student support, financial aid/funding, updated immigration laws, and future related student categories.

Utilizing StudentWorkersEffectively

This session will show you how to effectively utilize student employment from the hiring through implementation. Contrary to assumption, student employment is what YOU make of it.

One-StopShops

One-Stop Shops: How to integrate departmental functions to improve services to students.

Forecasting CourseDemand

The primary goal of forecasting course demand is to maximize your institution’s instructional resources both from a student course access and administrative cost perspective. Course demand can be measured using several methodologies, but what works best? Through the utilization of tools such as year-by-year trending analyses, electronic waitlists, student course/section interest trends, and the tracking of curricular changes, your projections can shift from mere guesses to true successes. Join in the discussion that will consider all of the factors that affect course demand and how basic statistical knowledge, relationship building, and some simple technical tools can assist you in creating more informed projections.

Making theTransferMazeat Miami - AMAZING!

Participants will learn how the Office of Admission and the Office of the Registrar at a medium sized public university have worked together collaboratively to streamline the transfer process from what transfer students considered to be the "Miami University Maze" to an "Amazing" streamlined transfer process. Learn how the two offices have teamed together to develop transfer procedures, policies and customer service techniques that fall under the broad themes of communication, advocacy and process to enhance the transfer experience at Miami University has been accomplished through effective and efficient transfer credit evaluations, website content, communication plans, implementation of statewide initiatives, visit opportunities and much more.

CustomerService vs.StudentService

Is there a difference between customer service and student service? Customer service sometimes advocates the customer is always right mentality but that's not always the case with student complaints. What is the difference, is there a best approach?

HowtoIntroduceStudentsandFacultytotheDegreeAudit

Do you have new degree audit tools but your students and advisors aren’t taking full advantage of them? What about your helpful on-line resources, are students and/or faculty making good use of them? We’ll discuss implementation strategies and current processes that will keep the audit resources at the top of your student and faculty to-do lists.

Creating a Culture of Health at Work

We all know by now that Americans have a great deal of room for improvement when it comes to Health and Wellness. The office can play a critical role in emphasizing health and wellness initiatives. This session will aim to cover workplace wellness, while keeping the overwhelming statistics to a minimum. We’ll focus on the positive and on the practical things we can do as “wellness innovators” to inspire a culture of health in our offices. Standing workstations, walking meetings, and effective communication strategies are some of the topics we’ll examine. Who knows?--If the weather cooperates, maybe we’ll head outside for some walking discussion.

Ethics In Admissions

Panel discussion of what this means for colleges today. What ethical issues do you encounter? Discuss with a panel of experienced colleagues. Topics may include anything from what freebies can be given according to NACAC rules, dealing with meeting enrollment quotas, enticement with packaging to athletic recruitment. Come learn and share your concerns and/or ideas.

Building PartnershipsBetweenTwoandFour-yearInstitutions

Learn how collaborative partnership programming can enhance relationships between community college and four-year institutions. This session will discuss cooperative delivery of educational opportunities, joint marketing efforts and customized student services. The "university center" concept contributes to the success of partnerships among higher education institutions.

PriorLearning Assessment

The Ohio Board of Regents’ vision is, “Ohio will be a leader in recognizing and embracing the college-level knowledge and skills that students have acquired outside the collegiate experience.  Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) encompasses three areas: Credit by Exam, Portfolio credit, and Military credit. The Credit by Exam information will include CLEP and IB (International Baccalaureate) as a statewide policy is being developed in those areas. Military credit will be discussed in relation to the Military Transfer Assurance Guides (MTAGs) as part of the Ohio Values Veterans initiative. Representatives from the Ohio Board of Regents will present an overview of PLA, initiatives impacting PLA, and Ohio colleges’ and universities’ role in implementing PLA on their campuses.

ImportanceofMentoring

Have you had a great mentor in your professional or personal life? What qualities did that person have? In this session we will talk about the importance of Mentoring in your life, how you and your mentor can both benefit, and how to implement a session at your workplace. The difference between mentoring and coaching will be discussed, as well as determining if you should be a mentor, and different types and models of mentoring that can be implemented.

OSU's One StopModel

This session will provide an overview of the Student Service Center, the one-stop shop at The Ohio State University. Topics include services provided, working with stakeholders, training staff, and impacts to students.

State Initiative Update

Representatives from the OACRAO Government Relations Committee and the Ohio Board of Regents will present an update on state projects in higher education including College Credit Plus, Reverse Transfer, Residency, Veteran and Military Initiatives, TAGs, and more.

Local Arrangements Committee Co-Chairs: Cheryl Gloege & Sue Shepherd
Check out the fun from last year in our 2014 OACRAO Conference at Salt Fork photo album.