Student Support Services
Significant learning points:
Since I have already taught courses
at Delaware Tech, I needed to spend time in various student support areas.
In June 2012, I volunteered in the advisement office during two separate Quick Start days. In this role, I had to provide initial advisement to new students which included initiating their student educational plan (SEP), registering them for classes, and demonstrating how to navigate Blackboard. This experience taught me just how hard the Academic Counselor job can be since they have to know at least a little bit about all of the programs we offer in order to help students make the best decisions for their circumstances. I also learned that there is a lot of misconceptions among students and counselors about the relative ease/difficulty of certain classes.
In October 2013, I had the opportunity to observe Mimi DuPont when she visited an Ag class to discuss the resources available in career services and how to use online career tools such as FOCUS 2 and Nacelink. I also had the opportunity to work at the “Backpacks to Briefcases” career conference where I assisted with registration and facilitated two breakout sessions. Through these experiences, I learned that our career service centers have a lot of great resources for both students and local employers that are underutilized.
In November 2013, I worked with Linda Calio in the Registrar’s office on the first day of spring registration. Even though registration did not begin until 8:30am, students had arrived at the Student Services building as early as 5:00am in order to get the classes they wanted. Unfortunately, Banner was down from 8:30am – 10:30am, making it impossible for students to register. The students were surprisingly patient and understanding, considering the length of the lines and the lack of answers regarding the source of the problem. (During the downtime, I filed FERPA forms and observed how they enter transcript evaluations.) Once everything was fixed, I was amazed at how everyone at both the registration and admissions desk jumped into action. It was clear that the cross-training initiative was a success. This experience highlighted for me how important it is for faculty advisors to be diligent about checking prerequisites, signing waivers as appropriate, updating the SEP, and signing students’ registration forms. Many students were held up or turned away because these things were not done properly and this was extremely frustrating for them.
In January 2014, I worked with Holly Hawkins in the Financial Aid office to review students’ final grades and look for students who had non-completion grades in all of their classes. This process was extremely tedious, but necessary in order to meet federal financial aid disbursement requirements. When students have W’s or U’s in all of their classes, then that money has to be returned to the federal government and charged to the students. This also meant that Holly and I had to double check all of the U grades without LDA dates or F grades with LDA dates in order to determine which is correct. I found myself getting incredibly frustrated with the large number of students who had earned all F’s or all U’s and one F, but got to keep the financial aid money. I now realize the importance of carefully distinguishing to my faculty the difference between a U and an F, as well as the importance of reporting them accurately.
In June 2012, I volunteered in the advisement office during two separate Quick Start days. In this role, I had to provide initial advisement to new students which included initiating their student educational plan (SEP), registering them for classes, and demonstrating how to navigate Blackboard. This experience taught me just how hard the Academic Counselor job can be since they have to know at least a little bit about all of the programs we offer in order to help students make the best decisions for their circumstances. I also learned that there is a lot of misconceptions among students and counselors about the relative ease/difficulty of certain classes.
In October 2013, I had the opportunity to observe Mimi DuPont when she visited an Ag class to discuss the resources available in career services and how to use online career tools such as FOCUS 2 and Nacelink. I also had the opportunity to work at the “Backpacks to Briefcases” career conference where I assisted with registration and facilitated two breakout sessions. Through these experiences, I learned that our career service centers have a lot of great resources for both students and local employers that are underutilized.
In November 2013, I worked with Linda Calio in the Registrar’s office on the first day of spring registration. Even though registration did not begin until 8:30am, students had arrived at the Student Services building as early as 5:00am in order to get the classes they wanted. Unfortunately, Banner was down from 8:30am – 10:30am, making it impossible for students to register. The students were surprisingly patient and understanding, considering the length of the lines and the lack of answers regarding the source of the problem. (During the downtime, I filed FERPA forms and observed how they enter transcript evaluations.) Once everything was fixed, I was amazed at how everyone at both the registration and admissions desk jumped into action. It was clear that the cross-training initiative was a success. This experience highlighted for me how important it is for faculty advisors to be diligent about checking prerequisites, signing waivers as appropriate, updating the SEP, and signing students’ registration forms. Many students were held up or turned away because these things were not done properly and this was extremely frustrating for them.
In January 2014, I worked with Holly Hawkins in the Financial Aid office to review students’ final grades and look for students who had non-completion grades in all of their classes. This process was extremely tedious, but necessary in order to meet federal financial aid disbursement requirements. When students have W’s or U’s in all of their classes, then that money has to be returned to the federal government and charged to the students. This also meant that Holly and I had to double check all of the U grades without LDA dates or F grades with LDA dates in order to determine which is correct. I found myself getting incredibly frustrated with the large number of students who had earned all F’s or all U’s and one F, but got to keep the financial aid money. I now realize the importance of carefully distinguishing to my faculty the difference between a U and an F, as well as the importance of reporting them accurately.
Leadership characteristics enhanced:
#6 - Exhibits a strong
sense of team spirit & #8 - Is able to see the "Big Picture"– I
was not content to just “shadow” people in these areas. I wanted to “get my hands dirty” and actually
help them do the work. This provided me
a deeply enriching and eye-opening experience.
I also learned just how valuable each and every job is to ensuring
student success.
#15 – Treats people with respect, dignity, and fairness – While the students were stuck in line, the student affairs staff brought them free drinks and pastries from JAVA 101. This was really appreciated by the students and helped them to remain patient. Additionally, by watching Linda and Jovana work through numerous transcript evaluations, I realized just how incredibly inefficient that process is for them, but they do it that way in order to make it easier for the department chairs. In return, department chairs need to be diligent about completing the evaluation requests within five working days.
#18 - Always looks for ways to be more effective – I felt so passionately about what I learned while working in the financial aid office that I asked Holly Hawkins and Veroncia Oney to contact Dr. Barends and request to present at a future department chair meeting, which they did. This information was also included in subsequent collegewide advisement updates.
#15 – Treats people with respect, dignity, and fairness – While the students were stuck in line, the student affairs staff brought them free drinks and pastries from JAVA 101. This was really appreciated by the students and helped them to remain patient. Additionally, by watching Linda and Jovana work through numerous transcript evaluations, I realized just how incredibly inefficient that process is for them, but they do it that way in order to make it easier for the department chairs. In return, department chairs need to be diligent about completing the evaluation requests within five working days.
#18 - Always looks for ways to be more effective – I felt so passionately about what I learned while working in the financial aid office that I asked Holly Hawkins and Veroncia Oney to contact Dr. Barends and request to present at a future department chair meeting, which they did. This information was also included in subsequent collegewide advisement updates.