As I am sure most of you noticed, I was out of the center for all of last week. I have returned to work today and it feels great to be back. Terrance and I were in Dallas Texas attending the 2014 NADE (National Association for Developmental Education) Conference. We were able to discover some fresh perspectives and creative ideas that will help to enhance the services that we provide to our students at UCC. We had the opportunity to meet with and discuss student success and retention with people ranging from college professors, administrators, program coordinators, as well as program designers and chair members. In addition to gaining knowledge from experts in their field, we were able to discuss the direction of our programs and get feedback from a wide range of professionals.
The UCC campus is evaluating two programs to replace our current on-line course manager, Angel. We would like it if you could all log onto each of the proposed programs to see what your opinion is of each platform. There is a survey for you to fill-out so that feedback can be collected and reviewed. There is a link at the end of each course to the survey at surveymonkey.com; they only need to fill it out once when you are done with both course previews. We would also like it if you could speak with tutees about trying these programs and taking the survey. Once you or another student completes the survey, please send me an e-mail stating that you have completed the survey. Once your submission is confirmed we will enter you into a drawing for a $20 gift card good for the bookstore. This drawing will be held on Friday prior to finals week, March 14th. Here are the links:
Canvas link is: https://umpqua.instructure.com
Blackboard link is: https://umpqua.blackboard.com
User login and password are student72 and student72
It is important to make sure that you are all caught up on your course work and that you plan your week to provide you enough time to get your final assignments, projects, and tests completed. I expect that the Success Center will be extremely busy with students that are also preparing for the term to be successfully completed. The study-in will be on this coming up Saturday in the library and we will be providing tutoring services for the students during this event. Tutors are expected to work at least three hours, unless different arrangements are made in advance, and can work more hours as long as there are students needing assistance. The study-in will start at 11 am and last until 7 pm. The event will be hosted by ASUCC which will be providing lunch, dinner, snacks, and beverages at no cost during the study-in. The Success Center will offer tutoring services for Monday and Tuesday of finals week and the center will continue to be open our regular hours for students to use computers, printers, ect. throughout the remainder of finals week. If you would like to get extra some hours on Monday and/or Tuesday of finals week or are not going to be able to work hours that you do typically work, please get in contact with me before the end of the day Thursday.
Please take some time to speak with Robbie about the CIIS program. This is the program that TutorTrac has been asking about during the log-out screen. Even if it does not sound like something that interests you still please speak to Robbie and get some information about the program so that you can explain and assist other student with the CIIS program.
I would like for each employee to reply to this post, as I do each week that I post a blog. However, this week I would like to get all of your input on an activity that we could do to help our team to know each other better, build stronger relationships with students, and/or strengthen team unity. If for any reason you are unable to post a comment on this blog then you need to get in touch with me as soon as possible to get the issue resolved. I will be posting information that is vital for our staff to receive in order for the Success Center to help our students in a consistent and efficient manner.
Please take some time to speak with Robbie about the CIIS program. This is the program that TutorTrac has been asking about during the log-out screen. Even if it does not sound like something that interests you still please speak to Robbie and get some information about the program so that you can explain and assist other student with the CIIS program.
I would like for each employee to reply to this post, as I do each week that I post a blog. However, this week I would like to get all of your input on an activity that we could do to help our team to know each other better, build stronger relationships with students, and/or strengthen team unity. If for any reason you are unable to post a comment on this blog then you need to get in touch with me as soon as possible to get the issue resolved. I will be posting information that is vital for our staff to receive in order for the Success Center to help our students in a consistent and efficient manner.
We will be getting some new tutors in the Success Center to fill our new "Skills Tutor" positions. Our first skills tutor, Julie Lee, will begin tutoring this coming up Wednesday. When you see her in the center, please welcome her to our team. If you have not yet filled out an availability form for Spring term, please do so as soon as possible before finals week. I will be working on this upcoming term's schedule during finals week and getting them e-mailed out during Spring Break. Thank you all for helping UCC to have a determined student body and creating an excellent environment for student success. Keep up the amazing work!
Hi Daniel, nice to see you back. Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.
ReplyDeleteWendy
Shouldn't you be working at a power-plant in Springfield?
DeleteGlad you got to learn some new things at that conference! I think that we should all try to talk to each other a little more. People that you usually don't talk to sit down and get to know them. A hi and how are you doing goes a really long way! :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you're back Daniel. I recommend spending a little bit of time actively listening and communicating with your tutees. Ask them what their major is, why they chose it, what they're interested in, etc. Also, remember their names and, if you see them outside of the center, say hello. If you can't help a student, don't just point across the room and tell them to go and see so-and-so, actually get up, introduce the student, and ask the tutor if they can help. Doing these things can help you get to know your tutees and make the experience better for everyone in the Success Center.
ReplyDeleteOh, and pizza. Chronic ingestion of pizza can strengthen team unity. ;D
I really like your idea of walking the students to another tutor. It even gives everyone a short guilt-free break!
DeleteAlso, learning about the students can be pretty fun.
Welcome back Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI don't think Jason could've said it any better! Those are very good tips for establishing a good relationship with the tutees.
I hope everybody is having a good week before finals! Remember to breathe, and give the final push. You won't regret it!
Welcome back Daniel... taking a week-long vacation while the rest of us suffer unmitigated academic toil in the shadows of finals week... the benefits of rank!
ReplyDelete[/joke]
I'm glad you and Terrace walked away with fresh ideas for the success center, and I'm excited to see what we can all do to help implement them and further the growth of the ASC. I mentioned this to Robbie and (I think) Amanda, but I would suggest updating the Success Center's Facebook page. A list of current tutors, subjects that we currently offer tutoring in, schedules, etc. would be quite beneficial. If we can encourage student to "like" our page (and post updates several times per week), I think it would do a lot to help expose our services to the student population at UCC. I think the school continues to suffer from the issue of students being unaware of our services. A vibrant and active FB page would go a long way in helping spread the word about our services.
Nathan, you did mention this to me and it is a wonderful suggestion. Once we finalize the photo release consent form we will ask each member of our staff for a short personal bio as well as a profile picture.
DeleteOn that note, it would be fantastic if each of us "liked" the UCC Success Center Facebook page, and even some of the posts!
Welcome back Daniel! I am excited to learn about these fresh ideas and see them put to use. Jason had some very good points that would boost the overall morale of the center. Furthermore, I second his idea of pizza!
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, I hope everyone has a great end of the term preparing for all those finals.
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ReplyDeleteIt wasn't the same here while you and Terrance were gone, but the ideas you brought back from NADE are awesome and I hope we can integrate them into our center.
ReplyDeleteTeam Retreats!!
ReplyDeleteHaving a time to get to know one another outside of the workplace in a stress-free and fun environment would give us a unique opportunity to not only build relationships among ourselves, but also practice relationship building for our students.
I think we would only need to have a retreat once per term to have tremendous benefits.
All though I wasn't here when you left, welcome back. Hopefully we will use those idea's that you got from NADE to make the center that much better.
ReplyDeleteI support both Ideas. The study in went really good and should be done again. welcome new and returning employes!
ReplyDelete