Uploaded byWendy Bruun
Connect building success v2
This document provides information on building an effective Student Support Services (SSS) program and team. It outlines goals and metrics for mentoring students, providing educational enrichment activities, and facilitating campus connections. Data shows the program exceeded goals for student relationships with mentors, academic outcomes, and retention. The budget breakdown spends most funds on personnel. Program participation and persistence outcomes met or exceeded minimum requirements. The document advocates facing challenges with the right mindset, knowing internal motives, having a plan, maintaining hope, and persisting.
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Connect building success v2
- 3. How to Bean Effective SSS Director and Build a Strong Team Wendy Bruun Northern Arizona University
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- 16. “Kind words can beshort and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
- 19. Historical data onpersistence and academic good standing to inform future vision setting/aspirational goals
- 20. Data to relateimpact of attainment of program (aspirational) goals on institutional goal attainment
- 21. 2. NAU Goal # 3.EMSA Goal # 4. Activity (include description of target group) 5. Desired Measureable Outcome (include timeline) 6. Data Source 7. Key Players 2 1 Professional one-on-one Mentoring Provide mentoring, guided by the creation of a mutually agreed upon Plan for Academic SuccesS (PASS) that includes the following conversation topics: 1. Academic support and tutoring 2. Assistance with course selection and career planning 3. Guidance in money management and financial literacy 4. Information and assistance to apply for financial aid and/or scholarships 5. Assistance in applying for admission to graduate and professional school 6. Personal transition and support Overall interactions with students would help them …. 1. feel comfortable talking with their mentor 2. find value in professional mentoring 3. achieve academic outcomes 4. secure sufficient funding a. 440 total AY program participants 1) 440 active students fall semester (at least 3 meetings) 2) 400 active students spring semester (at least 3 meetings) b. Average 3 meetings per student per semester % of students who engage in each conversation topic over course of year 1. 85% academic support/tutoring 2. 85% course selection and career planning 3. 85% money management and financial literacy 4. 75% financial aid 5. 5% graduate school 1. 60% of students who “strongly agree” that they are developing a good relationship with their staff member. 2. 60% of students who “very much” agree that meeting 1-1 met their needs and 64% of students who “very much” agree that meeting 1-1 is important 3. 85% of FTFT students remain in good academic standing at the end of spring 2013; 66% of FTFT students obtain sophomore status at the end of spring 2013; FTFT students enroll in average of 30 credit hours by end of summer 2013 4. 200 students awarded the participation grant for Spring 2013 StudentAccess database: Contact Records PASS forms StudentAccess database: Advising Codes and Year Project Services SurveyMonkey Staff Assessment Survey SurveyMonkey End of Year Program Survey Enterprise Reporting Academic Outcomes StudentAccess database: grant award tracking & Financial Aid Program Coordinators enter contact information Director gathers data All staff coordinate activities Student leaders coordinate some activities
- 22. Willing to Share •Students and staff alike are willing to discuss a variety of topics, including more complex or personal issues and concerns. Staff Feedback Survey 1% 3% 3% 3% 2%2% 5% 4% 5% 1% 18% 26% 27% 34% 28% 79% 66% 66% 57% 69% My SSS staff member is willing to talk with me about a concern or problem I have. I am willing to talk with my SSS staff member about a concern or problem I have. I am developing a good relationship with my SSS staff member. My SSS staff member has helped me feel connected to NAU. My SSS staff member has helped me feel knowledgeable about NAU resources. Rating Staff Relationships & Connection to NAU Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
- 23. Dreaming Some More IndividualStrategies Team Ideas Dreamy Propositions
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- 25. Mentoring Conversations Topic GoalPercentage of Students Who Engaged in Topic (Contact Advising Codes) Academic Support 85% 293 of 465 (60.8%) Course Selection/ Career Planning 85% 146 (31.3%) Financial Literacy/ Money Management 85% 134 (28.8%) Financial Aid 75% 137 (35.9%) Graduate School 5% 67 (14.4%)
- 26. Mentoring Outcomes Provide mentoring,guided by the creation of a mutually agreed upon PASS that includes 6 conversation topics (5 core services + personal transition and support) such that overall interactions with students would help them… 1. Feel comfortable talking with their mentor 66% of students “strongly agree” that they are developing a good relationship with their mentor after fall semester (goal = 60%). 2. Find value in professional mentoring 72% of students “very much” agree that meeting 1-1 met their needs (goal = 60%) 59% of students “very much” agree that meeting 1-1 is important (goal = 64%)
- 27. Mentoring Outcomes Provide mentoring,guided by the creation of a mutually agreed upon PASS that includes 6 conversation topics (5 core services + personal transition and support) such that overall interactions with students would help them… 3. Achieve academic outcomes 88% of students were in good academic standing at the end of spring (goal = 85%) 68% of FTFT students obtained sophomore status at the end of spring (goal = 66%) 63% of students enrolled in 30+ credit hours (goal = 50%)
- 28. Educational Enrichment Activities TopicGoal # Events/ Attendees Actual # Events/ Attendees % who “very much” agree that these activities are important Academic Support 2/35 11/184 66% Course Selection/ Career Planning 4/35 10/97 56% Financial Literacy 12/250 10/137 43% Financial Aid 2/35 4/53 64% Graduate School Activities 1/15 2/8 39% Provide educational enrichment activities focused on the core topic areas so that overall interactions with students would help them find value in educational enrichment activities
- 29. Networking Opportunities Provide networkingactivities which aid student connections amongst participants and enhance their social connection within the university environment… so that students feel connected and engaged with other participants. Goal Number of Activities/ Attendees Actual Number of Activities/ Attendees Feel “very connected” with other participants Feel “somewhat connected” with other participants 20/400 12/420 16% 35%
- 30. Campus/Community Enrichment Activities Provide campusand community enrichment activities which aid in student connection to the campus and local community. Goal Number of Activities/ Attendees Actual Number of Activities/ Attendees Feel “very much” a sense of belonging at NAU Feel “somewhat” a sense of belonging at NAU 10/200 20/173 54% 33%
- 31. PASS Completion Challenge studentsto complete their mutually defined Plan for Academic SuccesS (PASS) plan each semester. PASS form completion is correlated to retention and academic performance, and the more PASS forms completed in an academic year yield higher retention rates. Completion Rate Goal Fall 2012 Spring 2013 70% 72% 65%
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- 36. ALL PARTICIPANTS Total Served AY12-13 Aspirational Goal 84% Minimum Goal State =79% Fed = 78% Actual Reg for FA13 Total Enrollment Grad AY12-13 Total Persistence Outcome Staff A 41 34 32 30 73.2% 4 82.9% Staff B 45 38 35 38 84.4% 3 91.1% Staff C 80 67 62 67 83.8% 8 93.8% Staff D 5 4 4 4 80.0% 80.0% Staff E 81 68 63 64 79.0% 4 84.0% Staff F 1 1 1 0 0.0% 1 100.0% Staff G 5 4 4 3 60.0% 60.0% Staff H 5 4 4 5 100.0% 100.0% Staff I 51 43 40 32 62.7% 1 64.7% Staff J 7 6 6 5 71.4% 71.4% Staff K 39 33 31 35 89.7% 89.7% Staff L 6 5 5 4 66.7% 66.7% Staff M 26 22 21 14 53.8% 53.8% Staff N 7 6 6 6 85.7% 85.7% Staff O 46 39 36 39 84.8% 1 87.0% Staff P 8 7 6 4 50.0% 50.0% Staff Q 12 10 9 10 83.3% 83.3% All SSS Students 465 391 365 360 77.4% 22 82.2% Federal 253 213 197 203 80.2% 20 88.1% State SSS (not FS@NAU) 199 167 157 152 76.4% 2 77.4% State SSS/Fostering Success 13 11 10 5 38.5% 0 38.5% All Program 465 391 365 360 77.4% 22 82.2%
- 43. Six Things YouMust Do To Challenge Your Challenges: • You must face reality. • You must have the right mind-set/attitude. • You must know your internal motives/drivers. • You must have a plan and act upon it. • You must have hope. • You must persist and persevere.
- 46. ICARE statements Intensively Committed,Attentive, Ready and Enthusiastic
Editor's Notes
- #2 What are the biggest challenges and/or stressors in your role as Director?BRAINSTORMDOTS for top 3
- #5 Human beings are wired to connect.And it’s all too easy to disconnect. (disconnection = feel a sense of something missing, motivation and drive disappears)BRAINSTORM: What are some ways we disconnect from the world around us?We rarely connect without some electronic device being involved (email, fax, im text, teleconference, voice mails)Shop onlinePlay computer gamesWatch tvIn public, we are plugged into iPods or talking on Bluetooth headsets
- #6 Connect: to feel and/or create a strong, positive relationship with someone (an individual or group) or something (an idea, an institution, a cause, a mission, and so on). The ultimate result of this relationship should be uplifting both for the individual and for others.3 key elements for connection:Emotional link.Strong feeling.Positive, uplifting relationship
- #7 I’m going to take us on a tangent. While vision is important, our ability to achieve that vision is based on our team’s relationship and commitment to one another.3 GROUPS BRAINSTORM:We are going to break into 3 groups… What are activities you can do to …help connect a new team (or incorporate a new team member)?Provide ongoing connections amongst an existing team?Provide closure for a team (or a departing team member)?
- #8 Commit to win (commitment, pledge, promise, engage). Be Accountable.The difference between success and failure is often about five percent more effort. – S. Truett CathyMovie “Stand and Deliver” about Jaime Escalante – took low-performing students from East LA (drugs, gangs, high dropout rate). He committed to work with these kids and do whatever it took to get them ready for the AP calculus test – sessions before school and on Saturdays, worked with them individually. When employees feel you are committed and connected to them, your workplace results will improve. People want to work for and with people who they feel support and appreciate them. Care + Respect = RetentionPARTNER: What is one thing you did yesterday to demonstrate your commitment to win at work?
- #9 So how do you connect to and with your employees? Several years ago, I read a book “Supervising New Professionals in Student Affairs: A Guide for Practioners.” It encompassed all of the practices I had been trained on within the profession.
- #10 How do I engage with my staff?1-1 meetingsStaff meetingsSend them case management reports to help them focus their time and energyStaff professional developmentIce Cream social (end of year recommendation)
- #11 Open up to opportunities (embrace diversity of thought, accept opinions different from own, overcome biases). Be a change embracer.Backyard pond. At first it’s healthy and vibrant, supporting fish and plant life. Keep the same water and don’t change it, the fish and plant life become poisoned with waste and eventually die.Closing yourself to opportunities is like keeping the pond stagnant. Are you a change resister or a change embracer? How boring would your life be without change? Groundhog Day – Bill Murray constantly reliving the same day over and over again. It’s easy to embrace the changes we plan for or expect to happen – birth of child, graduation from high school or college. Who hasn’t welcomed a vacation or a promotion? But when change is unplanned, we get nervous. We might go numb or wallow in misfortune, or shut down completely. How many of you have experienced (or watched someone else experience) physical illness brought on by stress and doing too much? But rather than rest and take care of yourself, you got a little better, went back to work or school, and got sick again? And again? {Senior year college, RA, community bathrooms, less sleep, working middle of night, went straight from graduation to the summer camp I had been working at, 8 colds throughout the year and walking pneumonia by the middle of summer}
- #12 Keys to embracing change:Face the change without fear. Conduct a reality check: what’s the truth? What’s the reality here? What could be good about this? What’s the opportunity?Open your heart.You must believe (that something good is going to happen to you).
- #13 The department I report to (Educational Support Services, which includes IMS, NASS, SLC – academic support and mentoring programs for transfer and out-of-state students, and pre-college TRIO programs) purchased a subscription to Campus Lab’s Beacon software as a collaborative communication tool amongst student affairs staff on campus (residence life and ESS staff). This would be in addition to the Student Access database (SSS) and the Electronic Advising Notebook (for academic advisors) that my staff were already using to document meeting notes.This past year was our initial year. I embraced the use of Beacon, and it was my and my team’s use of it that placed me a position to lead a short-term task force to develop protocols for ESS and ResLife staff use.PARTNER: What was the latest change you resisted at work? What made it difficult to embrace?PARTNER What was the latest change you embraced at work? What made it easy to embrace?
- #14 Notice what’s needed and do what’s necessary. Be aware.A couple years ago, my professional vision coalesced into a dream to transform our campus for FGEN students – beyond SSS. Approx 40% of NAU students on the FLG campus are FGEN, but SSS serves less than 3%. Because I have the additional institutional funding and my supervisor’s advocacy, we have the capacity to widen our scope and serve FGEN students in more expansive ways. We brought the documentary, First Generation to campus a year ago, which sparked our faculty development program to host a faculty-staff learning community on FGEN student issues.We created FGEN pins to create a sense of positive identity for faculty, staff, and students on our campus (much like the Safe Zone placards).One of my staff members (who is now going to be working at CCC’s SSS program) helped to co-develop and facilitate a 8-workshop series for FGEN students, exploring topics related to family, academic culture, financing higher education, talking with faculty, learning about high-engagement activities, and crafting resumes or e-portfolios.This spring, we hosted a FGEN celebration reception, honoring FGEN graduating students along with faculty and staff advocates.
- #15 What does your team need right now? Motivation – give them a pep talk. Reward for hard work – staff lunch, treats, or award for top performer. Noticing and acting creates a “wow” factor.
- #16 You are “priceless.” Your value extends beyond silver and gold. What is it about YOU that adds value to your team? WRITE 7 things you like about yourself (I like my nose, I’m good to my dog, I won the spelling bee in 6th grade, I like people, I am an organized person, I can run a long distance, etc.). WRITE 7 positive things other people say about you (your eyes sparkle, you’re always in a good mood, you’re a self-starter, you’re good with numbers, you reliable, you give others a hand).
- #17 WRITE 7 things you like about your team. WRITE7 things your team needs right now.Tell your staff how much you like them. Mother Teresa said, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” We all need compliments.
- #18 Navigate by your purpose. Be vision centered.Some people know their purpose very young (Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart). Many of us wander through the wilderness a little before discovering our purpose.In 1776, delegates from 13 colonies gathered in Philadelphia. They had experienced growing frustration with what they saw as oppressive laws and actions by the British government. They felt strongly that the colonies in America deserved to govern themselves. But they didn’t just write a letter. They crafted a document that would articulate both the colonists’ grievances and what they proposed for the future. The Declaration of Independence was a vision that would form the foundation of the USA.
- #19 SSS Visionto increase college graduation rates amongst students who are low-income, first generation, or have documented disabilities. TRIAD: What is your vision for yourself, in your role as Director of SSS?Vision provides inspiration that creates perspiration. It makes us work harder as a team than we will ever work on our own. First job of a leader, coach, CEO or SSS Director is to inspire your team with a powerful vision and common purpose.You must keep your team inspired for the long term through coaching on how to turn vision into reality. Great coaches lead from the front, rear, and side – wherever you can best serve your team members.TRIAD What is your team’s vision? (beyond your standard objectives or targets)
- #20 Aspirational GoalsWe look at historical performance…
- #21 And we look at how we can impact other goals, particularly our institutional goals…
- #22 We also need to make our vision operational…. ESS Program Planning Process
- #33 Execute ethically: do what’s right because it’s right. Be performance and integrity driven.Standing up to friends (Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter). “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.”Do the right thing. Doing the right thing is based upon the past experiences that shaped your life, your thoughts, your values, and your actions. Consider your top 5 personal values. If you were to ask most people, their top 5 values may look like this:FaithFamily and friendsHealthCareerRecreation/personal fulfillmentThese may be your top five, but in a different order. If you have no money, work and building a safety net or rainy day fund may move up the list. If you are battling an illness, your health becomes a priority. Family may not seem as important until you experience the loss of a loved one or a broken relationship. Now consider how you spend your time. You can say that valuing family and faith is important, but if you spend all of your time at work and with friends, and never set aside time to pray, meditate, attend church, then your actions are speaking louder than your declared values. If, however, you turn down attending conference because it means missing a family event, you are demonstrating your commitment to family as a higher value.Now pull out your credit card or bank statement. Where do you spend your money? If you spend all of your time and money around work, then that’s your greatest value. If the majority of your time goes to recreational activities, then leisure time could be your greatest value.
- #34 This same process of identifying values and cross checking them with time and money spent can also be illustrative at work.WRITE: What your top 5 professional values? What are your team’s top 5 values?PARTNER: How do you spend your time? How do your team members spend their time?Does your budget line up with your values? Will your forthcoming budget decisions line up with your values?
- #35 Consider how you are demonstrating your values at work. Do you act with integrity and role model that for your staff? Can you trust your staff members to act with integrity?PARTNER: What are some ethical issues you have faced at work (directly or observed or knew about)?SHARE HIGHLIGHTS
- #36 Challenge your challenges (run toward your challenges). Be responsible.Each of us has challenges in our lives (natural disasters, losing a job, losing a loved one, illness, divorce, caring for elderly parents, dealing with defiant children), but it’s how we choose to meet them that will determine our fate.We talked about our challenge this morning. Doing more (increasing performance) with less (sequestration and a 5.23% budget cut). These challenges can affect morale and work quality.
- #37 When we step up and run toward our challenges, we connect with ourselves and others a deep level. This means supporting the team’s outcomes as well as making individual goals. For your team members, this might mean the collective group of students you directly work with achieving the retention rate goal, so that it helps your team achieve its goal. I assign students to particular staff members based on the staff member’s strengths. Sometimes it means that particular staff have harder work to achieve our goals, while others smoothly sail and achieve phenomenal outcomes. While we look at the average of each staff member’s student performance, I always keep the big picture program outcomes in the forefront.
- #38 Six things you must do to challenge your challenges:You must face reality. (don’t stick your head in the sand) I’m all for optimism and a positive attitude. But a positive attitude is not delusion and it doesn’t mean ignoring cold hard facts in favor of pipe dreams.Budget cuts mean you can’t travel to conferences or take students to a leadership conference.
- #39 You must have the right mid-set/attitude.Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”Remember the times you challenged a challenge, no matter how small. Think about when you first learned to tie your shoes, when you took your first test in school, competed in the spelling bee, had your first date, went to college, got your first job, ran your first race, asked for money (fundraising, a pay raise, money for your program). Notice the recurring appearance of the word FIRST in that list? The first time is the most challenging. What did you do when you overcame those first challenges? You did it before. You can do it again.
- #40 You must know your internal motives/drivers.What is the spark that will light you up? When you care about your team, you will work hard and assist your staff members who may be strugglingWhen you care about your students, you lift your voice in advocacy for the resources, policy changes or support to help them be successful.
- #41 You must have a plan and act upon it. (How will you face the challenge? What will you do? Focus on what’s important now).Athletes don’t wake up one day and say “I’m going to go for a 26 mile run.” I didn’t train for a 60-mile, 3-day walk by planning the week before. You can ask for your indirect costs back from your institution.You can ask your supervisor or HR department for full or partial travel funds. You could work a temp job to earn some extra money to attend a conference.You could ask your Associated Students for monetary support to take your students to the leadership conference.You could write a micro grant for money to take your students to a leadership conference.
- #42 You must have hope.When you have hope, you hold the picture of the best outcome in your mind while you take the actions needed to conquer your challenge. Hope is the emotion that will propel you forward in the most difficult circumstances.I have hope that the federal government will stay committed to TRIO, but I’m more hopeful that my institution and supervisor will step up to assist us in our budget cuts this next year.
- #43 You must persist and persevere.Hope isn’t enough to get us through challenges. We must act upon our hopes. Refuse to give up. Remain steadfast in our purpose. Abraham Lincoln, received no more than 5 years of formal education throughout his lifetime. When he grew up, he joined politics and had 12 major failures before he was elected the 16th President of the United States of America.Thomas Edison who developed many devices which greatly influenced life in the 20th century. Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S patents to his name. When he was a boy his teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. When he set out on his own, he tried more than 9,000 experiments before he created the first successful light bulb.Akio Morita, founder of giant electric household products, Sony Corporation, first product was an electric rice cooker, only sold 100 cookers (because it burned rice rather than cooking). Today, Sony is generating US$66 billion in revenue and ranked as the world's 6th largest electronic and electrical company.Vera Wang failed to make the U.S. Olympic figure-skating team. Then she became an editor at Vogue and was passed over for the editor-in-chief position. She began designing wedding gowns at 40 and today is the premier designer in the business, with a multi-billion dollar industry. Follow up with your supervisor. Keep applying for grants.Start a campaign to raise money from alumni of your program.Work with your Foundation/Advancement office to seek donors to support your program.
- #44 PARTNER: What is one small thing you will do tomorrow to face your current challenge at work?
- #45 Transcend beyond your best. Be the difference.“If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. ”Rise above. Go beyond. Exceed. Surpass. Excel.Transcending brings significance. It is about triumph and victory.A friend from high school was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer on Mother’s Day. His brother quickly organized a fundraising campaign to raise money to support Josh’s health care and to support the travel of family members from across the country to be at Josh’s bedside. The original goal was to raise $10,000. With social media, word spread and many small donations helped to accomplish that goal in a weekend. Unfortunately, Josh died within a week of his diagnosis. But the fundraising continued to transcend our wildest imaginations.
- #46 Allow your employees flex time to attend a child’s kindergarten graduation, and your other staff who step up and take care of that staff member’s student is transcending.Small acts of kindness and caring can make a difference.Pay it forward.Give anonymously.
- #47 End with an Affirmations activity.. WRITE: ICARE statements (Intensively Committed, Attentive, Ready and Enthusiastic)ICARE about myselfICARE about my lifeICARE about my familyICARE about my successICARE…..SHARE WITH BIG GROUP