Presented by Erik Friedman and Amanda Powers Snowden at the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) 2010 annual conference.

1. 2010 NACE Annual Conference & ExpositionMarriott World Center, Orlando, Florida June 01 - 04, 2010 Engaging Parents as Career Advocates: Mobilizing Support through an Online Community June 3, 2010 Erik Friedman, Director, Office of Student Employment, DePaul University Amanda Powers Snowden, Assoc Director, Communications, Career and Money Management, DePaul University National Association of Colleges and Employers

2. Agenda Background DePaul University Career & Money Management (CMM) The DePaul Quad How We Engage Parents via DePaul Quad Listening to Parents: Challenges and Rewards Lessons Learned Questions to Consider when Building an Online Community

3. Background on DePaul University Founded in 1898 Located in Chicago Largest Catholic university and eighth largest private not-for-profit university in the U.S. 25,072 students (65% undergraduate, 35% graduate) Focused on teaching and applied learning Faculty teach 97% of all courses Majority of classes have less than 30 students “Chicago is our classroom” Diverse 30% of students are first in their family to attend college 26% of students are students of color 33% of first-year students are from out of state

4. Career & Money Management (CMM) Within the division of Enrollment Management & Marketing Made up of 4 distinct areas to serve students and alumni Career Center Office of Student Employment Financial Fitness Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) Assist in defining a career path, managing money and finding gainful and rewarding employment Close relationship and shared office space with the Office for Academic Advising Support

7. initially to first year parents

8. expanded to prospective parents and all current parents

9. Added Value: Quad as a customer service tool

10. 74% of parents communicate with students “two to three times a week”

15. Switched platforms in Dec 2009

18. from Illinois (47%) AND non-Illinois (53%)

20. CMM & Parent Engagement Summer Orientation Sessions Open House Participation Parent & Family Weekend Printed pieces Further engagement = Quad

21. CMM & DePaul Quad Partnership Recognized value of online parent community Decided to harness the technology to help solve problems and use parents to help get crucial information to students Eventually became Quad “Super User”

23. Part-Time Jobs

24. Career Roadmap

25. Internship Search Strategies

26. Managing DePaul Finances

27. Career Mentoring

28. Undecided Majors

30. Proactive Email Campaigns Subject: Students Need to Intern Early - and Often

31. Resources and Related Content Intern Spotlights Resources Page

32. Results of CMM Quad Use Students have scheduled appointments Attendance at workshops and events has been affected Campus Employment 101 session was held after a Quad program and 75 students attended Parents provide other parents solutions to problems!

34. Challenges & Rewards Example: Negative feedback on DePaul’s Work Study Program brings positive change Director of Student Employment posts acknowledging issue and providing his contact information Attracts 8 additional parents posts with questions and dissatisfaction Parent starts discussion topic about on-campus employment after daughter cannot find job Parents want to see changes quickly Shortage of FWS positions still a challenge. However, changes are being made to how FWS is awarded. Appointments scheduled with students who need assistance

35. Challenges & RewardsExample: Parent suggestion that DPU parents provide career networking for students Quad parent posted idea to have DPU parents mentor DPU Students Suggestion forwarded to DePaul Career Center Other parents posted with enthusiasm about idea DPU posted discussion forum topic on “how is your student’s job search going” Parents want quick turn around and begin calling DPU offices Quad team thanks parents and announces expansion of program DePaul’s Alumni mentoring program expanded to include parents

36. Listening to Parents: Challenges, Rewards and Lessons Learned Have to respond quickly and act on changes Parent feedback—good and bad – is important to the Quad and to DePaul Community self-manages many complaints Real issues bubble to the top Enables parent-to-parent networking

37. Next Steps for DePaul Overall: Leverage new University Parent Council Quad Improve user access & experience Facebook Connect More publicly accessible content Grow member base, esp. out-of-state parents Parent engagement after 1st year Can we establish metrics to tie to recruitment & retention? CMM: Expand Quad involvement, i.e. blogs

39. To build relationships with partners from across the university who can:

40. Provide DePaul-specific content to put on the Quad

41. Present Live Sessions on the Quad

42. Answer parents questions on the Quad

43. Solve issues parents raise

44. To interact with members (these are important relationships!)

45. To follow-up on customer service issues and manage them to completion

46. Involve members in creating content

47. Parent bloggers

49. Suggested Questions to Consider Who are your stakeholders? What is it that you hope to accomplish? Identify other champions on your campus What social media tools are right for your school? What funding is needed? How will you collect data and assess? What best practices exist on your campus in building partnerships with parents and families?

50. Questions Erik Friedman 312.362.5326 efriedm1@depaul.edu Amanda Powers Snowden 312.362.8664 apowers@depaul.edu