Working With an Executive Board
Brandon Nelson – Appalachian State
In this sessions, participants will discuss how advisers work with the student leaders in their organization. They will discuss the purpose and goals behind: retreats, officer training, job descriptions, position identification, team expectations, group organization models, developmental activities and regular evaluations. Basic information about structure and planning is provided to allow for specialization to individual campuses. Participants discuss the role of the adviser as it relates to this specific sub-group of the organization. Transition of officers, dealing with internal conflicts, and the adviser’s role in these events will also be addressed.
Track: ART-CORE
Starting Strong- Developing a Plan For Your First Year
Melissa Brown – Winston Salem State University
The job hunt for that first housing position after graduate school can be intense. As the exciting life changes occur from accepting that position and packing to move a new professional can forget important preparatory- making plans for a successful first year in a position. Challenges will come in all forms from learning a new campus culture, new community, navigating politics, and working with an inherited staff.
Strategies for integrating into a new community, navigating the dynamics of campus and establishing healthy life patterns will be presented. Support groups will be established in this session to journey through the job search and throughout the first year. Attendees will develop a plan to for their first year optimal success.
Track: Graduates
Residence Hall Shopping Made Easier: A Review of Our Pricing Tier System
DeAndre Howard & Mindy Bliss – Mars Hill University
The rising costs in tuition at colleges and universities around the world, it becomes particularly important to make certain that students are spending wisely. The Office of Residence Life in collaboration with the Office of Financial Aid at Mars Hill University has created a housing tier system that allows students to strategically choose housing based on their financial affordability. If you are a professional who wants to learn how this new pricing tier system has significantly helped the institution in retention efforts, then this may be the presentation for you.
Conflict Coaching: A New Approach for Managing Student Conflict
Ryan Collins – UNC Greensboro & Sarah Mitchell – Queens University of Charlotte
In the course of human relations, few phenomena are as inevitable as that of conflict. The outcomes of these conflicts, however, are dependent on our ability to navigate them successfully. Through classroom exercises and co-curricular activities, college students acquire skills and knowledge to serve them in their adult lives and professional endeavors. Conflict management is an important addition to this repertoire. Given that conflict is no less imminent between college students than between working professionals, this development is as practical as it is theoretical.
This presentation presents a unique approach to managing student conflict using the strategy of “conflict coaching”. Through the integration of student development theory and the conflict coaching model, this presentation will provide a methodology for managing disagreements between students. Though the information in this presentation was originally designed for advisors of student organizations, its principles are applicable to a variety of student conflicts.
Critical Pedagogy in Residential Communities
Brian Peters – NC State
Housing professionals encourage programming within communities to educate students on a wide variety of topics “outside the classroom,” especially in areas of multicultural competence and social justice. However, education can be viewed as a continual process of engagement by reading and discussing different views in communities such as residence halls. Critical theory challenges traditional programming models for emphasizing the traditional positivist educational model of experts and students. By creating an environment of continual dialogue and reflection, students are able to learn together as a community of scholars.
Critical pedagogy provides opportunities for students to question their perspectives, education, and “provides a language†to challenge traditional views of society. In this session, housing professionals will hear about a Freirean based community that has influenced the programming, supervision, advising, and student feedback within the community. By studying this case, professionals will learn new perspectives on running residential communities and be able to apply them to their own institutions.