Talking Stick - November/December 2010 - 41

An importAnt thing to leArn on the job is how to beCome more effiCient in your work. it tAkes time And prACtiCe to prioritize, plAn AheAd, And pinpoint whAt pArt of the dAy is most produCtive for you.

Also, multiculturalism is a must in graduate school. This requires a professor who is willing to talk about all the kinds of people we may encounter. The class I had did not address all. As a director of housing, I would also have benefited from having some coursework in building relationships with higher administrators in the university setting and at the state level. One area that has to get better is crisis intervention. I have had to learn this through experience. Grant writing is also an area I wish would have been a part of my grad program.

I would also like to have had some coursework in program and department assessment and strategic planning. I think both are skills that I have had to use, but I did not build a skill set in these areas until postgraduate school.

Carla Green: Many times graduate
students and new professionals are expected to supervise staff without any formal training. We are often mimicking the management styles of former supervisors, putting those pieces together with our own styles to make a good fit. However, a more formalized management and leadership course curriculum could better clarify our roles as supervisors and the business and operations side of student affairs. Something as simple as an introduction to management/ leadership and accounting would serve as a great resource for any student affairs professional.

some work in a department outside of the housing and residence life arena. This allowed me to gain a larger understanding of how the university works as a whole and not just in my housing world. Having the opportunity to work with another department from within showed me that no matter what role you have in student affairs, we are all striving towards a pretty common goal. I know we have talked about budgeting and finances. I think if we could give a new professional the opportunity to go through the budget creation process, ask questions, and give input, they would have a much better understanding of how it works. There are many other little things that I think we could all do to help a new professional learn on the job, but it really comes down to us reaching out and bringing them in and empowering them. It gets easy to go through the motions on some tasks, but I think that if we take a moment and bring in others to help with those processes, we could be doing a good thing.

Aramis Watson: I think it would be
hard for any grad program to prepare you for all the changes that will occur in higher education when you start working, especially when you reach the level of an assistant director, dean, or vice president. When I was a grad student, my program didn’t have a budget class nor was it the hot topic that it has become in the past few years. I would have liked a class that gave me a better base knowledge of both a departmental budget and a large university budget. Most of what I have learned about budgets has been at the hands of really great job experiences and supervisors who have shared their experiences and pushed me to really be a critical thinker in this area. I also agree that issues of social justice and multiculturalism weren’t core to the curriculum in my program. We covered some theories, but those didn’t really scratch the surface.

Parker: I agree with Carla about the
fact that in graduate school you do not receive courses that reflect on supervision and management of a division or department. I know that a lot of my school work was dedicated to theories. I think as a professional I would have benefited from a management and leadership class.

Green: An important thing to learn
on the job is how to become more efficient in your work. It takes time and practice to prioritize, plan ahead, and pinpoint what part of the day is most productive for you. Being committed to efficiency shows that you value your time and that of others, so for example you don’t bog yourself
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Jacques: I think we have covered a
great number of classroom topics, so I am going to switch to on-the-job skills. I know for me a major learning experience was the opportunity to do

november + december 2010

Talking Stick - November/December 2010

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