by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Aug 25, 2010 | Monday Morning Quarterback, Tuesday Time-Out
DJ Coffman, the comic artist who sketched this logo, just released his first e-book.
I guess if you’re reading this far, you must have some interest in finding out why I decided to take a break from our usual topic and what on earth I could be writing about. So thanks for checking out the post anyway. Please read along.
If you read this site regularly, you’ve seen some of the awesome spot art by D.J. Coffman. He’s the guy who did the “Monday Morning Quarterback” and “Tuesday TimeOut” logos, and hopefully we’ll have some more of his stuff featured here soon. D.J. is a talented and friendly guy I met through the Third Tribe membership site (aff. link) and a respected comic artist.
His work has been published in newspapers and publications around the globe and seen on HBO, MTV, Vh1, Late Night With Conan O’ Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 2006, he won the first annual Comic Book Challenge with his project Hero By Night which is now in development as a live action TV show.
On Third Tribe, he’s one of those people who I enjoy connecting with the most, because he’s just a real guy, doing what he loves and has always loved, trying to balance his passions with time for his family. And he’s clearly the kind of person who likes connecting with people, helping them out and learning from them. I joined Third Tribe for an opportunity to learn from people like Chris Brogan. I stay because of people like D.J. Coffman. (No offense to Chris, though, he’s the real deal, too. But then again, everyone who knows social media and marketing already kinda knows that already.)
So this break from the usual topic comes to you with the simple goal of telling you about someone who pursuing a purposeful life, and some of the amazing things he’s doing. And indirectly, to give you a glimpse of who I am and the things I care about, like doing, etc. To let the cat out of the bag, I have always loved comic books, and I have a nice collection. I spent more time in high school with comic books than with girls. I used to incessantly draw superheroes everywhere, all the time. And I would give my left arm (hey, I draw with my right) to have the chops this guy has.
Yes, I am a certified geek. And I have always done my best to support others who are, especially if they are putting themselves out there in ways that help others. D.J.’s new e-book does just that. It’s called “Cash for Cartoonists” and it’s a guide to making money as a comic artist. I know that is kind of off the beaten path, and that you probably didn’t expect to read a post on this blog about something like this.
But look at it this way… in higher ed, we talk a lot about trying to “challenge and support” our students. The biggest challenge people face in life is to be their true selves. And support (whether it be from friends, colleagues, mentors, faculty or staff) is hugely important.
I like D.J., and I want to support his art and his business. So when he announced the launch of this product, I signed up to be an affiliate right away. I don’t know how many of my higher ed colleagues out there aspire to illustrate web comics for a living, but I bet a lot of you know people who might. And if you don’t, at least you know something interesting about the spot art on this site, and the guy who does it.
We now return to our regular topic. Thanks for reading!
by Sarah Howard | Aug 23, 2010 | Higher Education, Monday Morning Quarterback, Student Affairs
Last Monday, I posted over on higheredlifecoach.com about how successful students seek help. I suggested that students familiarize themselves with resources available to them on campus early so that they know where the appropriate offices are if they need them in the future. When I was working out some of the details about my post with Sean, he suggested that I might also give some ideas to higher ed staff and administrators about how we can help encourage help-seeking behaviors in our students.
I don’t claim to be an expert on this subject, and I really would just like to start the discussion about setting the tone to encourage students (and perhaps even other faculty or staff) to ask for assistance when needed.
I started my job as an academic advisor at a new institution two years ago. When I was interviewed, I remember being asked how comfortable I was asking questions of others. As with most jobs or new institutions, there was a huge learning curve to overcome before I really felt confident meeting and talking about academic-related issues with students. I didn’t know where buildings are (I still have to refer to the campus map pretty frequently), I didn’t know the specifics of the curriculum, and I didn’t know what additional resources were available to our students. My office trained me on the curriculum throughout my first few months on the job, but much of the training about additional resources was left to me. I looked at every web site on our university’s “For Students” page. I attended brown-bag lunch presentations by a variety of people from across campus. Some of my colleagues and I set up appointments with various offices to get more information about the services they provided. It was a long (and ongoing) process to gather information that I knew my students needed, but that I didn’t necessarily have.
I am a full-time employee and I don’t have all of the information. I spend 40+ hours per week helping students, and yet I don’t have anywhere near all the answers. So how or why do we expect our students to know where they should be finding appropriate resources? At this point in my life, I have at least become comfortable with asking for help or for the answer to a question if I don’t know, but some of our students haven’t gotten there yet. For some, this is the first time that they may have encountered difficulty, either with their academics, personal life, or emotions. If they haven’t had to ask for help before, it can be a challenging thing to do, especially because first it means that they have to admit they don’t have it quite all together.
Our campuses need to set the tone that it is okay, and actually encouraged, to ask for help. Perhaps that means launching a campus-wide “Just Ask!” campaign, with posters highlighting campus resources, YouTube videos with plugs from the university president or high-profile student athletes, and a Twitter account to accept and respond to questions. A campaign of that size likely would take a lot of coordinating, but it could be really effective in the long-run. If you are looking for ways of encouraging help-seeking behaviors in the shorter term, here are some of my ideas:
- Encourage students to find at least one person (faculty, staff, administration) on campus who they feel comfortable talking to, even about difficult issues. That one person might not be able to answer all of the student’s questions or solve all of his/her problems, but would at least be likely to be able to provide referrals to others who can continue to help.
- Find out what resources are available to students on your campus. If possible, know the office hours and location, and perhaps even the name of someone in that office.
- Keep pamphlets or fliers of available resources easily accessible to students. If there isn’t space in the office or on your desk, at least have them handy so that you could give one to a student if necessary.
- If you don’t know the answer or the appropriate office to refer to, ask someone else. If students see that even faculty and staff are willing to ask others, they may gain some courage to do the same in the future.
What have others done to encourage help-seeking on your campus? Please share your ideas or programs!
As Stacy Oliver pointed out in her blog post last week on the Student Affairs Collaborative Blog, we are often afraid of asking for help because there might not be someone there to help. We all know that we work in higher education to support students and that if a student asks for help, we will be there. Now we just need to figure out how to make sure that the students all know that!
Sarah Howard is in her third year of academic advising at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She advises students with majors in natural sciences, mathematics, and pre-health fields. Sarah completed her bachelor’s degree at Ashland University in Ohio with a double major in English and mathematics and a religious studies minor; she also holds a Master of Arts degree from Bowling Green State University in college student personnel. Her favorite colors are blue and orange. She can be found online at @howardsj or her blog at http://undecidedlyadvising.blogspot.com
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Aug 9, 2010 | Career Skills, Monday Morning Quarterback, Podcast, Tuesday Time-Out
As the academic year begins this August, approximately 2 million new students will flood campuses in the United States (according to the National Center for Education Statistics), representing about 68% of the nation’s recent high school graduates.
When you work in higher ed, you spend the summer getting ready for this great mass of humanity, their parents, and all their stuff. Each year, the next most-connected generation in history descends upon campus, ready for the mythical wonderland called college…full of challenging classes, enlightened professors, new friends, great parties, and steeped in fine traditions, pomp, circumstance, and loads of fun. The newest, most exciting “best days of their lives.” And they come with almost romanticized visions of college, so we spend our time and efforts on being ready, smoothing out the edges, and making that move-in and arrival period as painless as possible. We concentrate next on getting our student staff trained (whether they’re resident assistants and orientation leaders in brightly colored move-in shirts, or dining hall crew members, desk staff, or teaching assistants, etc.)
It’s easy during busy times like this to forget how important it is to make sure our new professional staff members make the adjustment to campus successfully, as well. We hope for it, and plan for it, but sometimes drop the ball in our planning, because of all the other priorities we’re juggling. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 124,600 postsecondary administrators in the country in 2008.Of course, most of these are not new staff. As experienced professionals, they know the drill, have the routine down pat, and motor along the path of same-old, same-old. Sometimes, right over the new staff, who are still looking for the bathrooms in the building, don’t know the code to the copier, and haven’t received a computer password, not to mention a paycheck yet. It can be a rough adjustment for these new staff, and retention of good staff is always an issue. Sometimes, we burn them out with training and teambuilding before the first student moves in, or the first class bell rings.
This month, we’ll spend some time on the topic of transitions, and to invite some guest bloggers to contribute their thoughts on how we prepare our new staff.
Some possible formats include:
- Philosophical pieces (like “how to think about your job,” “what you need to think about,” and “what you need to understand about our organization, field, specialty, etc.”)
- Practical Pieces: (give an example of a favorite training activity, a checklist for getting started in a new position, or steps toward creating a positive routine, etc.
- Creative pieces (art, video, publications, poetry, readings, etc. What do you share and why do you share it?)
- Some combination of the above
If you are interested, please contact me at sean@higheredcareercoach.com and let me know which of the following opportunities interests you, and join the conversation. Guest posters will also be invited to appear on the Higher Ed Life and Careers podcast on BlogTalkRadio.
- Monday Morning Quarterback: Guest posts in this category will be “thought” pieces, leaning toward the idea of having a “gameplan” for your training and transition efforts. So I would love to have some philosophical or creative pieces here, but don’t be afraid to be practical.
- Tuesday Time-Out: Like the title says, I’d like these to be brief, welcome breaks from the action. This would be a good place to share your ideas on how to welcome staff to the team, build rapport, inspire, and support them through the busy transitional period. This could also be a great place to share your favorite training activities, including icebreakers, teambuilders, or even outlines for your expectation-setting activities and first meetings with new employees.
So, whether you are a higher ed professional, or from some other category entirely, you’re invited to share your thoughts as a guest blogger. Please e-mail me at sean@higheredcareercoach.com this week if you are interested, and check back next week for our first guest column.
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Aug 4, 2010 | Monday Morning Quarterback, Podcast, Who-Dos
Jamie Nacht Farrell contributed this week’s edition of Monday Morning Quarterback on HigherEdCareerCoach.Com, arguing that public and non-profit institutions could learn a thing or two from for-profit institutions. She’ll be one of our featured guests. We’ll also pick her brain about Senator Tom Harkins’ hearings on admissions fraud at for-profit institutions, and the recent GAO study mentioned in this Washington Post Article. We’ll also talk to Ed Cabellon, our choice for Higher Ed Who-Do of the Month for July 2010. Cabellon, Director of the Rondileau Student Union at Bridgewater State University, has been leading an online crusade to get more student affairs/higher ed professionals involved in social media through his blog, On the Go with Ed Cabellon. We have also asked Senator Harkin’s office for comment on the recent hearings, and requested a statement or guest from that office appear on the show. Why not, right?
Listen to internet radio with Sean Cook on Blog Talk Radio
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Jul 29, 2010 | Monday Morning Quarterback, Podcast, Uncategorized
Please note the time change for this episode: 9:00 a.m. EDT Friday. Sean is going to his son’s Summer Camp wrap-up for parents at the usual show time. The show will return to its 11 a.m. Friday time slot next week.
In this episode, Higher Ed Career Coach Sean Cook talks with recent “Monday Morning Quarterback” guest columnists Scott Helfrich from Student Life Guru and Andrew Barras from Education Stormfront about their perspectives on the need for change in higher education. Please call in with your questions and comments to (347) 989-0055 or tweet them to @hiedcareercoach before or during the show.
