An ABCD approach to office management

1. An ABCD approach to office management Adam Meyer – University of Central Florida Adam.meyer@ucf.edu

2. Key talking points • Awareness of Culture • Budgeting • Communication • Data Reporting • **Review of foundational aspects**

3. Awareness of culture

4. It is Your Business • The disability office is a small business • Who are the “customers”? • What is the mission of the disability office? • Ensuring, creating and maintaining access • From a university perspective, not just a student perspective • Make policies, procedures and practices work for… • Your office • Perhaps more importantly, for your “customers” • Do you analyze key processes from their point of view?

5. Build trust Trust is a skill, one that is an aspect of virtually all human practices, cultures, and relationships.(Robert Solomon) • To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved. (George MacDonald) • The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey

6. Requires focusing on shared, rather than personal/department goals (OUR students, not MY or YOUR students) • Consistent in action, dependable follow-through, openness to communicate (do what, when) • Do policies and practices demonstrate that you have the best interest of the students and of the faculty in the name of access? • On the extreme end, could any office language use and/or practices be giving subliminal messages that protecting the reputation of the office/oneself is the most important? • One conversation, one encounter, one experience at a time

7. Listen first, speak later • To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation (Chinese proverb) • We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less. (Diogenes) • People will feel safer around you and speak truthfully to you when they feel you are listening intently to them. (Brian Koslow)

8. Strategies used: • Meet people in their space, their comfort zone or in a neutral location when possible • Ask them questions first, listen to their story • Use language from their story as the conversation continues (Housing: capacity/fill beds) • Student Advisory Board and Faculty Advisory Board

9. Operate with the resources you have, not the resources you wish you had. • Office policies and practices are not untouchable concepts, immovable objects. • What was made can be modified • Is your attention where it really needs to be? Are certain practices creating more work than necessary? • Focus on what you can change and not on what you cannot change. • Internal operations vs. resource allocation • The more effective you are internally, the more effective you can be externally about campus and its culture.

10. Any other thoughts on getting a handle on the campus culture?

11. Communication

12. Some thoughts… • Listen, listen, listen • Genuine and authentic • Maintain an open mind • Show confidence • Concise and clear (to the point) • Assess nonverbal cues

13. Think about the impact of messages, especially those conveyed in writing • Accommodation letters • Office brochures • Web information • Share critical points first and then descend from there • Make the message fit the audience • Don’t have the audience conform to the message • Under-sell and over-deliver • Be aware of internal judgments and irrational thoughts

14. Any other thoughts on or strategies you have used for effective communication?

15. Data reporting

16. What quantitative Data??? • Number of students connected with office • Disability • Specific Accommodations Requested/Used • Students by Major and/or College • Testing Accommodations • Assistive Technology Usage • Testing with Assistive Technology • Alternative Media • ASL/CART/C-Print Usage (and Cost) • GPA and possibly probation status • Year and/or Credit Hours Completed • Survey data (students and faculty)

17. What Qualitative Data??? • Similar student concerns/challenges • Similar faculty concerns/challenges • Frequent staff observations and assessments

18. Have it? Use it!! • Internal office assessments and action • Make any process or communication changes? • Assessment is an on-going mindset, not a one-time and occasional event • Supervisor and His/Her Supervisor • What Quantitative Data?? • Monthly, Semester and/or Annual Report • Historical trends over 3 – 5 year periods • Justification for additional resources • Provide in format desired for beneficial use

19. Academic departments • Leading Majors with students with disabilities • Specific disability consideration…deaf, blind, etc… • Other campus stakeholders • Increase in Asperger’s…who might be impacted? • Use the data for proactive office management and campus outreach

20. What are ways in which you use data to tell and support your story?

21. Budgeting

22. Two Considerations • Centralized accommodation funding vs. department accommodation funding • Disability office budget vs. accommodation budget

23. Who pays? • For all associated student accommodation needs (interpreters, book materials, equipment, etc.)… • Disability office covers everything? • Through the respective home academic departments? • Depends…case by case?

24. Money speaks • When departments contribute to accommodation costs… • Accommodations perceived as responsibility of respective unit, NOT as an institutional-wide commitment • Students with disabilities seen as a financial drain on department • Departments may want more personal/medical information than necessary to justify expenses • Debate over who pays can delay provision of access

25. What is in a budget? • A disability office budget tends to fund: • Staff and student worker salaries • Office supplies and equipment • Database • Programming • Training and travel • Assistive technologies • ??? • Accommodations • Service providers • Specialized equipment/technology • Braille production • Captioning • ???

26. When going to the same bank… • Decisions need to be made to best “balance” the budget • Office supplies, office-use equipment, database, programming and travel are negotiable… • Are legitimate academic accommodations negotiable? • Office operations (daily and for future viability) can be sacrificed to provide accommodations

27. To best show commitment to access… • Operate with two funds: • Office Operational Fund • Staff and student worker salaries • Office supplies and equipment • Database • Programming • Training and travel • Assistive technologies (predictable “standard” needs) • ??? • Accommodation Fund • Service providers • Specialized equipment • Braille production • Captioning • Unpredictable accommodation costs • ???

28. Accommodation fund Benefit • Shows commitment to access • Access takes priority even during times of funding challenges • Recognizes fluctuation potential (not always predictable) • Surplus not seen as negative (poor planning and spending) • Consider arrangement where it can go into the red if increase in need (suggest good communication) • The disability office work is valued and does not have to sacrifice at expense of accommodations

29. Analyze where possible • Any deaf students in programs requiring internships? • Any known upcoming study abroad experiences requiring interpreters? • Idea of future semester Braille books needed • Consider keeping all standard, predictable expenses with the office budget • Any staff salaries • Differentiate infrastructure from direct service needs • Database expenses • Predictable, standard technologies • Maintain regular communication with budget administration • Discuss variability and rationale • Plan for when limit reached/exceeds

30. Other thoughts on beneficial budget practices?

31. Any final questions? • Adam Meyer • University of Central Florida • adam.meyer@ucf.edu