200 likes | 365 Views
Life After Financial Aid – Developing Essential Skills. NJASFAA Annual Fall Conference, 2011 Gisele Joachim, Dean of Enrollment Management, Seton Hall Law School. Essential Skills. Written Communication Analytical Ability Verbal Communication Technological Skills. Written Communication.
E N D
Life After Financial Aid – Developing Essential Skills NJASFAA Annual Fall Conference, 2011 Gisele Joachim, Dean of Enrollment Management, Seton Hall Law School
Essential Skills • Written Communication • Analytical Ability • Verbal Communication • Technological Skills
Context • Communications with coworkers • Communications with students/parents • Email Protocol • Memorandum • Office Communications
Developing Writing Skills • Audience & Format • Composition & Style • tone, attitude, nuance • Structure • Grammatical Errors • Proofing • Key Points • A picture speaks a thousand words
Opportunities for Skill Development • Read/Analyze communications sent to YOU • Read what you write out loud • Critique/ask others to critique • Committee reports (for NJASFAA ) or for those Institutional committees you volunteer for! • Summarize Financial Aid news for students/other departments
Context • Helping others understand what you know • Financial Aid is the “hard stuff”! • The ability to visualize, articulate, and solve both complex and uncomplicated problems and concepts, and make decisions that make sense based on available information.
Opportunities for Skill Development • Presentations (i.e. High School Financial Aid nights) • Presentations to other administrators/faculty • Report writing/Analysis • Spend time in other departments • Understand the institutional infrastructure
Developing Analytical Skills • Ask “WHY” - Learn How to Question • Open questions requiring more than one-word answers • Questions that make you think and require reflection • Questions that are relevant • Questions that introduce a problem and test assumptions
Context • Public Speaking • Presentation Ability • Knowledge of meeting protocol • Day to Day communications • Student Counseling/Meetings • Co-worker Discussions • Supervisor Interaction
Ways to Improve Communication Skills • Develop your voice • Slow down • Animate your voice • Enunciate your words • Use appropriate volume • Pronounce your words correctly • Use the right words • Make eye contact • Use gestures • Don’t send mixed messages • KISS • Most important = Ability to LISTEN
Opportunities for Skill Development • Everyday with coworkers • Volunteer to Institutional Committees • Have lunch with Faculty/Directors • High School Financial Aid Nights • Volunteer Activities • Conference Attendance - Networking • Conference Presentations!
Making the Most of Professional Conferences • Review the attendee list in advance • Don’t sit with people you recognize • Help others forge connections • Thank your presenters • Send follow-up emails • Get to know the sponsor/vendors • Be honest about your interests and intentions • Challenge your inner introvert to attend social functions • Switch to club soda before you think you need to switch to club soda
Context • “Force yourself to keep your technical skills current, even if new developments don’t seem directly related to your current job. Otherwise, you’ll get left behind and may have to catch up a huge amount before you can head off in a new direction in the future.”
Opportunities for Skill Development • Participate in tech-driven forums – i.e., webinars • Participate in tech conference offerings (even if you are not the tech-guy) • Go to lunch with the tech guy • Read online tutorials • Take classes
Essential Skills for Higher Education Advancement • Leadership • Strategic Planning • Analytical Abilities • Communication Skills • Customer Service • Systems/Data Management • Regulatory/compliance Knowledge • Research skills
Sources/Resources • Allison Vaillancourt, VP, HR, University of Arizona- 10/28/11 Chronicle of Higher Education • “The College Admissions Officer’s Guide”, Hossler (1986) • Open Loops – Ten Ways to Improve your communication skills • MindTools.com