Preparing our families for New Student Orientation is a full-time endeavor. From preparing programming to working on communications – parents are at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Besides, the parents are the ones who decide the date to bring the student to campus. They are the ones who ask the hard questions – what’s advising like? What will my student need to be successful? How will my student be able to juggle this class with his/her obligation to the band? Etc. 

When we think of school volunteers, many of us immediately envision PTA-style bake sales and booster clubs. While the enthusiasm is the same, the role of a college parent volunteer is, by its nature, a different experience. At Emerson College, we have a Family Ambassador program of approximately 16 members. The program has worked well and maintains appropriate boundaries for the needs of our campus of 4,400 undergraduates.

This one's for the planners, the calendar lovers, and all of you task managers, and “check-it-off” fanatics. Let me say, I love a calendar. I mean I LOVE a good calendar and, although I don't discriminate, there really isn't much that beats the feeling of ripping off the page of an over-marked, over-highlighted, all-too busy desk calendar only to start over with a squeaky clean canvas of a new month ahead. However, to be fair, one thing that does run a close second in my book is a solid project management system and I recently attended a meeting that had one agenda item only, project management systems. We spent an entire hour sharing our personal preferences and strategies for tackling daily to-do lists along with some of our recommended systems for teams. I walked away from that early morning meeting with more options for labeling, categorizing, and hyper-organizing my to-do list than I even knew existed, not to mention this video on how to zero your inbox. It was pretty much the best meeting, ever!

In our last two articles in the Supervising Series we explored how to identify, communicate, and act on your career goal of becoming a supervisor. Let’s fast forward, assume you’ve achieved the opportunity to serve as a supervisor, so now you get to just tell people what to do all day, right?! Well, that’s definitely one way to go about things, but as the old saying goes “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”.

It’s important to acknowledge that some of you will have to blaze a path all your own. You may have a supervisor who isn’t interested or able to support your journey (perhaps they are in a place in their own career where they are still “climbing the ladder” or perhaps they never gathered the tools to be an engaged and supportive leader for their direct reports). What is important to keep in mind is that you still have the capability to get where you want to go. Below we will explore methods to advocate for yourself and garner supervisory skills and experiences.

So, you are interested in becoming a supervisor and perhaps trying to figure out how to get to that next step in your journey. The Supervising Series is AHEPPP’s initiative to help you along the way! Through this collection of articles we will:

My favorite part about AHEPPP is the way that we share resources. Our members—truly the best of the best—take pride in being able to share their work and programs and support one another. This is something that makes our organization stand out in the field of higher education. One area in which I personally have been able to support my colleagues over the years is by sharing the survey I send to my parents. I know that assessment is an area in which many of us struggle. In fact, data from the 2021 Survey of Family Engagement and Programs at Colleges and Universities showed that fewer than 25% of professionals who work with families are doing any type of survey of their family events, programming, and use of resources. 

What a Year! Well done on surviving and thriving as you serve parents and families. As you continue to adjust and plan for the unknowns this fall, one thing is certain, understanding the needs of the families you serve is critical. TorchStar recently provided the Keynote for the AHEPPP Virtual Communications Summit. You can review the slides to learn how understanding personas can streamline parent communication and engagement. 

What new programming should I consider for families? Am I charging too much for Family Weekend? How does my office budget compare to other parent offices? Is my office situated in the right division?

As parent relations professionals being a strong and timely communicator is essential. Communications are one of, if not the, best tools for supporting the individuals standing behind our students championing their success. And as the organization standing behind you championing your success, we are here to provide you with expert information and key strategies to help maximize your work. That is why we have designed a series of member resources that will enhance and positively impact these efforts; and we are excited to begin with the launch of the AHEPPP Communications Calendar and Planning Guide (member login required).