Douglas Lisko, Treasurer & Associate Director of Residential Communities and Housing, Denison University reflects that Student Affairs professionals are expected to have more and more technical skills that are not being taught in graduate programs or conference sessions. We are asked to do things like manage data, budgets, and software products aren't always provided the necessary training. Here are five resources that he likes to help me manage the technical aspects of his role:
- Many functional areas manage a web page or portal to share information with students and families. Our office regularly uses the HTML section www.w3schools.com to help improve the design of our website. We were able to add drop-down information, inset buttons, and many other new functions to improve the way students interact with our page.
- Many graduate programs don't cover anything about Excel, but many professionals use it on a daily basis. Exceljet.net has helped me and my colleagues expand my skillset and provide tutorials. If you are new to Excel or looking to gain advanced skills, I would highly recommend it.
- Many offices and departments have a budget to manage but receive very little training about the key concepts associated with accounting. Investopedia.com has been a great resource for me to understand the technical terms and concepts associated with budget management. This helps us provide better requisitions for our annual budget request process.
- Whether you are chairing a search or searching for a job yourself, all of us are familiar with HigherEdJobs. What many people don't know if there is a Career Resources section that provides helpful information for candidates and hiring managers to navigate the search process. This information is specifically targeted to higher education professionals, which can be hard to find!
- If your office manages a lot of communication with students and families, you may consider software that helps you manage those communications. Our office added the Zendesk chat widget on our Housing Portal. This helps us provided instant support to multiple students simultaneously. It also prevents long email threads back and forth.