Online Training

New Programming!

Gain in-depth knowledge and prepare for the fall semester with hands-on, intensive workshops for department chairs:

Program Assessment and Curriculum Review
June 14, 2012
12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT

The Highly Effective Department Chair
June 21, 2012
12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT

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BOOKS

FERPA Clear and Simple: The College Professional’s Guide to Compliance

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) compliance has always been challenging due to complex regulatory language and exposure to risk. However, institutions that do not comply are in jeopardy of losing federal funding. Accessible and user-friendly, FERPA Clear and Simple clarifies the regulations and provides a ready reference for compliance and problem solving. This need-to-have guide offers critical and relevant material (including the 2008 Amendments) from a new perspective to help staff in student affairs, academic departments, and administrative support positions understand and comply with FERPA guidelines.

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JOURNAL

This quarterly periodical for department chairs and deans features practical advice, useful information, and up-to-date resources. Its applications, techniques, case studies, strategies, and guidance are directly relevant to today's academic leaders.

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E-NEWSLETTER

WHAT'S THE DEAN THINKING?

2/15/2012 12:00 AM

Assisting Your New Dean's Transition

From The Department Chair Insider – August 2011, Vol. 2

Assisting Your New Dean’s Transition

The transition to a deanship is a transition to a new place and a new profession. For new deans to be successful they must be committed, confident, competent, and comfortable. Chairs can help create these conditions for their new dean’s success.

As part of the new dean’s leadership team what can chairs do to help the dean within those first critical ninety days of their deanship? Sending a welcome note and a small gift from the search committee will reassure new deans that they have joined a caring environment. Sending invitations to campus social and sporting events also gives new deans a feeling of place.

Former academic administrator Mary Catherine Bateson once reflected that being a new dean is like learning to skate in full view of one’s faculty. The learning curve for a new dean is steep and it takes time and guidance. As a chair you have to manage, educate, and teach your dean to skate.

How can chairs help new deans get to know their faculty and staff? Invite the dean to a department meeting for formal introductions to your department members, to your social events to provide the dean with “hang time” with your colleagues, and to your home for quality time to get to know one another personally.

To help new deans make connections and networks in their new institution, community, and state, introduce them to key state departmental and governmental officials or involve them in local community organizations such as the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce. These introductions will give new deans a renewed sense of confidence in their new locale. It will now be up to the dean to build credibility and commitment with these stakeholders.

—Walter Gmelch is dean of the School of Education at the University of San Francisco.