Report from Elizabeth Elliott on her attendance at the AUA Higher Education Workshop for Professionals

AUA Higher Education Workshop for Professionals

Earlier this summer, I attended a very insightful, motivating and thought provoking two-day workshop, led by the Association of University Administrators, a professional body especially for professional and administrative staff working in Higher Education. 

There were various elements to the workshop, and I brought back a number of ideas that can be shared for thought and discussion here at BBS.

History, Culture and Values of the HE sector in relation to Professionalism

The first day of the workshop focussed on the history, culture and values of the HE sector in relation to professional staff working within the sector and what our careers and roles mean. 

History

An overview of the history of University education was discussed, and this provided a background of the length and wealth of history within UK Higher Education, and how it has evolved over its long establishment.  Key changes were discussed, including developments in legislation, internationalisation, funding and our perception of students as the customer and the importance of the student experience.  Something that I found interesting is that there have been more changes to HE legislation in the past 10 years than there were in the 40 years prior to 2003 – which clearly demonstrates how HE has become a more complex industry and these changes impact, of course, on how we operate as professional staff.

Finance, Funding and the Student Experience

In terms of finance and funding, some interesting points were raised with regard to this, especially in terms of cost efficiencies.  It is recognised, of course, that is important to save money, though the point was raised that these should be strategic, ongoing and long term, and we should ensure that the student journey and experience is paramount to either cost saving or investment.  With particular reference to the new fee structure for UG students, it is important for Universities and individual teams and staff to have the premise and importance of the student experience in mind –developments such as refurbishments, improvements to resources (including both systems and staff) are vital to achieve a positive student experience. 

Delving deeper into this, with reference to fees and funding, it’s key to note that the number of students applying for places at University since the introduction of the new fee structure for UG students has seen an overall decrease across the sector (although as BBS it may not feel that way sometimes!)  This means that there is a smaller pool of applicants for Universities to choose from, and means that Universities have become more competitive in their attitude – in turn this of course means that we need to focus on not only getting the best students but retaining them as well, and this is where the premise of the student experience comes into play.

It’s also important to remember that Universities have a social value which is not always profitable; this is something that is bigger than inwardly focussing on finances.

Internationalisation

Internationalisation was also another key area of discussion, and it was interesting to note that across the sector 74% of full time Postgraduate students are international, and this is reflected here at BBS.  Whilst this is not the case for Undergraduate level studies across the sector, it is evident that HE is now increasingly global, and we need to adapt to accommodate this.  How adaptations are made is an ongoing discussion across the sector, and it is something that all institutions are looking to find ways to adapt to.

Professionalism

With the above information in mind, the discussion moved towards specifically professional services staff working within the HE sector, and how this can be a success.

The first point made was that having a career in PS in HEI’s is becoming more recognised as a profession rather than a simply “job”.  As already discussed, HE is more complex than it has every previously been, and so this means that Universities are increasingly needing well-qualified, expert professional services staff to support operations.  Essentially, professional administration within HE is more and more pivotal as the market becomes more competitive and business focussed.  Thinking back to BBS, evidently with the investment plan and restructure, there has been recognition of this fact, and it is our role now to ensure that we are able to maintain this as the sector continues to evolve. 

So, what is professionalism?

In the past, professionals have been thought of as lawyers, doctors and teachers who were thought of as professionals based on trust, integrity and service.  This view of professionals has changed, and it is evident that, especially for professional administration within HE, professionals are expected to provide quality assurance and a high level of performance within their roles.  Professionals are now seen as experts in their fields and can be seen to be operating entrepreneurially – this is particularly true within HE.

However, professionalism can only be achieved if individuals or teams have an identity, if they know their purpose and they are have self-confidence in their purpose and role.

Across the sector, it is interesting to note that the number of student complaints and appeals has seen a dip since the introduction of the new UG fee structure.  This implies that because of the new fee structure, there is an increased professional awareness and that institutions are operating with increased professionalism.  With regard to BBS, on reflection, I think that we are in a position to say that “post-restructure” professional services teams and individuals are gaining in their self-confidence and they are developing and identity, and as managers this is something we can provide the tools to maintain further.

A toolkit for Professionals

The second day was focussed much more on the practical aspects of a successful career as a professional administrator within HE, and the daily practices that one could incorporate into their working lives in order to both improve their professionalism and work more efficiently.  There were discussions around a variety of tools and models that could be used to an individual’s advantage. These included:

-          Time and task management

-          Influencing others

-          Delegation

-          Giving and receiving feedback

-          Prioritisation

-          Using Meetings

-          Getting your message across verbally

We were provided with a pack which explained each element and gave practical advice on how to incorporate these into our job roles.  Should any member of staff wish to have a copy or discuss this pack in more detail with me, I’d be happy to oblige.

Personally, I took some specific aspects of this day on board, particularly in relation to the Team Charter that we are planning to put together for Professional Services staff at BBS.  Some very simple but very effective ideas are:

When writing emails…

In the email subject write “FOR INFO” or “FOR ACTION”, so that recipients know what is required of them and where possible avoid using the “reply all” or “cc” function so that inboxes aren’t unnecessarily filled up.

When organising meetings…

When properly organised and focussed, meetings can be a very useful tool for communication, decision making and team work.  When meetings are organised, thinking about the required length of the meeting is important, as is having timed agendas.  Some meetings may not be necessary at all, and so it’s important to ensure that they are the best way of getting the particular task or job done.

When dealing with queries…

When we are busy, which many of us so often are, it’s easy to “pass on” queries to others rather than deal with them ourselves.  It may be that a specific query can be easily resolved with a quick telephone call to another member of the team for advice, or a quick search on the Unversity’s intranet.  Not only is this great team work, but it means we can all learn about aspects of each other’s roles and a query can potentially be dealt with much more quickly and efficiently.

In conclusion

To round off, this workshop run by the AUA was very interesting and thought provoking, from an inward looking perspective in terms of how we progress the School’s PST within the remit of the investment plan, and also from an outward looking perspective as it enabled me to understand that other institutions are facing similar challenges as we are in terms of the student experience and changes to funding and legislation.

Of course, if anyone would like to discuss any aspect of this in more detail, I’m more than happy to do so.