Amy Vecchione, assistant director of eCampus Research and Innovation, and Cathlene McGraw, adjunct faculty in the Department of Communications, presented on best practices for collaborating for student success for Niche Academy on June 28. The webinar was based on their book At-Risk to At-Promise: Academic Libraries Supporting Student Success.
The webinar titled, “Partnerships for Student Success: Collaborating with Student Success Administrators”, had over 300 individuals register from a nationwide audience. During this webinar, McGraw and Vecchione presented a comprehensive toolkit designed to offer guidance to establish and preserve long-lasting collaborations. Building relationships is the key to innovation.
Cross-department collaborations can be difficult to start and maintain, but using these evidence-based practices allows others to engage in their own creative and collaborative work. They used real-life examples involving first-generation students, including how online education, ePortfolios and career education can assist them. Attendees engaged in practical exercises to develop partnerships tailored to their specific institutional circumstances.
Participants gained access to various templates to assist them in identifying potential collaborators, understanding the roles within their institutions, establishing effective meeting protocols, and leveraging existing resources to create valuable services. Moreover, attendees had the opportunity to adapt these strategies by learning how to utilize student data from prominent national surveys such as IPEDS, NCHA and NSSE.
Vecchione drew from her decades-long expertise and approach to higher education collaborations and what makes them successful. McGraw leads from her decades of experience in organizational communication and communication management.