MARCH 2024Discussion Guide

TS HEADER UPDATETS DIVIDING RULEThe Talking Stick Discussion Guide supports individual and departmental professional development efforts. These discussion questions, crafted by campus housing professionals, help readers to make meaning of the content and best identify ways the information applies to individual practices and institutions. Some suggestions for how to incorporate them into a professional development curriculum include the following:

building discussions into departmental meetings;

delegating articles to staff and asking them to lead discussions;

reading articles that address topics outside of normal day-to-day responsibilities to broaden knowledge of different campus housing aspects or aspirational positions;

incorporating articles into class discussions for graduate students;

assigning articles to graduate classes and coordinating opportunities to discuss readings and how they would apply to future careers.

Download this guide as a PDF worksheet.Thick RuleIt’s About BelongingThe job is the job. But diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging must be ingrained throughout the hiring process.CORE COMPETENCIESHuman Resources: Identify and articulate goals associated with recruiting a diverse and equitable candidate pool.Equity and Inclusion: Identify ways individual groups may gain a voice in the campus community. Identify structural inequalities and barriers.READ ARTICLE

Job candidates come to the interview expecting the employer to demonstrate values such as promoting a sense of belonging, personal and psychological safety, and work/life balance that are rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Does your hiring process include these qualities? If not, think about how you can include them. Do you have the right staff involved in the hiring process? Are you presenting the best impression of your campus?

In this article, seasoned staff in leadership positions describe how they learned different ways to incorporate the qualities of DEI in all facets of their work. They highly value how diversity, equity, and inclusion have shaped and infused their work and communicate this knowledge to other staff and leadership on campus. Think about how you and your staff would explain how valuable diversity, equity, and inclusion are to the work in campus housing. How would you add these values to your division’s story? How would you add them to your brand?

Thick Rule-2Aboveboard OnboardingSuccessful staff onboarding creates an equitable environment from day one.CORE COMPETENCIESHuman Resources: Identify and articulate goals associated with recruiting a diverse and equitable candidate pool.Equity and Inclusion: Identify ways individual groups may gain a voice in the campus community. Identify structural inequalities and barriers.READ ARTICLE

Bring your team together and review your current onboarding process. Is the language outdated? Who are the people that new employees will meet? Are there specific staff designated to communicate specific information such as cultural norms and human resource policy? Is there time given for a new employee to reflect on and provide feedback on the process?

Think about the importance of new hires seeing others with whom they identify. How do you connect new staff with groups or organizations on campus and off campus that share their identity?

This article notes that several campuses have appointed equity officers to assist new staff with issues during onboarding and to connect them with resources. Who on your campus acts as champions for equitable onboarding?

Thick Rule-3Assessment in ActionThese campuses show that data is best when it is put to work.CORE COMPETENCIESEvaluation and Planning: Develop objectives, outcomes, and goals for assessment to align with department and institutional priorities.READ ARTICLE

Sharing data amongst staff creates a culture of transparency that can be used to inform their work. Who are you sharing your assessment data with? How can you empower staff to leverage assessment data to support your students?

How can you bring student affairs staff together to share assessment data and understand how it can inform how they approach their work and its processes? How can you use the data to inform external groups like faculty and new students about the value of campus housing?

The article highlights that it’s important to address the human needs that are indicated by the data. How would you use this data from your assessment to better support students? How would you use it in staff training?

Thick Rule-4All the Room’s a StageMaking sure everything is ready when the curtain rises on move-in dayCORE COMPETENCIESFacilities Management: Provide a training program for staff, establish standards, and identify resources for specialized facilities requirements.READ ARTICLE

Bring your team together and discuss the natural occurrences, like brown water and dust, that may create a not-so-great first impression in your residence halls. Discuss possible solutions and how you will communicate them to staff and incorporate them into the work.

Some of these practices to prepare a room to look its best may seem like housing is worrying about too many of the little or incidental things. Think about how you would explain the why behind some of these practices to make rooms move-in ready. How would you handle this conversation with your staff? How would you handle this with staff or colleagues outside of housing?

Thick Rule-5Rolling with the ChangesCampuses learn to manage a year-round recruitment cycle and the loss of institutional knowledge.CORE COMPETENCIESHuman Resources: Determine staffing needs. Design a hiring process and form a selection committee to represent the department to applicants and meet institutional hiring goals.READ ARTICLE

When promoting student staff positions like resident assistant, do you tout the benefits that go beyond room and board? How could these be better communicated to would-be applicants?

Consider your current supervision model and what steps could be taken to better assure consistency.

Career readiness is an important benefit of a student position. What other models could be considered, and how could those related competencies be determined?

Thick Rule-6Those Who Can, TeachLet’s talk about being a part-time faculty member.CORE COMPETENCIES Human Resources: Identify and leverage one’s strengths to maximize success in one’s current and future roles. Seek out and participate in activities designed to address areas where one’s performance can be strengthened.Read Article

Does this article inspire you to teach? Think about who you would reach out to so you could begin to explore this option.

What are the skills you have gained from your work in housing and residence life that you think would make you a good teacher?

Thick Rule-7coverreader_guidemastheadVisionSTARREZSpotlight: Pace UniversitySpotlight: KenyonUSSPage TurnerAgainst All OddsSYMPOSIUMSFirst PersonBRILL_BENCHWORKSAssessment in ActionGREYSTARAll the Room's a StageLS_COMMUNITYRolling with the ChangesIt's About BelongingFOUNDATIONAboveboard OnboardingUVSConversations: Those Who Can, TeachCAMPUS HOME LIVEYour ACUHO-ISnapshot: Hannah PhillipsSnapshot: Walid Derhem2024 Wall of HonorDiscussion Guide