Oct 17, 2024
In this episode of "SA Voices from the Field," Melissa Manuel, a seasoned student affairs professional with extensive international experience, offers valuable insights into creating more efficient, collaborative, and holistic systems within higher education. Here are some key takeaways from her conversation.
Bridging Gaps Through Service and Collaboration
Melissa Manuel emphasizes the importance of fostering community involvement among students who cannot afford traditional courses by offering them roles within the institution. This not only helps these students receive education but also instills a sense of service and dedication, aligning them closely with the institution’s vision and mission. The integration of such methods shows promise in creating a more inclusive and invested student community.
Leveraging Global Perspectives
Manuel advocates for a more holistic and international approach to research and collaboration within student affairs. By looking beyond local data and considering global perspectives, institutions can vastly improve their policies and initiatives. This approach also ensures that practices are culturally inclusive and innovative, benefiting from the diversity of thought from various parts of the world.
Technological Advancements and AI Integration
One of the compelling areas of discussion was the application of AI and digital tools to streamline administrative processes. Manuel highlights the potential of AI in automating tasks such as scanning transfer credits and reading transcripts, thereby saving valuable time and reducing human error. She also points out the slow adoption of such technologies in higher education and urges institutions to become more open to these advancements for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
Developing Holistic Student Systems
In her current role, Manuel is working towards creating holistic and interconnected systems that integrate student affairs with academic affairs. These systems aim to provide a seamless experience for students, similar to the comprehensive view offered by K-12 teachers. By breaking down silos between departments and encouraging collaboration, institutions can ensure that every student’s journey is well-supported and aligned with institutional goals.
Personalized Learning and Data-Driven Solutions
Melissa also touched on how AI and data analysis can create tailored learning experiences. By understanding students' interests and areas of difficulty, AI can recommend curriculum adjustments and additional resources, providing a more personalized education. Additionally, data analysis can uncover trends, such as geographical challenges faced by students, leading to solutions like increased online course offerings.
Empowering Students Through Experiential Learning
Drawing from her entrepreneurial experience, Manuel supports models of experiential learning where students are actively involved in managing projects and initiatives. This hands-on approach not only provides practical experience but also promotes a sense of ownership and adaptability among students, preparing them for real-world challenges.
To round off the episode, Melissa thanks everyone who has impacted her professional journey and emphasizes the critical role of collaboration within student affairs. Listeners are encouraged to engage with her on LinkedIn or via email for further discussions.
By incorporating these innovative practices and fostering a collaborative environment, higher education institutions can better support their students' holistic development and success.
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:00]:
Welcome to Student Affairs Voices from the Field, the podcast where
we share your student affairs stories from fresh perspectives to
seasoned experts. Brought to you by NASPA, we curate free and
accessible professional development for higher ed pros wherever you
happen to be. This is season 11, the past, present, and future of
student affairs, and I'm doctor Jill Creighton, she, her, hers,
your essay voices from the field host. On today's episode of Essay
Voices, we welcome Melissa Manuel. Melissa has over 17 years of
experience in higher education across 5 countries and 7
institutions. Having worked for 4 startup institutions in the
Arabian Gulf, Melissa is familiar with how internationalization,
multicultural working environments, pedagogy, and student success
comes together in a variety of combinations to support student and
institutional success. Her experience has also bred familiarity
with many student and academic affairs best practices, as well as
practical considerations and implementation outside of our common
practices. Melissa will be talking to us today about starting up a
brand new institution, building systems from scratch.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:01:07]:
So in our theme of the past, present, and future of student
affairs, Melissa brings rich experience to this dialogue. Hope you
enjoy it. Melissa, welcome to SA Voices.
Melissa Manuel [00:01:16]:
Thank you very much, Jill. I am very excited to be here.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:01:19]:
It's always such a delight for me to get to talk to our
international guests, and tell us where you are joining us from
today.
Melissa Manuel [00:01:26]:
Today, I am in Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:01:28]:
And Melissa is at a not to be named at this point institution that
is building and growing in the role of registrar. So, Melissa, can
you tell us how you got to your current seat?
Melissa Manuel [00:01:39]:
Well, that's a long story, but one full of lots of twists and
turns. So I did begin working in higher education in Canada for
quite a few years while I was doing my undergrad degree. And then I
got an opportunity to work in Qatar where I worked for 2
institutions. And then I moseyed on over to Saudi about 6 years
ago, and now I'm in Northern Saudi Arabia. So total, I've got about
17 years in higher education between 3 countries, but with the 2
extra degrees are outside the countries that I've worked in,
probably a total of 5 countries.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:09]:
That's amazing. So what are the other two countries on the
list?
Melissa Manuel [00:02:12]:
So my master's degree was done in the United Kingdom, and I'm
currently doing my PhD in the United States.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:18]:
So like many of our international guests, especially expat
international guests, you've had a journey that has taken you
through multiple cultural contexts. And that's one of the reasons
that I'm thrilled to be talking to you on our past, present, and
future theme because you've kind of seen the way that higher ed is
playing out in a variety of different contexts. So what can you
tell us right now about the context for higher education and
student affairs in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia?
Melissa Manuel [00:02:42]:
That's a really great question. So student affairs, I would say
specifically in Saudi, and I would extend that toward the Greater
Arabian Gulf, doesn't exactly exist as a profession just yet. You
do see more of a student affairs presence in a lot of branch
campuses to international institutions, especially the American
ones where student affairs really does have a strong preference.
But for the most part, it is a growing area. But what you see in
those areas is a lot more in in institutional collaboration because
student affairs doesn't exist on its own, but it's really wrapped
up in academic affairs or student services or student success,
which is what you see, especially even in a lot of Asian
institutions where student success will really encompass both the
registrarials type of side where we're looking at registration and
letters and support. And then also the student affairs type of side
that we see where we have student clubs and activities,
internships, career support counseling. So it's really more of a
holistic feeling, I would say, in this region. But with that, it
does have a lot of room to grow, which is really wonderful and to
be part of that foundation.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:03:45]:
Having done this work in the Canadian context, which, from my
limited knowledge looks a little closer to US based student affairs
work. What can you say in the compare and contrast space about what
you love about this holistic student success model you're working
in, and what you wish might look a little closer to the system that
you grew up in?
Melissa Manuel [00:04:04]:
In Canada, I would agree that student affairs at least is a lot
more similar to the United States student affairs type of systems.
However, on the registrarial side, so I'm currently a university
registrar. It is actually a lot more holistic in the Canadian
context where you generally have a registrar's office that serves
both admissions and enrollment and records. Whereas in the United
States, you'll have admission because it's so tied to funding as a
separate entity. And I think there can be a lot lost between those
different groups, whereas in Canada, I do see that a lot more
closer. In my current context, I see all of those mingling together
a lot more, which is really wonderful. Because again, it provides,
I think, a stronger and more holistic student experience because
you're more familiar with the journey that those students have come
from. You know where they were recruited from.
Melissa Manuel [00:04:52]:
You maybe know what kind of cultural context they're coming from.
You've seen them go through admissions. You've seen them go through
registration and maybe some of the points that they had at the
point of initial registration and orientation where maybe they had
a lot of family support or parental guidance. And you can kinda
watch that and see how that's affected their student journey and
where they go through clubs, what interests them, what their career
paths are because you've seen how those other factors have
influenced their choices and their interests. So that's what I do
really love here, and I would like to actually see more of that
collaborative holistic student experience in other countries as
well.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:05:27]:
What does that look like structurally? I think when we look at US
and Canadian higher ed student affairs structures, they're kind of
established and matured now and a little bit solidified in a lot of
ways in terms of the way that the work is pretty vertical, meaning
that we've got people that are specialized in various functional
areas. And those areas of specialization have really become their
own mini professions at this point. We're seeing far less
generalists in student affairs than we used to. And I think that is
creating some unique pathways into mid and senior level leadership
as well because some of those skill sets mean that we don't
necessarily get exposed to other parts of the profession. So I'm
hoping you can share more about what that means to truly be more
integratively collaborative.
Melissa Manuel [00:06:12]:
Well, definitely the background of what you see student affairs
professionals coming in internationally, and I would say that not
just for the Arabian Gulf, but in many different regions. Australia
is a really good example of that because they don't have a strong
student affairs type of system. A lot of their local students don't
live on campus, so student affairs is actually really integrated
with their curriculum development. So same as in Australia as you
see here, and I would suggest a lot of Asian institutions as well
as maybe European too, that you can see people coming into student
affairs at fairly senior levels without any experience in higher
education, but maybe they come from counseling backgrounds or
career development services or maybe student clubs or recreation.
You see a lot of that as well. And it is really interesting having
worked for very young institutions to see how the individuals that
are coming in with those very particular backgrounds outside of
student affairs have influenced the structures internally and the
way that the university goes, what kind of resources are given
because they see those things as priority in many cases. And I
really like to see that because I do think it provides a more
individual, a different type of set of circumstances that students
can kind of go towards, and there's more influence because maybe if
you'd haven't worked in student affairs, then you're more keen to
see what your stakeholders have to say because you haven't been
exposed to that before. And so I think that's something that's
really special here, and I think it provides an opportunity for
innovation because we're not so tied to maybe the education and the
history that we've gone through.
Melissa Manuel [00:07:40]:
I do think that there can be some things that are lost obviously in
translation in understanding what that student experience means and
how it can really change a student's life. So I do think there
again, there are going to be pros and cons. In terms of structures,
generally, what I have seen, and it really depends on if an
institution is a homegrown local institution or they are a branch
campus. Homegrown local institution or they are a branch campus,
particularly if they're US branch campus or even a Canadian branch
campus. But what I have seen a lot of the times is you'll have a
director of enrollment or a director of student services or student
success. Sometimes this individual might be a manager or they might
even be a VP. And then from there, you'll have people that are
working on specific areas, but really they're all reporting to the
same individual. And I think that's something that can be
challenging in the US context is that generally, you'll have
student affairs or a dean of students reporting up one side and
then you'll have the academic side of the house, academic affairs
that are dealing with policies.
Melissa Manuel [00:08:36]:
So this is an administrative side of the academic house that's
going up the academic side and they don't really talk to one
another. So what I have seen in my own experience is a little bit
of a mismatch sometimes when it comes to the institutional voice,
how policies are put into practice, and how things work in general,
and the type of support I think that students can get. I think this
has been fixed a lot with a one stop shop that we see with a lot of
institutions now. But I do still think that there's not as much
communication as there does need to be because with the student
experience, it's a holistic experience. And in particular, there's
some really great research that has shown that students, and this
is in the US, that American students feel a lot more comfortable
asking for any type of career kind of support or academic support
from their faculty versus the specialists that are working in,
let's say academic advising. And there's a few different reasons I
think for that. One is the passion, of course, that's gonna bring
faculty to the table anyway. But also, I think that they have a
greater understanding of that kind of holistic map of where a
student can go, where somebody in it specifically in advising may
be able to say, okay.
Melissa Manuel [00:09:40]:
These are the courses that you can take, but can they tell you
maybe this person's doing a startup over here and you should try
that, or this institution is looking at some kind of commercial
engagement that might be of interest to you. And so they have a
more specialized map because they're specialists, and we're kind of
losing that I think overall holistic vision, which we don't know
what's most important to students. So I do think a holistic vision
in my point of view, I think is preferable.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:10:03]:
There's 2 things I've always said to team members that I've worked
with, which is, you know, the students don't care how we're
organized. They don't care who reports to who. They don't care
really what funding streams are going to x, y, and z sometimes.
Sometimes they do. But the reality is the the anchor of the point
of care for a student is what is their experience on the campus.
And they don't differentiate between an in and outside of the
classroom experience on a US campus. They look holistically, as
you've mentioned, what is my experience as a student at this
institution? And that whole picture is what paints their entire
experience from, you know, entry to degree. So this is a an
approach I think a lot of institutions are working towards in the
US, trying to make more fluid some of those boundaries that have
somehow become a little harder over time.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:10:49]:
And I'll give a shout out to Chris Lewis, our co producer and audio
engineer on this show, because he is the NASPA, I believe, co chair
of the SAPA knowledge community, which is student affairs
partnering with academic affairs. And the goal there is kind of the
same thing, to soften some of those boundaries. But I also know for
a lot of the US based professionals, those boundaries we seek to
soften them, and we're not necessarily met with that same idea from
some of our partners on the academic affairs side. So I'm wondering
if you could talk a little bit more about how you've worked with
your colleagues to soften some of those boundaries.
Melissa Manuel [00:11:22]:
Absolutely. And I 100% agree with you, with what you just said. And
also shout out to Chris too. So I actually did attend a Sapa
meeting. I think it was last year because I did wanna become part
of that team, but then I became a member at large on a finance
committee for ACRO, the American Association For Collegiate
Registrars. And so I couldn't really do both, but I absolutely
agree with the work that Chris is doing and making sure that
academic is partnering with student affairs and vice versa. So some
of the things that I have done, and I will admit it has been a lot
easier, I think, for me than you might see in other institutions
because I tend to work for very small start up institutions and
ones that are very young. So there's not a lot of history that
suggests only this side of the house can deal with this and only
that kind of side of the house can deal with that because we
haven't faced a lot of those issues to be able to determine those
pathways.
Melissa Manuel [00:12:12]:
So again, I think it has been a little bit easier for me. Because
they're small or because the institutions I've worked had have been
small, I have made a very strong effort to meet individually with
every single stakeholder that is in my institution. So, my previous
institution, the registrar's office that I was working at didn't
have the best reputation and just for servicing stakeholders and
that especially came from faculty. So I really made it my mission
to take every single faculty member 1 on 1 out for coffee just to
understand their point of view. And it was really a kind of a two
way street. So I was able to really write down a lot of the
priorities that they had had and be able to clarify some of the
reasons maybe why certain certain things weren't happening in a
certain way because maybe their population or maybe of their
students or what they wanted was only gonna service, let's say,
0.5% of our student demographic. So where are those resources
going? And then also to be able to explain some of the reasons why
we've done things and maybe where it is on the priority list of
changing it in the future. And I have done that also with a lot of
my colleagues on the student affairs side.
Melissa Manuel [00:13:14]:
And then again, when it comes to any type of project, I really try
and make sure that we're sharing that. And a really good example is
between the academic catalog and the academic hand or the student
handbook. So one of the things that I did in one of my previous
institutions was I rewrote the entire academic catalog with the
support of my office and our senior academic leadership. But
because we were changing everything there, we really needed to have
an understanding of how those policies affected other areas. So
each department as well as the, let's say, student rule
regulations. So for example, a student goes on a leave of absence,
can they still be, let's say, a leader of their student club? So So
things like that and where those pathways kind of go. And so what I
would do is I went and showed all the changes to and circulated
amongst my student affairs colleagues, and then they were able to
go through it and provide feedback. And then we also responded to
that feedback, and we had plenty of meetings to help understand
kinda where we needed to work together.
Melissa Manuel [00:14:09]:
And again, really trying to find that one institutional voice,
making sure we're using language that really makes sense. And so
they started doing the same thing for us when they were going
through the student handbook. We would go through it as well and
say, oh, you know what? We've actually changed this, or we're
looking at this, and maybe you can change that here because we had
this feedback from over there. And it really became a lot easier
for students, I think, to find information that was consistent
across both sides, and then we were both sides were aware of why
certain things were the way that they were because that's nothing
that a student wants to hear is to say, oh, this doesn't work, and
then somebody say, well, that department is just terrible. And so
it really provided a learning opportunity for both sides, and we
would have regular meetings. So that's one of the things that I
really do appreciate as well is regular touch points. Even if it's
just something to say, you know, my department is totally loaded
right now. We're super busy and then I can say, you know what? I've
got some stuff.
Melissa Manuel [00:14:56]:
Let me just back off a little bit. I'll give you a little bit of
space. So being able to really read what your departments are going
through and recognize that at the end of the day, especially when
it comes to administrative functions, in my view, we are there to
service our stakeholders who service the vision or mission of the
institution. And that's our job is to work together. And if we're
not working together, are we really doing our jobs in the best way
possible? And that sometimes does mean taking a step back on
putting budgets forward or putting initiatives forward to say, does
this actually serve the best interest? And I think that can be hard
for a lot of individuals across the board in any country, but
really to take a step back and making sure that we understand what
we're there to do at the end of the day. One of the
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:15:34]:
most interesting things to me about your career is that you've
gotten to build systems a lot from scratch. And taking what you
know from your educational background, your domestic context in
Canada, your educational context in the UK, now in the US as well,
and your lived experiences in the Gulf Coast region. So knowing all
of that and kind of looking at that very unique melange of all of
these things, when you build a system, what are the parts that
you're keeping that you are excited about and you know that work
for you? And what are the parts that you're going, we need to
jettison this for either cultural context reasons or because we
don't need to replicate something that might not be working as well
as it could be?
Melissa Manuel [00:16:12]:
Are you meaning student systems in terms of more technology side or
in practice or a little bit of both?
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:16:18]:
Could be any of those things, I think.
Melissa Manuel [00:16:20]:
For systems, I think along the lines of where we're going with
technology and digitalization is making sure things data entry is
really easy. I really don't like having to put my own staff into
roles where they're just taking something from one document and
manually typing it into a system. So really trying to automate
that, and then if that has to happen, is saying, okay, is this
really worth the time for you to do this and what we're going to
get out of that? And even if we can find maybe Band Aid solutions
where we use AI tools to maybe auto scan, let's say, for transfer
credit purposes, we auto scan all the transfer credit reports that
have maybe manually been done. There's gonna be errors, but are
those errors worth having manual entry versus allowing those errors
to survive in the documentation and the reports, but making sure
that now we've just changed what would be a 2 week process to an
hour. So trying to balance that as much as possible, and then in
moving forward, making sure that we are accounting for that, the
best use of our time and the way that we're using things. When it
comes to any kind of system, I am really wanting everybody involved
or to at least have an opportunity to talk about whatever we're
doing and put their opinions forward. So for example, I'm in the
process of building an academic calendar for my new institution,
which is a really fun process. Are we semester? Do we have terms?
Do we have quarters? What What kind of credit value systems are we
gonna have? What type of grading is gonna come out of that? And one
of the things that I've seen at a lot of the institutions that I've
worked for is a lack of history on how those decisions were made
and who was able to put their opinions forward.
Melissa Manuel [00:17:52]:
So what I have done or tried to do and continue to do is to put
together all the benchmarking that I can find. Say within this
cultural context and within the where we are today, this is a
couple of opportunities for us and then this is my recommendation.
And then I circulate that out and I collect all the feedback both
in person and in writing, and I put all that together, collate
that. And then I do respond to various things, and some individuals
will have opinions that maybe that's great, and I have recorded
them down even if I don't agree with them or other people don't
agree with them because then there at least there's a history to
know if we did look at that or not, and maybe why we chose not to
go in that direction. And I think that really helps to build a
better understanding of maybe the concerns or challenges that
people have and the different stakeholders will have when it comes
to building these types of of systems. When it comes to policies
and processes, so actually for NASPA next year, I did put together
a proposal to talk about these types of things when it comes to
collaboration and how you go through that. And it is a lot of work
to make sure that those systems are in line across the university,
but it makes such a big difference when it works for all
stakeholders and then all reporting opportunities. And so I'd love
to actually go into detail.
Melissa Manuel [00:19:00]:
I've got so many details on on how to do that, but a lot of it just
really takes relationship building across institutions, and I think
it takes when it comes to that relationship building piece, is
really taking a step back to not defend your department or defend
your position, but to say, okay, these are the current concerns
they have, and my job is to try and see how I can compromise in a
way that really supports the stakeholder, maybe educate a little
bit to understand. So maybe some things are accredited related. I
don't have control over that, but we need to meet accreditation
requirements, so we have to do it a certain way. Or saying, you
know what? They do it, and they have a really different ideas.
Let's see if I can benchmark to see how it's worked in other
institutions. And the other thing that I find is really helpful
working for a lot of startup institutions, and I think the NASPA
Student Affairs community is so good at this, is having
relationships at other institutions to be able to benchmark, and
not only benchmark, but to say, okay, I've benchmarked this, you do
it like this, what is your opinion on it? Does it work for you? And
really get a in-depth feel of how things are going to affect your
student stakeholders. So I know that was a little bit of a
roundabout, coming back to how those systems work, and I know
that's a very general way of doing that. But when it comes to
technology, at least, I think everybody's in line with that is we
want things that make sense, that don't take a lot of time, that
are easy to read, and that can configure across all different types
of departments and areas in a way that people understand.
Melissa Manuel [00:20:21]:
And I'll just give a quick example of what that means is defining
certain things. So I think the word matriculation, for example, or
even admitted student or registered student, that maybe sound, oh,
yeah, I know what that means. Yes, maybe generally you do, but on a
reporting level, that can have many different meanings. I think
it's really important that the systems that you're putting together
are predefined and making sure everybody is aware of what those
things mean when those things come out because I think that's where
a lot of issues do arise.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:20:48]:
What is a student is a question I've wrestled through at a couple
of different institutions in my career because we do mean something
different if we're talking to our admissions team than if we're
talking to our registrar team than if we're talking to our student
conduct and behavioral intervention teams. How we define that
student has many, many implications. And it's interesting that you
get to wrestle with that question from the moment, one, before the
student has even arrived. I wanted to ask you a little bit about
because you mentioned technology, if you had begun to integrate any
forms of artificial intelligence or AI into the work you're doing
since you are building this system from the ground up?
Melissa Manuel [00:21:24]:
Short answer is yes. Again, I think we're very lucky working for
new institutions to be able to use that technology very early on,
and there's been some really great research out there. So IASIS,
the International Association of Student Affairs and Services, also
did a really great work last year looking at how student affairs
professionals felt with technology and what type of technology they
were using and where they see that going. And I think that's really
a fabulous way to start to kinda get the temperature of where
student affairs is and where higher ed is. In general, and I I
think even regardless of what research has shown, higher education
in general can be really tricky when it comes to using these types
of tools. And Brian Rosenberg came out with a really great article
last year, entitled Higher Eds Ruinous Resistance to Change because
realistically, we are really slow and that does mean that we have
been a little bit slower in other areas as well. That doesn't mean
that we're not gonna get there but I think just having to use that
technology, we're a little bit more behind because we don't have
enough experience using it and where we can use it and where it's
beneficial to use it. So some of the areas that have been of
interest to me and my team is using AI to look at transcripts, to
be able to auto read transcripts and be able to maybe make
admission decisions or at least preliminary decisions a little bit
quicker.
Melissa Manuel [00:22:41]:
Maybe looking at transfer credit. What I would love to be able to
see is request for transfer credits or equivalencies, be able to
have AI be able to actually say, okay, this is the course. I've
looked online. I found this description. I have the syllabi. What
are the equivalencies, maybe, globally that could be used and
whether that course potentially could be used for transfer credit
and then providing that maybe as a manual check afterward with our
faculty to be able to say, okay, this is accurate or not. So we
don't have a lot of those databases really full yet to be able to,
I think, have a lot of confidence in those uses, but it is there.
Personalized learning.
Melissa Manuel [00:23:14]:
So if a student is interested in something, they maybe can provide
goals or interests or activities they enjoy, and then have AI be
able to create curriculum and opportunities for them where they can
get involved and maybe expand on what they are already interested
in. And I think that also can be used for weaknesses as well to
say, okay, I've noticed maybe across all these courses that you're
writing in statistics, let's say, is a little bit weak. Maybe let's
focus on some statistics work so that you can increase in all your
courses. So it's not just, oh, you've been struggling in this
course, but maybe be able to see holistically across all courses.
So things that are harder for people to do manually, to be able to
just dump in data and be able to provide trends to say, oh, look,
this demographic of student maybe is struggling because maybe
they're commuting from a different way and this highway is actually
really bad, and there's a lot of snowstorms or sandstorms there. We
need to maybe provide a couple little bit more opportunity for
those guys to take online courses or something during those
periods. So I think it'd be really interesting to see it be used in
ways that we haven't been able to use it in the past. The other
thing that we wanted to make sure is that, again, any technology
that we're using can speak across the board to other areas.
Melissa Manuel [00:24:27]:
And so again, I am defining what it means for a student to be an
applicant, what it means for a student to be admitted, what does it
mean for a student to be matriculated. And with all those types of
definitions, then the system can really put that together because I
have seen a lot of different systems be able to provide that
information separately, but it means different things. You can't
put it together because those systems speak different languages.
One speaking Greek where a student means x and another speaking
something else where it means y. So really starting from scratch,
we've been able to try and make sure that we're speaking the same
institutional and reporting types of language. That's very
administrative, but it can make a very big difference for ensuring
that we are knowing the trends of our students, and then being able
to react and change appropriately, and pivot a little more quickly,
which again, I think has been a really big struggle for higher
education to be able to do.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:25:14]:
Melissa, I wanna move towards our theme questions for this season.
Again, we're focused on the past, present, and future of student
affairs. We've had a wonderful conversation about the present. So
I'm gonna ask you about the past. What's one component of the
history of our profession that you think we need to be able to
carry forward or inversely something we need to let go of?
Melissa Manuel [00:25:32]:
I think we've already talked a little bit about this, but that
holistic sense and that one on one relationship as, I mean, and
this is going to happen in any type of industry and you see this a
lot in corporations, is that as industries and organizations grow,
that individual connection potentially gets lost because students
are now numbers, they're not people, and we're focused on our KPIs.
We're focused on our outcomes rather than really maybe success just
means that a student had a wonderful experience. Maybe they were a
b student, and maybe they have done very ordinary things that an
institution doesn't feel is really, wow, big KBI check. But having
made a big difference in a student's life, I think that is just as
important, and I know that makes it difficult when it comes to
measuring an organization's success. But I think for anybody
working in this field and passionate about this field that they
understand that. So I would like to see a little bit more of maybe
that jack of all trades come back where individuals and staff can
actually follow students throughout their cycle and build that
relationship. And you can see that with with teachers as well, and
let's say k to 12 types of systems is that one teacher that really
believed in that student and followed them through. Even though
they're maybe no longer that student's teacher, they're still a
part of that life, that student's life.
Melissa Manuel [00:26:40]:
And when the student graduates, they come back to that teacher and
say, wow, you made a really big difference. So I would like to see
more of that. I think to do that, I think we need to try and break
silos, which again I do think is happening. So when it comes to a
trend of student affairs, I do see that. I think we might also be
more forced to try and move in that direction for a few different
reasons. One is budget. You'll see a lot of institutions,
especially in the US, are struggling with budget cuts. And the
first place that we tend to see that often is in, I think, in
student activities and student affairs.
Melissa Manuel [00:27:09]:
So if we're more collaborative and working with other units a
little bit more holistically, then I think that becomes a little
bit easier. I think that again, there's a lot of opportunity and
learning between students and staff that we can have, and having
again lifelong learners as well coming through and making sure that
we are adhering to that type of model. And then the other trend
that I would like to see and continue to see is the international
student mobility piece. So there are a lot of increasing
opportunities for students to travel abroad and register with a
variety of institutions, and again, I think this provides an
opportunity for that more holistic piece because we're bringing a
lot of new flavors to student affairs because now we're catering to
incoming international students, and we ourselves, like me, might
not might be non native to the country that we're working in. And
then we're also catering to the outgoing students who maybe need
some cultural training for wherever they plan to go. And I think
that's a natural progression with globalization as well.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:28:04]:
Moving into the present, what's happening in the field of student
affairs right now that is going well?
Melissa Manuel [00:28:09]:
Something that I would absolutely love to bring into Saudi, and I
do think that there will be an opportunity to do this, and we're
starting to see some younger, more innovative institutions do this,
and I think it's great, is making a more student driven student
affairs. So for example, student affairs organizations, they want
to set up clubs and they want spaces and provide resources and they
really want to give students everything they possibly can, and I
think that's great. But research does show that people are far more
invested in programs when they have been part of developing them.
So I'd like to see student affairs become more a facilitator for
students to grow their own programs, and then also manage them,
providing students with the opportunity for learning through maybe
business management, procurement, budgeting, leadership, succession
planning, and really handing over, putting that all together might
be a little more messy. But it gives something that you just can't
get through regular curriculum or if somebody has given you all
those things to start with and you don't understand or maybe
appreciate the value of what you have. Then I also think that that
would allow organizations to pivot and change more easily as the
student demographics change and maybe as society changes. When
institutions, for example, they spend resources, let's say, on
building a state of the art maker space, they've hired staff to run
it, they've got managers, they have all the supplies, they're maybe
more likely to keep that investment. But if students ask for that
space, they staff it, they maybe do the fundraising to get those
materials.
Melissa Manuel [00:29:31]:
It is now their project. The students that are governing that space
can then pivot and recognize change again a lot faster than I think
institutions can. In Texas, there's been a new, I think actually
it's a k twelve system, but it's affiliated with a college in Texas
called Opportunity Central, where students run businesses that are
used by all the community members like a mall, and they have
everything on the 1st floor of the school within the traditional
classrooms above. And there's a lot of non student based businesses
there that also get reduced lease costs, lease costs if they mentor
students. And that for me is the ideal example of collaboration at
its finest because you're maximizing experiential opportunities for
students in almost every way imaginable. And then you're also
minimizing weaknesses like reliance on external vendors that may
not care or cooperate with stakeholders, and then also reducing
overall operational costs. And I will, as a side note, say I am an
entrepreneur. I have owned my own businesses, and one of the things
that I love to do is time for pay.
Melissa Manuel [00:30:23]:
So if I have clients who want to become more involved and maybe
limited in some way, whether that's time, money, opportunity,
etcetera, I offer an exchange. So for example, if a student cannot
pay for courses, they can help with some of the administrative
burden like responding to emails and checking other students in.
And in this way, they are becoming more a part of the community and
are invested in the services they are providing because they're
more familiar with the client base. While I, as the company fulfill
a need that I would have to pay for anyway, but I'm far more likely
to get a more dedicated employee because they have an understanding
and empathy in a way that maybe an external individual would not.
So I think there's a lot you can do to gain a lot of experience,
but then also reduce those costs that are gonna come with those
things. And so I think there's things that can happen on both
sides. I'd love to see the future of student affairs move in that
direction and the future of institutions really to move in that
direction.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:15]:
And as we're talking about the future, in an ideal world, what does
our profession need to do to thrive towards the future?
Melissa Manuel [00:31:22]:
I I'm gonna bring it back to, I think, a a word that I probably
said too much, but collaboration. And I think that comes with more
research into what we can do better, more research into our
stakeholders, and more reading of research and ideas outside of our
own regions. So for example, I am doing my PhD in the States right
now, and I do recognize I am doing it in United States, and
therefore, it is an American type of model that I'm looking at. But
there's so much great research that's coming out from other regions
and countries that are doing things differently. And what I have
actually come back to my institution about is to say, we need to
use that a little bit more. And really, I think a lot of the
student affairs degrees that are coming out really should take more
of a holistic look at the research that is in other areas. It may
not be applicable, but it might just be that light bulb to say,
wow, you know, we could do it like that or maybe that's an idea we
could backpack it and change it in some way. So really again coming
more into that globalization type of sphere because again we're
gonna have international students from all over anyway and
employees are moving all over.
Melissa Manuel [00:32:15]:
And again just building that collaborative, I think, environment
for wanting to do a better job and really learning to change maybe
a little bit more quickly is what I think we need to be able to
thrive as an industry and as a profession.
Dr. Jill Creighton [00:32:27]:
It's time to take a quick break and toss it over to producer Chris
to learn what's going on in the NASPA world.
Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:32:33]:
Thanks, Jill. So excited to be back in the NASPA world, and there's
a lot of things happening in NASPA. The NASPA strategies conference
provides student affairs professionals with the knowledge and
skills to effectively address collegiate alcohol and drug misuse
prevention, mental health, sexual violence prevention and response
peer education and well-being through a variety of comprehensive
and integrative approaches. Registration is now open for the 2025
NASPA Strategies Conference, which is happening January 16th
through January 18th in Boston, Massachusetts. In Boston,
Massachusetts. Early registration deadline is closing on October
29th. So you still have time to register for this amazing
conference and save some money along the way. This will be an
amazing conference for anyone that is interested in alcohol and
other drugs, mental health, peer education, sexual violence
prevention, and more.
Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:33:27]:
I highly encourage you to check it out on the NASPA website. The
2025 NASPA Symposium on Military Connected Students is the
association premier event designed for student affairs
practitioners supporting military connected students. The symposium
is your exclusive opportunity to share evidence based practices
from your campus or organization. You can learn from leading
researchers in the field and engage with other professionals
committed to supporting military connected students. This is a 3
day symposium which features keynote speakers, keynote sessions,
research policy and best practice presentations and workshop style
sessions to help campus professionals develop or enhance their
programming and services for military connected students. This
symposium is happening on February 18th to February 20th in Las
Vegas, Nevada. Early registration closes on December 16, 2024. You
can find out more on the NASPA website.
Dr.
Christopher Lewis [00:34:23]:
The fall 2024 issue of Leadership Exchange is available, and
this issue is focused entirely on democracy
Dr.
Christopher Lewis [00:34:27]:
on campus. Throughout the entire issue, you're going to find
strategies to cultivate active and engaged citizens. There's a
number of amazing articles from people all over the country that
will open your eyes to ways in which you can engage students on
your own campus as we enter into the final weeks of a very busy
fall season, especially in regard to democracy on campus. I highly
encourage you to check it out. You can go under publications on the
NASPA website to find the Leadership Exchange and be able to read
the articles for yourself or share it with another colleague. It is
October and that means it is careers in student affairs month. And
throughout this month, there have been a number of opportunities,
events that are geared toward not only providing you with a good
glimpse on our profession, but also to encourage others to consider
our profession. We've got a number of great presentations still
coming up this month.
Dr.
Christopher Lewis [00:35:33]:
These opportunities are free and you can register yourself or
register some of your students for them. On October 16th, we have a
presentation at 3 pm Eastern. We have a presentation called
Pathways to Becoming an Assistant or Associate Vice President of
student affairs. If you're eager to advance in leadership roles
within student affairs, the panel will discuss the essential
skills, experiences, and strategies necessary to transition
successfully from a mid level position to an assistant or associate
VP role. On October 22nd, navigating the challenges of being a new
professional in student affairs. In this informative session, you
can join the mid level administration and new professional and
graduate student steering committee to talk about the challenges,
opportunities, and strategies for navigating the challenges faced
in navigating the field as a new professional or graduate student.
On October 24th, tap in and turn me up. Learn more about careers
and student affairs in this session.
Dr.
Christopher Lewis [00:36:35]:
It is, this session is designed exclusively for undergraduate
students interested in the profession of student affairs. If you've
got undergraduate students at your own campus that are interested
in our profession, this is the session for your students to take
advantage of. Also on October 24th, we'll be having a social. The
NASPA CSAM social is an informal event space for participants that
connect with other new professionals and graduate student members
and explore connections that bring together the field of student
affairs. And then finally, October 30th, 2024, state of student
affairs, a conversation with NASPA president, Doctor. Amelia
Pardell and NASPA board chair, Chair Doctor. Ana Gonzalez for a
discussion on the current state of student affairs, as well as the
future of the field from the perspective of association leadership.
I hope you'll be able to take advantage of some of these different
sessions and learn about our profession, learn about ways in which
you can engage further in our profession and get other people
engaged in our profession.
Dr.
Christopher Lewis [00:37:36]:
Every week, we're going to be sharing some amazing things that are
happening within the association. So we are going to be able to try
and keep you up to date on everything that's happening and allow
for you to be able to get involved in different ways because the
association is as strong as its members. And for all of us, we have
to find our place within the association, whether it be getting
involved with a knowledge community, giving back within one of the
the centers or the divisions of the association. And as you're
doing that, it's important to be able to identify for yourself
where do you fit? Where do you wanna give back? Each week, we're
hoping that we will share some things that might encourage you,
might allow for you to be able to get some ideas that will provide
you with an opportunity to be able to say, hey, I see myself in
that knowledge community. I see myself doing something like that.
Or encourage you in other ways that allow for you to be able to
think beyond what's available right now, to offer other things to
the association, to bring your gifts, your talents to the
association, and to all of the members within the association.
Because through doing that, all of us are stronger and the
association is better. Tune in again next week as we find out more
about what is happening in NASPA.
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:39:01]:
Chris, thank you so much for sharing with us what's going on in and
around NASPA. And, Melissa, we are with our lightning round now. I
have 7 questions for you in about 90 seconds. Ready to go? Yes.
Alright. Question 1. If you were a conference keynote speaker, what
would your entrance music be?
Melissa Manuel
[00:39:18]:
Born to be wild.
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:39:19]:
Number 2. When you were 5 years old, what did you want to be when
you grew up?
Melissa Manuel
[00:39:22]:
Not just an actress, but a famous actress.
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:39:25]:
Number 3, who's your most influential professional mentor?
Melissa Manuel
[00:39:28]:
Oh, one of the deans at my previous institution.
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:39:30]:
Number 4, your essential student affairs read.
Melissa Manuel
[00:39:33]:
JSARP, of course.
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:39:34]:
Number 5, the best TV show you've been binging lately.
Melissa Manuel
[00:39:37]:
I actually don't watch TV, but if I did have to choose something to
binge, I would probably go back to old and faithful Friends.
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:39:44]:
Number 6, the podcast you've spent the most hours listening to in
the last year.
Melissa Manuel
[00:39:48]:
Absolutely. The Huberman Lab.
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:39:49]:
And finally, any shout outs you'd like to give personal or
professional?
Melissa Manuel
[00:39:53]:
To all the individuals that I've worked with over the years,
everybody has made an impact in my life and then therefore into
student affairs in general. So thank you to my entire holistic
experience. And, Melissa, if anyone would like to connect with you
after the show,
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:40:03]:
how can they find you? You can find me on LinkedIn if you
Melissa Manuel
[00:40:09]:
search Melissa Manuel. You'll see all the history of me working in
the Arabian Gulf. I'm always open for a chat. I love connecting
with colleagues, with peers, with mentors. Anybody really that
wants to chat almost about anything, always there. And you can also
contact me via email at melissa dotmanual@outlook.com.
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:40:27]:
Melissa, thank you so so much for sharing your voice with us
today.
Melissa Manuel
[00:40:30]:
Thank you very much for having me.
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:40:36]:
This has been an episode of SA Voices from the Field brought to you
by NASPA. This show is made possible because of you, the listeners.
We continue to be grateful that you choose to spend your time with
us. If you'd like to reach the show, you can email us at sa voices
at naspa.org or find me on LinkedIn by searching for doctor Jill l
Creighton. We welcome your feedback and your topic and guest
suggestions. We'd love it if you take a moment to tell a colleague
about the show and leave us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts,
Spotify, or wherever you're listening now. It truly does help other
student affairs pros find the show and helps us to become more
visible in the larger podcasting community. This episode was
produced and hosted by doctor Jill Creighton.
Dr. Jill
Creighton [00:41:14]:
That's me. Produced and audio engineered by Dr. Chris Lewis.
Special thanks to the University of Michigan Flint for your support
as we create this project. Catch you next time.