Professional Development Resources (Week 3): Low-Cost/No-Cost Alternatives

The current state of the economy is causing many universities and colleges to decrease travel budgets. As a result, many graduate students and student affairs practitioners think their professional development opportunities are over! However, this is not the case! Here are some low-cost, no-cost ideas for professional development at the university/state level.

Create an Institution-Based Conference 

Every institution of higher education has an incredible resource...their personnel! Everyone has something to contribute - graduate students, entry-level/mid-level/senior personnel, faculty, and chief student affairs officers! Utilize your resources to create a half-day/full-day conference for your student services department. This is also an opportunity for participants to build their resumes and improve their presentation skills.

Do Not Order Books - Borrow Them for Free! 

If you found a great book on higher education/student affairs, do not order it! Check it out from your college or university library. If the library does not have the publication, ask them to order it or request the item through interlibrary loan. If a local library has the item, request a TexShare card through your university library. This card enables users to check out five or more books from almost any community or higher education library in Texas.

Attend the Fall TACUSPA Conference 

You do not have to attend NASPA or ACPA to gain access to great speakers and researchers. As TACUSPA members, you have low-cost access to the annual TACUSPA conference. For $250.00 or less, your registration fee covers almost all conference meals, great speakers, wonderful networking opportunities, and access to higher education researchers (i.e. - George Kuh, Laura L. Rendon, etc.). In fact, here is the 2009 schedule - http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=60276. Try the TACUSPA conference!

Sponsor a Lunch and Learn Opportunity (A Webinar)

Usually held at lunch or in the afternoon, these webinars provide attendees with power point slides before the presentation date. Attendees can usually ask questions via a chat window or by calling into a central number. Here are some upcoming opportunities:

• ACPA Webinars - http://www.myacpa.org/pd/webinars/
• ACUHO-I - http://www.acuho-i.org/Default.aspx?tabid=643
• National Center for Higher Education Risk Management - http://www.ncherm.org/webinars.html
• National Survey of Student Engagement - http://nsse.iub.edu/webinars/TuesdaysWithNSSE.cfm (2009)
  
• National Survey of Student Engagement - http://nsse.iub.edu/webinars/schedule.cfm (2010)
• Paper Clip Communications - http://www.paper-clip.com/ME2/Default.asp
• Student Voice - http://www.studentvoice.com/app/training
  

*Sometimes the sponsoring organizations post free recordings or documents after the webinar.



If you have any additional ideas for low-cost or non-cost professional development alternatives, please post the ideas in the comment section below!

The Graduate Education and Research Committee