Opportunity - (Webinar) House Bill 452 & More--Strategies for Helping Students Who Were Formerly in Foster Care

House Bill 452 & More--Strategies for Helping Students Who Were Formerly in Foster Care Join us for a Webinar on February 22 -  Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/876792374 Youth who age out of the foster care system often lack family connections and financial stability, difficulties that negatively impact their ability to find reasonable temporary housing in between school semesters.  The office of Representative Lucio III worked to address this problem by supporting the passage of HB 452.   All post-secondary institutions want to help students to meet their educational goals.  As child welfare advocates, we want to support your work, specifically with youth who were formerly in foster care. In September, we hosted a conference call with post secondary institutions to inform them of HB 452 and to hear what other institutions have been doing and are eager to do for this specific student population.  We have been working since then to develop strategies that could help further your work with these students.  We would like to share those ideas with you and get your ideas on February 22nd.   Whether you were part of our first call in September or are hearing about these efforts for the first time, please join us! Title: House Bill 452 & More--Strategies for Helping Students Who Were Formerly in Foster Care Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 Time: 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM CST After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

TACUSPA Webinar: The E.P.I.C. Journey (FREE for TACUSPA 2011/2012 members)

TACUSPA proudly presents our first webinar: The E.P.I.C. Journey scheduled for Friday, January 27, 1-2 p.m.  Access to the webinar is free for TACUSPA 2011/2012 members.

To register, please click on this link: WEBINAR REGISTRATION. 

Current trends at universities are to infuse the conduct process with meaningful encounters that take students on intentional personal journeys aimed at transforming decision-making patterns. The University of Texas at San Antonio has effectively accomplished this goal by assessing Engagement with the university, Personal development, Interpersonal development and Community membership using multiple theoretical backgrounds. Learn about the E.P.I.C. Journey to move your institutions’ behavioral processes to the next level.

This webinar highlights how the E.P.I.C. Journey Sanctioning Model impacts student success by individualizing each student’s educational meeting or hearing to direct efforts and resources toward their individual needs.  The E.P.I.C. Journey is a complete cross-functional initiative adaptable in any format.  Whether you work in conduct, student life, housing, student activities, greek life, leadership or student organizations, you can benefit from the strategies infused in the E.P.I.C. Journey.  Part of this webinar will focus on ways to utilize these strategies and frameworks including motivational interviewing, community development models, transformational education, creative sanctioning, and campus-wide mentorship in any area of student affairs.

Goals/Learning Outcomes 

• To introduce an innovative sanctioning model of addressing behavioral violations and/or concerns through the use of a purposeful individual needs based process by assessing engagement, personal development, interpersonal development, and community.

• To share the collaborative effort between the departments of Residence Life, Student Conduct, Counseling, University Police, and Student Activities to create a foundation for E.P.I.C. that encompasses multiple theoretical orientations and disciplines.

   

• To engage professionals in conceptualizing the management of behavioral expectations in more developmental and transformational ways and share how the tools and strategies can be used in a multitude of functional areas in addition to the group and individual conduct process.

About the E.P.I.C. Journey Sanctioning Model

Though only a step in the journey of life, college can often be described as an epic journey in itself. With remarkable personal development in so many areas, it can be argued that the college years are one of the most important journeys a person will take. The E.P.I.C. Journey Sanctioning Model was conceived with this in mind. We wanted to take a truly holistic approach to each meeting with a student to both create an intentional and productive judicial experience while utilizing the professional training and education we have attained to facilitate such development. The E.P.I.C. approach encompasses a complete view of the student rather than a myopic perspective of the infraction. From the educational meeting or hearing that begins a mandated journey to the optional involvement of engaged students participating in collaborative programs, the E.P.I.C. Journey lies before them.

The E.P.I.C. Journey Sanctioning Model entails giving students an interview based assessment during their educational conduct meeting.  This model includes active or required participation sanctions that allow the student to develop competencies that were found to be underdeveloped during their E.P.I.C. spectrum assessment process.  As a result, retention is improved by:

• developing creative sanctions that improve their success in college
• utilizing motivational interviewing to develop a willingness and confidence to change
• assigning a mentor to develop their engagement with the university
• implementing programming that reinforces the skill sets 

This holistic approach forms an intentional personal journey aimed at transforming decision-making patterns. The results reveal students moving from troublesome behavior to those who are retained and focused on completing their academic and personal goals.  Use of journey sanctioning with purposeful, sequential, active sanctions is paired with the consistency of inactive sanctions to provide a conduct experience that is both congruent with the high expectations of an academic environment and sensitive to the developmental needs of college students.

The E.P.I.C. Journey team includes a cross section of staff dedicated to upholding university wide standards and student success in Student Conduct, Residence Life, Privatized Housing, Counseling Services, Student Activities, and the University Police Department.  The E.P.I.C. Journey team is further expanded to include E.P.I.C. Mentors which include faculty and staff members assigned to the student and serve as a connection point between the student and his/her university experience enhancing areas of interest.  The team’s extensive training in both motivational interviewing and enhanced educational meeting strategies have dramatically increased our effectiveness in addressing student needs. E.P.I.C. reminds us that each student’s journey is unique and in order to be successful, we must first assess their needs and their compatibility with our campus values.

The E.P.I.C. Journey Sanctioning Model was  recognized by the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA) with the Innovation Award and Institutional Award of Excellence in 2011 and most recently with the Gold Medal in the housing, judicial, contract services and related category for the 2012 NASPA Excellence Awards.

Presenters
Jennifer Fueglein is a Coordinator in Student Conduct and Community Standards at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in Human Resources from Webster University in Saint Louis, Missouri.  She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education from the University of Texas at San Antonio.  Prior to her tenure at UTSA, Jennifer’s professional background included serving Housing and Residence Life at UTSA, Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota and Webster University encompassing a unique blend of large public and small private liberal college experience.  She currently serves as a member of the E.P.I.C. Core Team focusing on the management and training of practitioners and research study implementation.

Jan Wilson McKinney is an Assistant Director in Student Conduct and Community Standards at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Education from the University of South Carolina.  She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education from the University of Texas at San Antonio.  She has worked in the areas of Housing and Residence Life, Student Activities and Multicultural Programs at the University of South Carolina, University of Central Florida and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi.  She currently serves as a member of the E.P.I.C. Core Team focusing on presentations, training and publications. 

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

OPPORTUNITY - Prepárate™: EDUCATING LATINOS FOR THE FUTURE OF AMERICA

Readers,

Here is a great opportunity for all of you!

Prepárate™:

EDUCATING LATINOS FOR THE FUTURE OF AMERICA

May 31–June 1, 2012

Hyatt Regency Miami

Miami, Fla.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Visit preparate.collegeboard.org/call-proposals for complete submission guidelines and to submit your proposal online. Proposals may be submitted from Sept. 1 through Oct. 7, 2011.

The annual Prepárate™ conference brings together professionals from higher education, secondary schools, middle schools and community-based organizations. These professionals are committed to improving education for Latino students. We encourage you to share your knowledge by submitting a session proposal for Prepárate 2012.Through your participation, Prepárate will continue to empower educators to meet the needs of a growing Latino student population.

Please consider submitting a session proposal that showcases trends, new initiatives, effective strategies or best practices that affect your Latino students. We are especially interested in learning about:

• Valuable early education programs

• Raising expectations and academic achievement

• Innovative teaching strategies

• Involving parents in education

• Using data to inform instruction

• Implementing testing and accountability measures

• Creating P–20 partnerships, including the academic community with the private sector

• Leading Latino advocacy initiatives

• College programs showing academic success and persistence

• Successful academic programs overcoming budgetary challenges

• Useful higher education recruitment and retention strategies

Preference will be given to proposals for sessions that:

• Highlight programs, services or policies that improve educational access and success for all students

• Include speakers from multiple institutions and/or regions

• Foster dialogue among educators from different professional areas

• Provide research and data to support claims and document outcomes

• Share best practices and examples of what works and what doesn’t work

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

UNT Equity & Diversity Conference - Call for Proposals

TACUSPA members,

The University of North Texas is proud to announce the 12^th annual Equity and Diversity Conference scheduled for February 7, 2012. This year’s featured keynote speaker will be Dan Savage, author and creator of the It Gets Better Project. We invite you to submit a workshop proposal for this year’s conference. Registration fees will be waived for all workshop speakers. Submissions are due by November 1 at 5 pm. Detailed information is attached.

Please email multicultural@unt.edu should you have any questions.

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

TACUSPA Fall Conference 2011 - Free Faculty Registration Opportunities, Conference Highlights, Graduate Student Opportunities

Texas Higher Education/Student Affairs Faculty,


I hope your semester is going well! My name is Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards and I am the Vice-President for Education and Professional Development for the Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (TACUSPA). On behalf of the TACUSPA executive board, we would like to invite you to our annual fall conference. This year's conference will be held Sunday, October 16, 2011 to Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at the Holiday Inn Townlake Hotel in Austin, TX. This year's theme is  "Reinventing Higher Education" and we would like to have a large faculty presence at the conference! For more information about the conference, please copy and paste the following link - http://tacuspa.camp8.org/Conferences.


FREE FACULTY REGISTRATION
This year, we are offering a FREE faculty registration for one faculty member at Texas higher education institutions with higher education administration programs. This program is limited to five faculty members. To take advantage of this offer, please let me know of your interest in the Free Faculty Registration program and I will send a confirmation to you.


CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
We are excited to have several well-known and distinguished speakers headlining this year’s conference including Dr. Stan Carpenter, dean of the College of Education at Texas State University-San Marcos,Dr. Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy, executive director of NASPA, Dr. Susan R. Komives, professor and program director of college student affairs at the University of Maryland and president of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, and Lynn Rossi Scott, attorney and shareholder in the Ft. Worth law firm Brackett & Ellis.


OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR STUDENTS
We also have several opportunities for your graduate students to get involved in TACUSPA. Encourage your students to apply for a graduate student scholarship to cover the cost of the conference registration. We have attached it here. The application deadline is next Friday, September 16, 2011. There is a special breakfast for graduate students as well as the annual graduate student case study competition. The case study competition is a great opportunity for future professionals to demonstrate their knowledge and problem-solving skills and to work with graduate students from different programs across the state of Texas.


Fall Conference Scholarship for Graduate Students - http://tinyurl.com/TACUSPAFALL2011


Fall Conference - Case Study Competition Registration Form - http://tinyurl.com/TACUSPACaseStudyFA2011


***Also, I am actively seeking FACULTY JUDGES for the case study competition which will be held during the conference. If you are interested, please let me know!***


We look forward to seeing you at this year's conference. For more information, please contact Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards at jtedwards@tarleton.edu or 254-968-9638.


Sincerely,


J. Edwards


Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

University of North Texas - Higher Education Research Assistantship Opportunities (Due - December 1, 2011)

Readers,

Here is a great opportunity from UNT!



The Higher Education Program at the University of North Texas anticipates the availability of two research assistantships with full tuition support for new, full-time Ph.D. students beginning with the Fall 2012 term. The assistantships will include these elements: a 20-hour-per-week research assistantship with competitive compensation, a waiver of tuition and fees, and a benefits package to include health coverage. This commitment is for three years. Continuing support for a fourth year is possible, but not guaranteed. All application materials, both for the university and for the program, must be submitted by December 1, 2011.


The UNT Higher Education program recently celebrated 40 years of doctoral level education in higher education and related fields. The program is home to the Bill J. Priest Center for Community College Education, the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students, and the Texas Higher Education Law Conference. The program also offers master’s degrees, with an emphasis in student affairs.


Applicants for the assistantships should indicate any personal areas of interest in the study of higher education, but might note that issues of student access and success are particular emphases within the research and service interests of the faculty. These include but are not limited to community college and transfer student success, the P-16 continuum, participation by under-represented populations, American Indian higher education, international higher education, the assessment of learning outcomes, and the role of spirituality in student life. Some professional or research experience will be valued in the evaluation of applications.


A cover letter to the application should clearly indicate both the intention of full-time study and interest in assistantship support.


For more information on the Higher Education Program and the application process, see https://www.coe.unt.edu/counseling-and-higher-education/higher-education.


Further inquiries may be addressed to the Higher Education Program Coordinator, Dr. Kathleen Whitson, at Kathleen.Whitson@unt.edu.


Sincerely,



Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

TACUSPA Website - Recent Job Listings

Readers,


Are you currently searching for a student services/higher education job in Texas? Click here for recent listings from the TACUSPA website - http://www.tacuspa.net/careerops.html: 

Texas Wesleyan University - Hall Manager (7-12-2011)

University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College - Career Counselor (6-15-2011)

University of Texas at Arlington - Assistant Director for Multicultural Affairs (6-14-2011)

Baylor University - Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs (6-14-2011)

Texas Tech University - Assistant Vice Provost for Student Affairs (5-24-2011)

McLennan Community College - Student Development, Director (5-13-2011)

McLennan Community College - Student Development, Counseling Specialist (5-11-2011)

University of Texas Medical Branch - Sr. Medical Educator - Learning Skills Specialist (5-2-2011)

Sincerely,


Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

TACUSPA Article Competition, Grant Competition, and Fellowship Applications!

TACUSPA Members,

The Graduate Education and Research Commission AND the Scholarships and Fellowships Committee would like to announce this year's article and grant competitions!

Do you need some money for thesis, dissertation, or department-based research? Would you like to see your research and graduate school papers in print AND have a chance to be honored for your efforts? Submit a research paper, grant proposal, and/or fellowship application by Friday, June 3, 2011!

TACUSPA Research Development Grant - Application Form 2011

http://tinyurl.com/TACUSPAGrant

TACUSPA Article Competition - Call  for Papers 2011

http://tinyurl.com/TACUSPAArticleCompetition

Would you like to gain a better perspective of higher education in Texas AND learn about our exciting organization AT THE SAME TIME? APPLY for a TACUSPA Fellowship! BUILD YOUR RESUME & ENHANCE YOUR HIGHER EDUCATION EXPERIENCE!

TACUSPA Fellowship Application Form 2011

http://www.tinyurl.com/TACUSPAFellowship

*Also, please to check the TACUSPA Blog (http://tacuspa.blogspot.com/), Facebook Fan Page (http://www.facebook.com/TACUSPA), and Twitter Page (http://www.twitter.com/TACUSPA/)!

Sincerely,

Drs. Rishi Sriram & Jacqueline Cooper TACUSPA G.E.A.R. Commission Co-Chairs

Matthew Park

TACUSPA Scholarships and Fellowships Chair

Jennifer T. Edwards

Vice-President for Education and Professional Development

UNT Law Conference - GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE (DEADLINE - This FRIDAY - March 11th)

TACUSPA Members,

TACUSPA is sponsoring four graduate student scholarships to attend the Texas Higher Education Law Conference on March 28 & 29, 2011. Please consider submitting an application by completing the form below. The EXTENDED scholarship deadline is FRIDAY - March 11th.

TACUSPA SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION - http://tinyurl.com/higheredlawconference

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONFERENCE: http://www.unt.edu/administration/conference2011.htm

The Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (TACUSPA) will be awarding four (4) scholarships to graduate students attending the Conference. Each scholarship will cover conference registration fees. Transportation and lodging are the responsibility of the recipient.

Eligibility and Criteria for Selection: 

- Must be a student member of TACUSPA ($20 annual dues) 

- Must be a full-time graduate student pursuing a career in student affairs, counseling, higher education or related field 

- Expected career benefits to the recipient 

- Quality of plans to apply conference experience to professional preparation -All applicants must be endorsed by a graduate faculty member at the institution where the student is enrolled or by a professional member of TACUSPA (signature required on application) 

Note: Scholarship recipients will be asked to volunteer up to one hour of their time at the conference (if needed).

Recipients will be contacted prior to the conference as to when that time will be utilized. Recipients also are expected to notify Matthew Park four days in advance if they are unable to attend. Recipients are required to prepay the conference registration fee. If selected, the recipients will receive a reimbursement at the end of the conference. 

If you have any questions, please contact: 

Matthew Park

TACUSPA Scholarships and Fellowships 

Chair (940) 397-4500 matthew.park@mwsu.edu

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

FREE Webinar, "The Vulerability Assessment Process" will be presented by Dr. Arthur Cummins on February 28th at 11:00 a.m. (CST).

Readers,

This is a GREAT opportunity (sponsored by the American Clearinghouse on Educational Facilities) for those of you who are focused on educational facilities (K-12 and higher education).

This FREE Webinar, "The Vulerability Assessment Process" will be presented by Dr. Arthur Cummins on February 28th at 11:00 a.m. (CST).

Here's some information about the webinar:

Dr. Cummins is currently serving youth as Director of Safe and Healthy Schools within the Orange County Department of Education. He oversees programming such as Health & Wellness, Sports & Physical Education, Food & Nutrition, Drug & Alcohol prevention, and Mental Health services. He has served as a classroom teacher and school site administrator in both middle and high school in the states of Oklahoma, Texas, and California.

Dr. Cummins also serves as the Southern California Lead for the School & Law Enforcement Partnership, which facilitates collaborative relationships between law enforcement agencies and school district personnel. He serves on the Executive Board for the California School Resource Officers Association as well. Dr. Cummins sites on the Board for the Orange County Drug & Alcohol Advisory Committee as serves as Co-Chair for the California Child Abduction TASK Force. Finally, Dr. Cummins serves on the Board for the Joyful Child Foundation providing prevention and intervention resources for missing and abducted children.

In addition to holding multiple certifications in emergency management, Dr. Cummins is also an approved trainer for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation which provides psychological recovery services to public and private school populations.

Register for the Webinar Today! - LINK

Enjoy!

Dr. J. Edwards

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

Texas Higher Education Law Conference - Scholarships (DEADLINE - MARCH 1st)

TACUSPA Members,  


TACUSPA is sponsoring four graduate student scholarships to attend the Texas Higher Education Law Conference. Please consider submitting an application by completing the form below. The scholarship deadline is Tuesday, March 1st.

Here is the link to the scholarship application - http://tinyurl.com/higheredlawconference

The Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (TACUSPA) will be awarding four (4) scholarships to graduate students attending the Conference. Each scholarship will cover conference registration fees. Transportation and lodging are the responsibility of the recipient.  


Eligibility and Criteria for Selection:
- Must be a student member of TACUSPA ($20 annual dues) 
- Must be a full-time graduate student pursuing a career in student affairs, counseling, higher education or related field 
- Expected career benefits to the recipient 
- Quality of plans to apply conference experience to professional preparation 
- All applicants must be endorsed by a graduate faculty member at the institution where the student is enrolled or by a professional member of TACUSPA (signature required on application)  


Note: Scholarship recipients will be asked to volunteer up to one hour of their time at the conference (if needed). Recipients will be contacted prior to the conference as to when that time will be utilized. Recipients also are expected to notify Matthew Park four days in advance if they are unable to attend. Recipients are required to prepay the conference registration fee. If selected, the recipients will receive a reimbursement at the end of the conference.  


If you have any questions, please contact: Matthew Park TACUSPA Scholarships and Fellowships Chair (940) 397-4500 matthew.park@mwsu.edu  


MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONFERENCE: The 15th Annual Texas Higher Education Law Conference is scheduled for March 28 & 29, 2011, on the UNT campus. Partial information on the conference, including registration, is available at http://www.unt.edu/administration/conference2011.htm

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

TACUSPA Board - Open Positions (Call for Nominations)

TACUSPA is seeking nominations of professionals to serve in the following volunteer leadership positions:

 President Elect

 Vice President of Administration

 Director of Technology

To see a listing of duties associated with each position go to (page 8) http://www.tacuspa.net/File%20Attachments/TACUSPA%20Operations%20Manual-2010.pdf . Those elected will take office in October 2011. Self-nominations will be accepted.

To nominate someone for a position, please email Amanda Drum at amanda.drum@tamucc.edu no later than February 11, 2011.

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development