Merry Christmas and Happy new Year

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

We do not hold ourselves accountable in higher education; time to admit it

If you have worked in education long enough, you will quickly learn that educators are full of flaws.

·         The industry is highly indiscreet, despite FERPA (FAMILY EDUCATION RIGHTS PRIVACY ACT)

·         People often work in silos without collaboration

·         We do not admit when we are wrong soon enough

·         ETC

Do not get me wrong, I love my industry and our hearts are in the right place, but real change is really scary for most, and often we do not embrace the change until it is forced upon us.

Issues with accreditation did not just happen overnight, this had to have taken years to build up. Accounting and solvency issues did not just suddenly appear, mistakes are going to happen when people get promoted into positions that does not necessarily suit them. Online technology has been growing for decades, so why then are we not trying to embrace things that can help more students?

So, what is the solution? Well there is no one solution and there is no simple answer because we are in a labor-intensive industry, where egos clash, and everyone is an expert.

At the very least, we need to PRACTICE WHAT WE TEACH. We teach some really good stuff in higher educaion, we change lives, we help people better themselves; but we do not always apply this learning to ourselves.

Businesses are expecting more from us and so are our students. We need to make sure we are not just preparing students to pass a test, but to be job ready and pass life’s test.

So, the answer to the question is actually another question: as an educator in higher education what are you prepared to do make real change and achieve real success for our community?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam http://www.theeteamconsulting.com/home.html

What kind of message does this send to your employees? #leadership #communication

This is a real message sent out to employees in regards to a holiday party:

“Please RSVP by COB Friday, December 9th.

Holiday Party RSVP

The Coleman University Holiday Party will take place on Friday, December 16th in Hopper Hall from 6-10pm. The event will include games, raffles, and a dance floor. The cost to attend is $5 per employee and you can bring one guest at no cost. Please pay at the front desk and RSVP by COB Friday, December 9th. We ask employees to provide a dessert item, employees bringing dessert will get one raffle ticket (only one).”

Never mind the grammar issues in the message, never mind the acronyms that are not necessarily clear: you are charging your hardworking employees for a Christmas party! If money is an issue, perhaps just have a potluck, or maybe no party at all?

The little things are what matter, it is the little things that get noticed, and these little things are the difference between retaining your employees and losing them.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Do you listen and take action or just hit delete and hope? A communication question

As employer and as a leader, you are going to get negative emails from employees from time to time because life happens.

How you respond to those emails can be the difference between solving a problem and creating new one. By the way, not responding at all is a negative way of responding because every person wants to know that their point has been heard.

Try and see the issue from the point of view of the employee, if you cannot, ask questions, and ask the employee what they would like to see happen. You might be able to fulfill their wish, but maybe all they wanted to do was vent; venting can be cathartic for people.

There are too many people in authority who feel they must defend and counter every argument, rather than listen, understand, and try and help a person get through the issue.

Leadership often means you must put the needs of your employees ahead of your own ego.

So before you hit that delete button, before you decide to ignore that person, ask yourself: how am I helping this person by my action (or lack of)?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

What is faculty governance and do you have it?

Not an easy question to answer and many institutions are trying to answer this.

Emory University:

“Casually ask faculty members at Emory how they define faculty governance, and two themes emerge. First, most seem to focus on faculty governance at the departmental or the school/college level, in which their appointment is housed. Second, they view faculty governance as a mechanism to oversee the curriculum and guide decisions about the promotion, and if applicable, tenure of a colleague. From our perspective, the need for engaged faculty governance at the university level deserves at least as much consideration, though. Such attention is especially essential during this era of the rapidly shifting landscape in higher education” 

http://www.emory.edu/ACAD_EXCHANGE/issues/2014/Spring/stories/sterkwagner/index.html

NEA:

Faculty Governance in Higher Education: “Faculty members in higher education should have primary responsibility to:

1.      Determine the curriculum, subject matter, methods of instruction, and other academic standards and processes.

2.      Establish the requirements for earning degrees and certificates, and authorize the administration and governing board to grant same.

3.      Exercise, where the faculty deems it appropriate, primary responsibility for determining the status of colleagues, especially appointment, reappointment, and tenure.

4.      Establish procedures for awarding promotions, sabbaticals, research support, and other rewards or perquisites.”  http://www.nea.org/home/34743.htm

It I s also referred to as “share governance” http://agb.org/trusteeship/2014/3/how-make-shared-governance-work-some-best-practices

While not everyone is going to agree on what it is or on how it is supposed to get done, everyone should be agreeing that it needs to be done.

If faculty and administration cannot come together and create a program worthy of teaching, then it is the students that suffer. If faculty, who are the experts, are feeling like their expertise is being minimized in favor of agendas, then it is students who suffer. If the administration does not have an avenue to discuss concerns with faculty, then students suffer. There are numerous examples of schools failing because of this reason (private non-profit, for profit, and public schools alike).

 

Need some ideas? The ETeam is happy to help!

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Criminal Justice System: An Education Problem

Whatever political party you belong to, whichever label you put on yourself, all sensible people know that our criminal justice system is far from perfect. We have left the “correctional and rehabilitation” parts out and focused on the “punishment” thereby creating issues that should not exist.

The system changes with the political winds (should not happen), and industries whose CEOs names we do not know, are making huge profits from it. Inflated phone calls for prisoners, expensive commissaries, prison labor, the bail bond system, debtors prison (still exists just not called that), fining communities into poverty for minor offenses, etc.

Private prisons can only make a profit if there are prisoners, and we have seen judges go to jail recently for jailing kids and adults for a healthy kick-back.

We have police officers, through no fault of their own, that are inadequately trained to handle a lot of situations and there is no training in sight. We have communities that distrust the police because the police do not know them and vice-versa; and whether we want to admit or not, too many people are being killed by the police (estimated 945 this year as I write, and that does not include prison population).

How do elementary school students get handcuffed or pepper sprayed in their school? How does a child acquire an arrest record for defiance before they have even entered high school? Do we not see there is a problem here?

It is likely that someone will troll this article with crime statistics attributed along color lines, that happens often. I hope they keep in mind that this is universal, and goes beyond skin color.

These are the kind of things everyday people are concerned about (along with being able to pay the bills), these are the sort of issues I hope the next administration takes a serious look at because our children, the future of our country are being affected.

Serious problems deserve serious solutions that include serious conversations with the people affected (the poor).

We can do better, we need to do better, let us do better!

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Learn to articulate otherwise it just comes off as hate: An educator's thoughts on true political discourse

For the last 16 years, I have watched a steady decline in political discourse, and have seen an increase in political fighting and trolling; especially with the rise of social media. The vitriol is currently at an all-time high, and it is so bad that nobody’s message is getting through; and I mean the real message.

Let me also so say that this is not a political message, I am not connected to any political party. I do not believe in labels and I do not fit into any category specifically.

In 2000, when George W Bush was elected President, there were several people who I knew running around shouting, “he is going to be the anti-Christ”, there was crying, anger, etc. During one particular tirade I remember, when I routinely declined to let people know who I voted for (I got accused of all kinds of stuff because I was not agreeing with these folks), I asked a simple question: “what specifically are your issues with him”? Note the word specific…

Fast forward to the election of President Obama in 2008. Before the man was even elected, there were a number of people telling me how bad he is going to be, how he is going to do this bad thing or that bad thing, etc., etc. Now towards the end of his successful presidency (he got elected twice so say what you will), there are people saying he is the worst president ever, “I hate him” (always people who opposed him). I have asked the same question I asked in 2000 several times to these people, “what specifically are your issues with him” “what exactly makes him so bad”. I have yet to get a complete answer, even from some intelligent people I respect.

Now we have Donald Trump as our president elect. While he has said many things that would have made all past presidents unelectable, he was elected, and quite decisively, so now is not the time for vitriol but specifics. Your message will never get your concerns across if you are just shouting, because people will not listen to shouting. Your message means nothing unless you can clearly articulate it, and the recent attempts to do so have been weak to non-existent.

When first ladies, people who have traditionally been exempt from the political bashing, are being mocked as an “ape in heels” (yes it was racist so please do not excuse it) and people cheer, when our presidents are being compared to chimps (Bush) and “lying Africans” (Obama): don’t you think things are going too far?

If you cannot clearly explain your message, then there is no message. Perhaps you just need to sit down, take a breath, and remember that we are all human.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

The world is not going to end and the world has not changed in the way you think it has

The election is over, the people have spoken, time to get back normality. However, what is normality?

Technology has allowed voices and messages to be heard faster and broader than before; often in an anonymous way, but these voices have always been there, that is not new.  This anonymity is creating an atmosphere of uncivil behavior, and since that door has been opened, it is not going to close.

What has changed is the strong and polarizing divisions in this country, and around the world. Look at Philippines, Britain and Europe in general; the cracks are there and growing. Look at the solid political and cultural divisions between states.

Are we all aware that the conditions that exist right now (and that are developing) are similar to the way world wars have started? No, I am not saying we are going to war, I am just saying the conditions in which large wars start are here with us right now.

There are already many battles going on around the world and this country has basically been involved in wars non-stop since 2001; do not forget that.

I am not sure what the solution is, but what I do know is that there needs to be a better understanding of each other rather than the current “forget the other team” attitude. We need to listen to each other to learn, not just to respond, we need some unity (sounds corny but it is true).

Pay attention everyone, because history does have a tendency to repeat itself, so let us make sure we are all on the correct side of history.

More to come…

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

My hope for the election: an educator’s thought

My hope is simple. It is not partisan; it does not involve any labels or slogans such as conservative and liberal.

My hope is for understanding as we move forward. Unless you understand something or someone. It is human nature to look at things and people suspiciously. Suspicion, leads to fear, that leads to hate (sounds like Star Wars but it is true), and that eventually leads to destruction.

You might not see what I am seeing, you might not agree, however, America does have an important choice to make tomorrow, and that is whether we truly believe in an America for all or divided America.

It is ok to listen to each other, to try and understand each other.

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

There are serious divisions that should not be dismissed: an educator’s perspective on the political situation

I love science fiction books, they take you away from reality for a while, and they can also fan the flames of your imagination. Sometimes though, science fiction books can be omens of the future.

I was recently reading a book by a well-known author written a decade ago that started getting me thinking about what is going on around me. FYI, no this is not a political article, it is simply an educated observation of the state of what is going on around us.

The country is divided, it is divided by ideals, legal system, it is divided by politics, and it is important to understand that these divisions are not divisions of extremes. These divisions are and have been the norm for a little while, we have just reached a tipping point, we have reached a point where we are noticing.

It is important that we understand that these feelings did not all of a sudden manifest themselves, these feelings have been building up for decades, these feelings are a part of the fabric of this country. And guess what? As citizens of this country, we are all entitled to our opinions: political, personal, etc. What is missing is respect for each other’s opinion (that went missing a while ago it seems).

Whoever wins this election, this divide will still exist, these feelings will not dissipate like the wind simply because it is the Wednesday after the elections; once again, like it or not, these feelings are real!

Back to the book; in it, was state of existence very similar to what we are experiencing right now, that causes a civil war in the country. It was not necessarily like the war of 1860s, but it was indeed a war, and massive change happened, with massive consequences.

I am going end here by saying, our greatest threats more often are not from the outside, but from within. We can be our own worst enemies, and in this age of social media, we are creating more enemies by how we behave towards one another (look at the comments in political posts).

It is ok to listen to each other; it is ok to disagree with each other; we can do both these things without destroying each other. 

I hope I am wrong.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Free Yoga For Veterans

Is your job application system user friendly? Lessons from an MBA program

The days of pounding pavement, going to an office and filling out an application are done, for better or worse electronic applications are the norm.

There is a certain convenience to them obviously, especially not having to decipher peoples’ handwriting, and being able to electronically store applications. However, it is my belief that a little of the humanity has gone out of the job search, which in term causes great frustration for applicants. 

Here are some of the issues I have identified:

·         Applications are being pre-screened by computers, and while there are many so-called experts out there who are willing to give you advice on how to “write a winning resume” (for a nominal fee of course), there are no guarantees that good and qualified candidates resumes are ever going to be seen by the decision makes. The “blackhole” effect, can cause qualified people to stop looking for jobs.

·         The digital divide. Yes, computers are everywhere, but that does not mean everyone has one, or has one with internet access. There are the “haves and have nots” in the digital world.

·         The time-honored tradition of following up on applications submitted has been taken away, and this is a shame because if you have taken the time to submit a professional resume, you should expect some simple professional courtesies. The counter argument is going to be “there are too many resumes” or “not enough time”, and my response is: take the time to get back to applicants!

·         My last point can be the ultimate frustrater, and that is system errors. Have you ever taken 30 to 45 minutes to fill out an application for an opportunity that is perfect for you? You are all excited, you do everything right, you hit that submit button, and then boom: SYSTEM ERROR! Maybe it works the second time around, but you still must take all that time again, or worse, you spend all day trying to get it submitted at all and it never works! Plus, the ad says “no phone calls” or there is no email to get the issue addressed.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are communication problems, and bad communication is one of the biggest complaints all employees have about their employer: imagine how a well-qualified potential employee might feel about your company?

Many companies are not even aware that they have issues at this end of recruitment; and this system error issue can happen during the onboarding process as well causing people to quit before they start.

Does your company monitor these issues?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

YogawithKristin: Teaching Yoga & Meditation to Kids in School

YogawithKristin: Teaching Yoga & Meditation to Kids in School: I recently came across an article about a school in Baltimore that uses meditation and yoga instead of detention for kids who were str...

Sharing and article 10/19/2016

The Biggest Crisis in Higher Ed Isn't Student Debt, It's Students Who Don't Graduate

Michael Crow

President at Arizona State University

There is a lot of talk these days about student debt and the challenges that families face managing this burden. Rightfully so, particularly at a time when too many families are struggling with flat wages and rising costs. But the discussion of a debt crisis often fails to address what I would argue is the greater crisis: the fact that more than half of those who start college fail to finish.

Think about it: Tens of millions of people in the US are saddled with student debt and have no degree to help pay it off. They won’t get the substantial return on their investment—graduates with a bachelor’s degree earn about $1 million more in additional income over their lifetime than those with only a high school diploma—and they typically have not developed the adaptive learning skills that will help them prosper in a rapidly changing economy.

Read the rest here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/biggest-crisis-higher-ed-isnt-student-debt-its-students-michael-crow?trk=eml-b2_content_ecosystem_digest-hero-22-null&midToken=AQFzAxS6j-5scg&fromEmail=fromEmail&ut=07KmtC72n2BTs1

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Are your Adjunct Professors Just an After Thought? A serious HigherEd question

Can you answer a strong yes to these questions?

·         Do you have a robust and supportive onboarding process for your part-time faculty?

·         Does your part-time faculty get the administrative, technological, and general support it needs on time?

·         Do you regularly let your part-time faculty know you appreciate them?

·         Do the part-time faculty have a voice in changes that affect them?

·         When was the last time you had meaningful conversations with the part-time faculty that work for you? Do you know who works for you?

I am sure a lot of people answered yes because that is what you believe; that is what you know. However, would your part-time faculty agree with you? Can you answer that question?

If you cannot answer a strong unequivocal yes to all those simple questions, you might have some work to do in order to keep and attract your most valuable assets: your faculty.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

American obsession with age and weight: An Education issue

My formative years were spent outside of the U.S, so hopefully you will understand my perspective and confusion about this topic.

The other day I was listening to a fit looking young woman talk about how she did not used to eat because she was worried about being healthy. She ended her conversation by saying, “but I do eat now; I ask for the salad dressing on the side and will add fries”. I am sorry but that does not sound like a healthy balanced meal to me, and I did mention that she looked like she was in shape, yet she was still obsessing.

I am currently closer to 50 than I am to 45. Not a big deal in my book because where I grew up I am still considered young. Imagine my shock when a 30 something started referring himself as old, and when I shared my age, he said, “damn you are old as #@$%!”. I was actually quite insulted by that.

You cannot completely blame people, because society is teaching people that this is the way it is.

We have fat shaming and body shaming of young women in K12, if you are over 40 you are in a “protected class” to prevent discrimination. Polls mostly want the demographic of 18 to 35; not that I miss all those solicitations but it was really abrupt when they stopped.

Perhaps we can take a cue from other countries and not overproduce, serve smaller portions? Perhaps PE can be true part of K12 education not an afterthought, and let us add sports into all schools immediately and not have to wait until high school or make parents pay for expensive outside programs.

It seems to me there are more important things we should be concerned about, better things we can be teaching our kids. We can also learn from the experience of those with more age, they are better than most libraries.

Just some observation from an educator

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/body-shaming/

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/opinion/sunday/youre-how-old-well-be-in-touch.html?_r=0

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/ageism/

http://www.fcsi.org/foodservice-consultant/the-americas/toxic-diets-how-the-diet-industry-is-damaging-america/

ACICS in crisis: So what is the plan to help students?

So, one of big items in Higher Education is that an accreditor is in crisis: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-22/education-department-strips-authority-of-acics-the-largest-for-profit-college-accreditor?src=usn_li (not fan of this title but it is detailed)

There are approximately 600,000 students who attend schools within this body, and not all are for-profit schools by the way, and even if that was the case For-Profit is not and should not be a curse word because that is unprofessional. Anyway, back to the question at hand: what is the plan to help all those students?

Students have taken out loans, made sacrifices, and expect to get a degree: how are you going to help them accomplish this with causing more hardship in their lives? Community Colleges will not be able to help those on the tail end of a four-year degree, and how about all the loans that are going to come due because the students no longer have an in-school deferment?

Too often, when large events like this happen, the students do not seem to be the first priority. It is about the student right?

What is the plan?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Sharing a blog post 9/18/2016

We thought this had some useful information:

http://www.creatrixcampus.com/blog/how-personalized-mobile-learning-can-enhance-student-engagement-and-achievement

The ETeam

Sharing some good articles on leadership 09/16/2016

I am a firm believer in sharing good an relevant material, that is how we learn. Today I am sharing two articles by Jeffrey E. Reeves (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyereeves) .

I hope you get something out of this as well!

Leadership… An Informed Perspective August 26, 2016

“Leaders create the vision.  Managers create plans.  Your vision motivates people to action; plans are an outcome that guides your team toward making your vision a reality.  Leadership and management are the two elements of being-in-charge and being responsible.  The ability to discern which element one is dealing with or which is dominant at any moment in each unique situation is—in my view—the main characteristic of a great leader.  I call this characteristic wisdom”.

Read the rest here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leadership-informed-perspective-jeffrey-e-reeves?trk=prof-post

Leadership: Part II - How the Planning Padlock Stifles Leadership, September 16, 2016

“Leadership is about creating a vision. Planning is an afterthought that often turns a leader’s vision into nothing more than a pipe dream. Consider..."

“Leaders articulate a vision in words and deeds that motivate individuals to embrace the leader’s vision, take action, and transform the leader’s vision into a reality whether the leader is there or not. MLK’s vision advanced civil rights and continues to do so today. Men landed on the moon long after JFK’s death and are now looking forward to colonizing Mars. The Missionaries of Charity of Charity survive and thrive even after Mother Teresa becomes a saint in the Catholic Church"

Read the rest here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leadership-part-ii-how-planning-padlock-stifles-jeffrey-e-reeves?trk=hb_ntf_MEGAPHONE_ARTICLE_POST

“By Jeffrey E. Reeves, Leader of Small Biz Mastermind Alliances and Advisory Boards –“

Shared by:

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam 

Not everything is about the elections

In the near future, these elections will be over, people will get elected, the campaigning will be over, the banners will come down, the promises made will be broken, and since our votes will not be needed at that time, we will be ignored. Sounds cynical but true.

The issues that existed before hand will still be there, there is no miracle band aid to fix them over night. We will still have to work, pay our bills, and raise our children. No elected official is going to do that for us.

I will be glad when this election cycle is over because then maybe we can get back to having conversations without someone going off on a political tirade, without someone being insulting or feeling insulted. Maybe we can just be human again.

This election cycle has brought out some of the worst traits of humanity I have seen in all the elections I have been eligible to vote for, and my first election was Bush senior vs Dukakis.

As an educator, I talk about education issues, about children, about students, and I always attempt to do so without politics being involved. Why can’t we just do that?

Our students pay attention to politics yes, but they are also paying attention to how we behave, interact, and respond within politics; and right now they are probably disgusted with us.

If you want to debate, that is fine, but just make sure there is something to debate about first, and make sure you have a genuine thought towards discussion rather than just trying to prove you are right and they are wrong.

Let us all remember we are humans forever, and that politics is just temporary.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Punishment does not equate education: A K12 Education Issue

Education is the only profession (and it is a profession) where non-professionals feel and can tell the professionals what do. Everyone has a n opinion about how to deliver proper education, and during political seasons, education gets tossed around like a football; usually without an actual educator in sight.

As an educator, you are entrusted with our countries most precious resource, and that is our youth. Without them we have no future and there is no proof that we ever existed.

United States has an incarceration problem, we love to lock people up, we love to punish; and we have hard time showing compassion, understanding, and suggesting true rehabilitation. This state of mind has unfortunately penetrated many of our school systems.

Third grader in Handcuffs  School fight Police slap student Officer grabs student 

Pepper spray in school

Now I know some people will say “well these are extreme situations” or “well what was the student doing”, etc.  When it comes to kids’ lives we cannot afford extreme situations, and as apparent, there is no possible justification for doing that to any kid: period!

School safety is important, and as a parent, I too am concerned in the wake of school shootings. However, school safety and school discipline are not the same thing because discipline should be administered by trained education professionals not cops in school. A defiant kid is just that, a kid, not a criminal; police intervention is not necessary.

Kids are not only precious but they are also one of the most vulnerable members of our society and our too often subjected to abuse and exploitation. School should make them feel safe not anxious.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Issues exist in many sectors, not just For-Profits Institutions

“Former ITT Tech employees file lawsuit against dissolved institution”

http://www.educationdive.com/news/former-itt-tech-employees-file-lawsuit-against-dissolved-institution/426005/

There is an interesting part of this article which all universities need to pay attention too, because the same conditions are capable of being re-created in non-profit private universities:

“Though for-profits are specifically under attack by the federal government, there are other lessons for nonprofit institutions as well, particularly for terminating non-union or adjunct positions in the face of budget cuts, lowered enrollment, or other factors which may impact revenue or employment”

Nobody is perfect and we all can be doing better

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Is the federal government trying to take down the for-profit college industry?

By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel September 8 at 6:20 PM 

The closure of ITT Technical Institutes, a national chain of career schools with a 50-year legacy, is fueling a debate over the federal government’s aggressive policing of for-profit higher education and whether it could destroy the industry

Read for yourself, interesting article:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/is-the-federal-government-trying-to-take-down-the-for-profit-college-industry/2016/09/08/effb7ffe-75dd-11e6-b786-19d0cb1ed06c_story.html

A1 Service Starts from the Moment They Walk Through Your Door

I have learned and been given lots of good advice over the years about employees in the education industry, and there are many great quotes out there such as:

·         "Put your staff first, customers second, and shareholders third"

·         “treat employees not just the way you want to be treated, but the way they want to be treated”,

·         “People choose a school because of great faculty”

These are all things I have heard being used in the education industry and they make sense to almost everyone. Why then does the education industry often fall far short of these great goals?

A great many educational institutions now rely upon part-time or adjunct faculty. This pool of faculty tends to be very versatile, quick on their feet, and tend to work in the industry they are teaching. They are a wonderful resource so why do we not value them the way we should?

It all starts with the hiring process:

• ·         Do you have a process?
• ·         Do you follow the process?
• ·         Does the process take into account that you are trying to woo and retain great faculty?

The biggest complaint I get from new faculty is that “they do not have all the information they need at the beginning”, I also here about “trials by fire”. Is this really what you want for a new faculty member’s first experience? We teach communication in schools: is this good communication?

You do not need to have a fancy electronic system, you can use all paper if you want to; you do not need much of anything except to let them know that you care, you are there to help them get onboard, and that you will follow through.

Give them a reason to stick around because of the A1 treatment you give them, instead of telling them to go away by the substandard disregarding behavior that happens too often. Your employees are your most valuable customers!

If you want to learn more, The ETeam is happy to help.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam