Posts by: Alton Irwin

Utilizing Conferences and Summer Programming for Income Growth

Conferences and summer programs offer institutions an opportunity to generate revenue that can reduce the financial burden placed on students during the academic year. And it’s not just housing – a strong, efficient summer program brings revenue to other campus entities as well, including dining services, athletics, facilities, and even academic departments. Developing these programs…

Driving Engagement and Promoting Communication during COVID-19 – An Interview with Mandy Whitten

COCM understands the importance of motivating a team and driving engagement during a time of isolation and unfamiliar work environments.  In order to determine how residential faculty working on campus and remotely at the University of Oklahoma were adapting to conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic we interviewed Mandy Whitten, Director of Operations at Cross residential…

Addressing Workplace Bullying in Student Affairs– with Heidi Yoder

We all want to work in an environment that somehow feeds our souls. What happens when we encounter a workplace that does the exact opposite? Heidi Yoder began researching workplace bullying within student affairs in the Fall of 2018. Now, she’s sharing some of her insights on preventing toxic workplace environments and handling instances of…

Building a Community Beyond Higher Ed – with Nicole Terrell

It’s well known that a career in higher education leaves you with many transferable skills. Are those skills useful outside of your workplace? How can we use what we’ve learned working with students to better ourselves and our communities?  In 2009, Nicole Terrell joined COCM as a first-time Assistant Director in a brand-new residence hall…

Chosen for a Career in Higher Ed – with Rafael Cordwell

Rafael Cordwell believes that you don’t choose your profession, your profession chooses you. And in the beginning, Raf resisted a career in student affairs—despite encouragement from more than one of his supervisors at Southern Connecticut State. But higher education had other plans for Raf, and today, he aspires to impact campus culture and policy for…

Covid-19 Pandemic: What are High School Seniors Thinking?

Highlights: Outgoing high school seniors are still planning to attend college in the fall. So far, COVID-19 has not influenced which college students will be attending.  It is extremely important for college administrators to communicate clearly and concisely. Students are concerned most about not knowing whether they are being kept fully in the loop! Information…

Top Channels for Communicating with Students – with Mellissa Taylor

During her tenure at COCM, Mellissa Taylor quickly became known among students as The Housing Lady. So, what did she learn as the face and voice of student housing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham? How have those lessons around communicating with students carried over to her current role in higher ed?Mellissa serves as…