Communities of Practice
Overview
The OACUHO Communities of Practice (CoP) exist as a forum for members to engage in solving common challenges across institutions.
The Community of Practice Design Guide states “a community of practice is a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or interest in a topic and who come together to fulfill both individual and group goals” Cambrige, D., Kaplan, S., & Suter, V. (2005).
A CoP Chair (or co-chair) provides organization and coordination for a particular CoP. The Chair facilitates an engaging and respectful opportunities for dialogue surrounding a particular focus area.
Within each CoP, members will have the opportunity to identify individual goals/challenges at their respective campuses, seek feedback from colleagues, share resources and collaborate on common solutions. Each CoP may address the following challenges:
Student Conduct
• Common trends
• Current issues (ex. Changing legislation, health & safety enforcement, etc.)
• Educational sanctions
• Intersection of mental health and conduct
• Threat assessment
• Student advocacy
Training & Assessment
• Sharing approaches to online training
• Assessment methods
• Developing curricular approaches to training and assessment
Admissions & Business Operations
• Residence admissions
• The developing world of housing accommodation needs/requests
• Exploring different systems and portals to support housing needs
Residence Education, Curricular Approach and Assessment
• Transition programming in residence utilizing the curricular approach
• Assessing the student experience and integrating assessment throughout curricula
• The Structure of the CoP:
• The first half of the year will focus on two essential elements per month
• The second half of the year will focus on high-impact practices including: LLCs, experiential learning, leadership development, etc.
Small Residence and Housing Units
- Identifying issues facing small residences (around or under 1000 beds OR small staff structures)
- Networking with others to discuss common themes
- Contribute to small organizations’ voices within OACUHO and the student affairs profession
- Juggling multiple roles or being a Person-of-all-Trades
- Sharing best practices and resources (training ideas, policies, organizational charts, toolkits)
- Discuss higher education and student affairs issues and how they impact smaller organizations
Grad Student and Family Housing
- Facilitate a better understanding of the graduate and student family experience.
- Identify individual goals/challenges at members respective campuses
- Share resources and collaborate on common solutions
- Areas of focus for the CoP include:
- RTA adherence and/or exemptions from the RTA
- Tenancy/landlord issues
- Educational programming and engagement strategies
Student Staff
- Job opportunities relevant to student staff’s experience level
- Recommended conferences or courses that would benefit their career growth
- Highlights of the OACUHO Connect/Mentorship Program
- Willing professional staff offering virtual drop-in hours or office hours for career-related guidance
- Direct lines of communication between Affinity Networks and underrepresented student groups to support inquiries and foster mentorship