KC Spotlight - Adult Learners and Students with Children
October 27, 2016
Happy fall to all!
The weather in Arkansas is beautiful with all of the leaves on the trees beginning to change colors. With this happening, I know it won’t be long until we meet in St. Louis for the regional conference. I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones!
As the regional representative for the Adult Learners and Students with Children (ALSC) Knowledge Community (KC), I have had the amazing opportunity to serve with and learn from so many great professionals. Our national chair is James Stewart from DePaul University in Chicago. I can truly say that it has been a great experience working with James, as well as our past two chairs, and other members of the leadership team. They will be life-long friends.
I mention this because my term as regional representative ends in March. The regional representative is responsible to the KC at the national level and to the region at the regional level. It provides a unique and engaging opportunity to serve as a leader for both regional and national constituencies. While the responsibilities sound and are important, they are not extremely time intensive. All it takes is an organized, committed communicator with an interest in furthering the knowledge surrounding a rapidly-growing student population – Adult Learners and Students with Children.
The mission of our KC follows:
The Adult Learner and Students with Children (ALSC) KC increases awareness, disseminates information, identifies resources and tracks academic and demographic trends concerning these typically under-represented but growing, and frequently intersecting, populations of students. All of our efforts are ultimately focused on increasing the recruitment, admission, retention and graduation of this demographic.
In IV-W, the regional KC representatives have the privilege of also serving on the Board of Directors. While serving as a leader for our KC regionally, this position also serves with a group of KC leaders from the other NASPA regions across the country. Regionally, this position involves two to three meetings annually - one regional summer board meeting (usually in June), a board meeting at the regional conference in November, and a brief Board Meeting during the NASPA National Conference in March (preferred, not required by the region).
The NASPA National Conferences provide several opportunities to demonstrate service at the national level – whether by helping lead a pre-conference workshop, through recruiting new members and celebrating continuing members at the KC Community Fair and the KC Reception, or through recruiting or presenting educational sessions focused on this unique population of students.
A consistent communication link with other leadership team members is the monthly “First Friday” conference calls. For most, these calls take place during the lunch hour on the first Friday of each month (for one counterpart in Hawaii, they take place during the early morning!). Once quarterly, the meeting is an “Open Forum Call” where any KC member can introduce a topic for discussion and learn from other KC members.
To join the KC if you are not yet a member, visit NASPA.org. Go to “Constituent Groups” and find “Knowledge Communities”. ALSC is one of thirty knowledge communities you can join. ALSC provides a wealth of resources available to members on the national website. We even developed an Online Learning Module, "Advocating for Pregnant and Parenting Students: How to be Proactive not Reactive", that costs anyone else $49, but is free to our KC members.
Having formed in 2012, our KC has made many exciting contributions, with many more to come! Among these accomplishments are the online module mentioned earlier, published articles relating to our target population in at least three NASPA national publications, sponsorship of four pre-conference workshops, and creation and presentation of awards for national Outstanding Student Parent Program and Outstanding Adult Learner Program. In just four short years, we have grown to 528 KC members, with 57 of those members located in our region.
At the University of Arkansas students’ needs vary – from supporting traditional-aged pregnant and parenting students, to non-traditional/adult learners, student veterans, and students with families who are trying to balance so many competing interests while also being a student – and the needs are many. There is much research to be done and a great deal still to learn!
Please contact me at the regional conference or at my home institution if you have any interest or want to discuss the regional representative’s role. The groundwork is laid; the transition will never be easier. Look into this great professional development opportunity today!
You can find the KC on social media at:
Facebook: naspaalsckc
Twitter: @NASPAALSCKC
Sylvia Scott is the Director of Off-Campus Student Services at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She currently serves as the Regional Representative for the Adult Learners and Students with Children Knowledge Community for NASPA Region IV-West. Sylvia can be reached at [email protected] or at 479-575-7351.