Tag: professional

  • Three Ways Faculty Are Using AI to Lighten Their Professional Load

    Three Ways Faculty Are Using AI to Lighten Their Professional Load

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Our most recent research into the working lives of faculty gave us some interesting takeaways about higher education’s relationship with AI. While every faculty member’s thoughts about AI differ and no two experiences are the same, the general trend we’ve seen is that faculty have moved from fear to acceptance. A good deal of faculty were initially concerned about AI’s arrival on campus. This concern was amplified by a perceived rise in AI-enabled cheating and plagiarism among students. Despite that, many faculty have come to accept that AI is here to stay. Some have developed working strategies to ensure that they and their students know the boundaries of AI usage in the classroom.

    Early-adopting educators aren’t just navigating around AI. They have embraced and integrated it into their working lives. Some have learned to use AI tools to save time and make their working lives easier. In fact, over half of instructors reported that they wanted to use AI for administrative tasks and 10% were already doing so. (Find the highlights here.) As more faculty are seeing the potential in AI, that number has likely risen. So, in what ways are faculty already using AI to lighten the load of professional life? Here are three use-cases we learned about from education professionals:

    1. AI to jumpstart ideas and conversations

    “Give me a list of 10 German pop songs that contain irregular verbs.”

    “Summarize the five most contentious legal battles happening in U.S. media law today.”

    “Create a set of flashcards that review the diagnostic procedure and standard treatment protocol for asthma.”

    The possibilities (and the prompts!) are endless. AI is well-placed to assist with idea generation, conversation-starters and lesson materials for educators on any topic. It’s worth noting that AI tends to prove most helpful as a starting point for teaching and learning fodder, rather than for providing fully-baked responses and ideas. Those who expect the latter may be disappointed, as the quality of AI results can vary widely depending on the topic. Educators can and should, of course, always be the final determinants and reviewers of the accuracy of anything shared in class.

    1. AI to differentiate instruction

    Faculty have told us that they spend a hefty proportion (around 28%) of their time on course preparation. Differentiating instruction for the various learning styles and levels in any given class constitutes a big part of that prep work. A particular lesson may land well with a struggling student, but might feel monotonous for an advanced student who has already mastered the material. To that end, some faculty are using AI to readily differentiate lesson plans. For example, an English literature instructor might enter a prompt like, “I need two versions of a lesson plan about ‘The Canterbury Tales;’ one for fluent English speakers and one for emergent English speakers.” This simple step can save faculty hours of manual lesson plan differentiation.

    An instructor in Kansas shared with Cengage their plans to let AI help in this area, “I plan to use AI to evaluate students’ knowledge levels and learning abilities and create personalized training content. For example, AI will assess all the students at the beginning of the semester and divide them into ‘math-strong’ and ‘math-weak’ groups based on their mathematical aptitude, and then automatically assign math-related materials, readings and lecture notes to help the ‘math-weak’ students.”

    When used in this way, AI can be a powerful tool that gives students of all backgrounds an equal edge in understanding and retaining difficult information.

    1. AI to provide feedback

    Reviewing the work of dozens or hundreds of students and finding common threads and weak spots is tedious work, and seems an obvious area for a little algorithmic assistance.

    Again, faculty should remain in control of the feedback they provide to students. After all, students fully expect faculty members to review and critique their work authentically. However, using AI to more deeply understand areas where a student’s logic may be consistently flawed, or types of work on which they repeatedly make mistakes, can be a game-changer, both for educators and students.

    An instructor in Iowa told Cengage, “I don’t want to automate my feedback completely, but having AI suggest areas of exigence in students’ work, or supply me with feedback options based on my own past feedback, could be useful.”

    Some faculty may even choose to have students ask AI for feedback themselves as part of a critical thinking or review exercise. Ethan and Lilach Mollick of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania share in an Harvard Business Publishing Education article, “Though AI-generated feedback cannot replicate the grounded knowledge that teachers have about their students, it can be given quickly and at scale and it can help students consider their work from an outside perspective. Students can then evaluate the feedback, decide what they want to incorporate, and continue to iterate on their drafts.”

    AI is not a “fix-all” for the administrative side of higher education. However, many faculty members are gaining an advantage and getting some time back by using it as something of a virtual assistant.

     

    Are you using AI in the classroom?

    In a future piece, we’ll share 3 more ways in which faculty are using AI to make their working lives easier. In the meantime, you can fully explore our research here:

     

     

     

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  • Top female district leaders share do’s and don’ts of climbing the professional ladder in 2025

    Top female district leaders share do’s and don’ts of climbing the professional ladder in 2025

    Key points:

    Professional growth is often at the top of New Year’s Resolution lists. As educators and education leaders plan for the year ahead, we asked some of the nation’s top female school district leaders to give fellow women educators the do’s and don’ts of climbing the professional ladder. Here’s what they said.

    Do: Believe in yourself.

    Though women make up 76 percent of teachers in K-12 school settings, just a small percentage of women hold the most senior role in a district. But the climb to leadership isn’t an easy one; women in educational leadership report a range of biases–from interpersonal slights to structural inequities–that make it difficult to attain and persist in top positions.

    Professional groups like Women Leading Ed are working to change that by highlighting long standing gender gaps and calling for policies and practices to improve conditions at all levels. Female education leaders are also working to rewrite the narrative around what’s possible for women educators and encouraging their peers.

    Among those education leaders is Shanie Keelean, deputy superintendent of Rush-Henrietta Central School District in New York. When asked to share advice to her peers, she said, “You just have to continually push yourself forward and believe in yourself. So very often women, if they don’t check all the boxes, they decide not to go for something. And you don’t have to check all the boxes. Nobody knows everything in every job. You learn things as you go. Passion and energy go a long way in being really committed.”

    Nerlande Anselme, superintendent of Rome City School District in New York, agreed: “We have directors in this field, we have coordinators in this field, we have psychologists who are doing amazing work, but they will dim themselves and figure that they cannot get to the top. Don’t dim your light.”

    Don’t: Keep your career goals a secret.

    When you decide to pursue a leadership position, don’t keep it a secret. While it may feel “taboo” to announce your intentions or desires, it’s actually an important first step to achieving a leadership role, said Kathleen Skeals, superintendent of North Colonie Central School District in New York.

    “Once people know you’re interested, then people start to mentor you and help you grow into the next step in your career,” Skeals said.

    Kyla Johnson-Trammell, superintendent of Oakland Unified School District in California, echoed: “Make your curiosity and your ambition known. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how that will be received by many of the folks that you work for.”

    Do: Find a strong mentor.

    A strong mentor can make all the difference in the climb to the top, leaders agreed.

    “Seek out a leader you respect and ask for a time where you could have a conversation about exploring some possibilities and what the future might bring to you,” said Mary-Anne Sheppard, executive director of leadership development for Norwalk Public Schools in Connecticut.

    It’s especially helpful to connect with someone in a position that you want to be in, said Melanie Kay-Wyatt, superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia. “Find someone who’s in the role you want to be in, who has a similar work ethic and a life that you have, so they can help you,” she said.

    Don’t: Be afraid to ask questions.

    “Start asking a lot of questions,” said Keelean. She suggested shadowing a mentor for a day or asking for their help in creating a career map or plan.

    And don’t be afraid to take risks, added Johnson-Trammell. “Could you get me 15 minutes with the superintendent or the chief academic officer?”

    Do: Build your skill set and network.

    “Increase your impact by developing relational skills and leadership skills,” said Rachel Alex, executive director of leadership development of Aldine Independent School District in Texas.

    And cultivate a network, said Heather Sanchez, chief of schools for Bellevue School District in Washington. “We can’t do it alone. Find that network, cultivate that network.”

    Don’t: Give up.

    “People are always going to tell you no, but that does not stop you,” said Kimberley James. “Continue to live beyond the noise and the distractions and stay focused on what it is that you want to accomplish for our students.”

    “I would say to any woman aspiring to any level of leadership that first of all, never sell yourself short,” said Sanchez. “You have it in you.”

    Interviews were conducted as part of the Visionary Voices video series. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

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  • Becoming a professional services researcher in HE – making the train tracks converge

    Becoming a professional services researcher in HE – making the train tracks converge

    by Charlotte Verney

    This blog builds on my presentation at the BERA ECR Conference 2024: at crossroads of becoming. It represents my personal reflections of working in UK higher education (HE) professional services roles and simultaneously gaining research experience through a Masters and Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD).

    Professional service roles within UK HE include recognised professionals from other industries (eg human resources, finance, IT) and HE-specific roles such as academic quality, research support and student administration. Unlike academic staff, professional services staff are not typically required, or expected, to undertake research, yet many do. My own experience spans roles within six universities over 18 years delivering administration and policy that supports learning, teaching and students.

    Traversing two tracks

    In 2016, at an SRHE Newer Researchers event, I was asked to identify a metaphor to reflect my experience as a practitioner researcher. I chose this image of two train tracks as I have often felt that I have been on two development tracks simultaneously –  one building professional experience and expertise, the other developing research skills and experience. These tracks ran in parallel, but never at the same pace, occasionally meeting on a shared project or assignment, and then continuing on their separate routes. I use this metaphor to share my experiences, and three phases, of becoming a professional services researcher.

    Becoming research-informed: accelerating and expanding my professional track

    The first phase was filled with opportunities; on my professional track I gained a breadth of experience, a toolkit of management and leadership skills, a portfolio of successful projects and built a strong network through professional associations (eg AHEP). After three years, I started my research track with a masters in international higher education. Studying felt separate to my day job in academic quality and policy, but the assignments gave me opportunities to bring the tracks together, using research and theory to inform my practice – for example, exploring theoretical literature underpinning approaches to assessment whilst my institution was revising its own approach to assessing resits. I felt like a research-informed professional, and this positively impacted my professional work, accelerating and expanding my experience.

    Becoming a doctoral researcher: long distance, slow speed

    The second phase was more challenging. My doctoral journey was long, taking 9 years with two breaks. Like many part-time doctoral students, I struggled with balance and support, with unexpected personal and professional pressures, and I found it unsettling to simultaneously be an expert in my professional context yet a novice in research. I feared failure, and damaging my professional credibility as I found my voice in a research space.

    What kept me going, balancing the two tracks, was building my own research support network and my researcher identity. Some of the ways I did this was through zoom calls with EdD peers for moral support, joining the Society for Research into Higher Education to find my place in the research field, and joining the editorial team of a practitioner journal to build my confidence in academic writing.

    Becoming a professional services researcher: making the tracks converge

    Having completed my doctorate in 2022, I’m now actively trying to bring my professional and research tracks together. Without a roadmap, I’ve started in my comfort-zone, sharing my doctoral research in ‘safe’ policy and practitioner spaces, where I thought my findings could have the biggest impact. I collaborated with EdD peers to tackle the daunting task of publishing my first article. I’ve drawn on my existing professional networks (ARC, JISC, QAA) to establish new research initiatives related to my current practice in managing assessment. I’ve made connections with fellow professional services researchers along my journey, and have established an online network  to bring us together.

    Key takeaways for professional services researchers

    Bringing my professional experience and research tracks together has not been without challenges, but I am really positive about my journey so far, and for the potential impact professional services researchers could have on policy and practice in higher education. If you are on your own journey of becoming a professional services researcher, my advice is:

    • Make time for activities that build your research identity
    • Find collaborators and a community
    • Use your professional experience and networks
    • It’s challenging, but rewarding, so keep going!

    Charlotte Verney is Head of Assessment at the University of Bristol. Charlotte is an early career researcher in higher education research and a leader in within higher education professional services. Her primary research interests are in the changing nature of administrative work within universities, using research approaches to solve professional problems in higher education management, and using creative and collaborative approaches to research. Charlotte advocates for making the academic research space more inclusive for early career and professional services researchers. She is co-convenor of the SRHE Newer Researchers Network and has established an online network for higher education professional services staff engaged with research.

    Author: SRHE News Blog

    An international learned society, concerned with supporting research and researchers into Higher Education

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  • Data Show Women and People of Color Have Lower Representation Among the Highest-Paying Higher Ed Professional Jobs – CUPA-HR

    Data Show Women and People of Color Have Lower Representation Among the Highest-Paying Higher Ed Professional Jobs – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | July 17, 2024

    New research from CUPA-HR on the state of the professional workforce in higher education shows that women and people of color are not only being paid less than White men in the same position, but also are less likely to hold higher-paying positions.

    CUPA-HR’s research team analyzed data from the Professionals in Higher Education Survey, a comprehensive data source that collects salary and demographic data on more than 293,000 professionals in 409 positions from approximately 985 higher ed institutions, to evaluate representation and pay equity for women and professionals of color from 2016-17 to 2023-24.

    The Findings

    Women and people of color have lower representation among the highest-paying professional jobs. Women and people of color have lower representation among six-figure (i.e., paid more than $100,000) jobs in comparison to all other professional jobs. White men held 40% of six-figure jobs but held 28% of jobs paying less than $100,000.

    Pay equity has improved slightly for women over the past eight years, but women of most races/ethnicities are still paid less than White men. Except for Asian women, women of all other examined races/ethnicities were paid less than White men in 2023-24.

    Over the past eight years, the representation of people of color increased among higher ed professionals; the increase in the representation of women of color was more than double the increase in the representation of men of color. The representation of people of color increased from 22% of professionals in 2016-17 to 26% of professionals in 2023-24. During this time, women of color had more than two times the increase in their representation than did men of color (26% increase for women versus 10% increase for men).

    Older women experience greater pay gaps than younger women. Women over age 42 had larger pay gaps relative to White men than did women age 42 or younger.

    Explore the interactive graphics and read the full report, The Higher Ed Professional Workforce: Composition and Pay Equity by Gender and Race/Ethnicity From 2016-17 to 2023-24.



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  • Develop to Retain: Tools and Resources for Higher Ed Professional Development – CUPA-HR

    Develop to Retain: Tools and Resources for Higher Ed Professional Development – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | December 7, 2021

    It’s Employee Learning Week — a great reminder for employers to showcase their commitment to talent development by highlighting development opportunities available to employees. Whether you’re an HR practitioner in search of professional development ideas for yourself and your HR peers, or you’re looking for ideas to engage and develop other employees at your institution, here are several tools, tips and resources to help you take the next step.

    Professional Development Tools for the HR Pro

    • CUPA-HR Learning Framework — A tool that assists in defining HR practitioners’ knowledge, skills and attributes and then helps create an action plan for growth and set developmental goals. Jump start your development by using the quick start guide, then build your skills further by diving deeper into the framework competencies.
    • Creating Your Individual Development Plan — A must-have for anyone who wants to map out a strategy for career success in higher ed HR. This free CUPA-HR e-learning course provides an introduction to individual development plans (IDPs) and will guide you through the process of creating your plan, discussing your career with your leaders and implementing your strategy for success. CUPA-HR e-Learning is sponsored by PageUp.

    Ideas for the Higher Ed Community

    Apart from their own professional development, HR pros often create and help facilitate professional development opportunities for employees at their institutions. Here are some jump-start ideas from the article Optimize Your Hybrid or Remote Work Workforce — Considerations for Higher Ed HR Leaders, featured in the fall issue of Higher Ed HR Magazine.

    • Encourage managers to use an employee’s development plan to guide regular coaching calls. Gallup suggests ongoing coaching conversations — rather than annual performance reviews — can be of great benefit to both the employee and the employer. These meaningful conversations highlight the organization’s commitment to employee engagement, which can help retain employees for the long-haul. Encourage managers to use employees’ development plans during coaching calls as a guide to the conversation. Setting up the right systems and processes to help employees perform their best from any location is a great operational step, but reorienting managers to think about performance and productivity around outcomes instead is an important strategy.
    • Get creative with your learning and professional development offerings. William Paterson University’s HR team created a university-wide development program so all 600 non-faculty employees had a chance to participate. Their unique approach to talent development demonstrated institutional support for professional development, provided a platform for employees to engage and collaborate, and inspired additional ways to support employees, such as mentorship programs, goal setting and career advancement. Read more about the program in the special awards issue of Higher Ed HR Magazine to learn how the HR team adapted it to a virtual format — a great alternative for employees working in a hybrid or remote setting!



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