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Changes of Scenery!

Mount Mercy University is thrilled to welcome Todd Coleman as their new Assistant Vice-President for Enrollment & Marketing and Sabrina Tapps-Fee as the Director of Undergraduate Admissions!

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Meet our Newest Board Member!

The Iowa ACAC Executive Board is excited to welcome a new member! Yuri Tilapi is the new co-chair for Inclusion, Access, and Success. We asked Yuri to share a little bit more about her background so that we can get to know our new exec board member.

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Silver Linings Around Us

Last month, Tom Paulsen asked our members to share what they are thankful for this year. We know it’s been a tough year, but there is still a lot to be thankful for. Here are some things that our members are thankful for this year!

  • An office that knows how to pivot to create a successful virtual event!
  • I am thankful that despite the challenges of 2020, we have also gained some unexpected positives that will be a part of our "fabric" going forward: creating new virtual strategies to reach prospects without barriers of distance, cost and time; strengthening our need to collaborate and develop new skills; having new-found time in our homes with our loved ones to focus on what matters most; developing a renewed appreciation for the simple joys of life and being able to wear slippers all day long! Here's to the challenges that, while difficult, brought us some significant gifts! May 2021 offer hope, peace, joy and good health to you and yours!
  • Pets, Significant Others, "Non-Busy" Time at Home
  • We welcomed our first child in January 2020, right before COVID hit. She has been the constant ray of sunshine during these uncertain times.
  • Faith Family Friends Remote-work-ability Shelter Food Clothes Flexibility Innovation
  • The amazing connections via Zoom that have expanded my community. Also, the time to reflect on what is important in life. And what is important are our relationships. In the end that is all that matters.
  • A time to refocus on the things that matter.
  • Gift of time with my family.
  • Supportive coworkers, longtime friends, and the health of myself and my family!
  • I’m thankful for great leadership on our team that has supported our staff through the transition to working from home, and who have supported us in finding a work-life balance in this tricky time. I’m also thankful for a wonderful husband and our awesome dog! Working from home is so much better with a dog in the house.

Professional Development During COVID-19

In light of everything happening in our society today, you might think that professional development has been put on the backburner, but it is actually quite the opposite. Each type of company, association, and higher education news website is trying so hard to provide guidance and assistance to all of us in higher education as we navigate these unprecedented times. While we have continued to stay busy, it is a different type of busy that might offer more flexibility in our daily schedules, allowing us to catch some of these webinars and professional development experiences.

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Friendly Competition

If your office is working similarly to ours, you don't see all of your co-workers face to face each day or week. Maybe you're on an in-office rotation, maybe you're strictly working from home. If that's the case, you're probably struggling to continue that team bonding and cohesiveness you once had pre-Covid. Perhaps you're wanting some new ideas to connect - or maybe you have some to share!

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What are Your Silver Linings?

Eight months ago, the Coronavirus struck hard and quickly changed our personal and work lives in unimaginable ways. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken over 200,000 American lives and over 1 million people globally. It has negatively affected people’s mental health and wellbeing due to worry and stress, social isolation, loneliness, and job loss. Add the political divide and numerous crises, 2020 has left many mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted.

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Reflecting on a Virtual Fall Recruitment Season…So Far

This time last year, those who regularly travel to recruitment territories were likely out on the road, hopping from hotel to hotel, catching up on emails in coffee shops, and constructing the perfect college fair table layout. This year, most are likely not experiencing the same type of fall travel season. Personally, I love that my role as an admission counselor allows me to travel, and attend large recruitment events on campus. Adjusting to a recruitment cycle with a lack of those activities has certainly been a change. However, there are pros and cons to the new, virtual recruitment cycle we are all likely experiencing this fall.  

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3 Tips for a DIY Travel Season

It’s early October (in 2019). You’re packing up your life, heading to Starbucks or Dunkin’ to get your 29th Pumpkin spiced something while listening to (insert podcast name here). It’s travel season.

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Transfer Week: Community College Spotlight

What transfer planning resources are available to your students?

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Transfer Student Transitions: 3 Colleges’ Approaches to Support Incoming Transfers

As we begin another academic year, college campuses across the state are busy with transition programs for new students. From welcome week activities to first-year seminars to peer mentoring programs for incoming freshmen, the opportunities for first-year students to get help mastering their transition to college are abundant. However, it is important to recognize the great work that many colleges and universities are doing to help a different group with their college transition: transfer students. Three campuses, Iowa State University, Central College, and the University of Iowa, shared their initiatives to help transfer students make a successful transition to their new university.

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Being Positive during COVID

The phone call we all dread came - “Mom, I tested positive for COVID.”  My college sophomore was on his way home from college after just one week. In spite of six months of planning, strategizing, and thinking through every scenario on the campuses I worked – I didn’t expect my own child to be one of the first to come home from his college experience. His next words were “Should I just take the semester off?”  (Um… NO!!!)

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Changes of Scenery!

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ACU 2020 - In the Books!

Admission Counselor University (ACU) is an annual event put on by the Iowa ACAC Professional Development Committee that exposes new admission professionals, whether day one on the job or nearly through their first year, to the valuable information they will need to succeed in the profession,  and the advice of more experienced professionals in the field. ACU, typically held in-person over two days, was held virtually this year on July 21, 2020. Each session was hosted by members of the Committee, and attendees were sent a digital itinerary with each session’s title, time, and respective link. This year, 54 admission professionals statewide attended the virtual event.

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Return to Learn: The Teacher Perspective

As school districts across the country prepare for the beginning of the 2020-21 academic year, we felt that it was important to hear from teachers about their thoughts and fears about their districts’ return to learn plans. This is a stressful time for everyone, as we learn to navigate the changes that COVID-19 has brought. Hearing teachers’ perspectives is helpful for us as admission professionals as we reflect on the ways in which our own work will change this upcoming fall.

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Updates from Iowa ACAC Executive Board

The Iowa ACAC Executive Board met Monday, July 27, via Zoom, to plan ahead for the upcoming year. While we know that this year is going to look different than normal, we are excited to continue working to serve members, school counselors, and students across the state of Iowa. Below are a few updates from the exec board meeting:

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Developing Students into Leaders & Beyond

This past year I had the opportunity to co-advise the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Student Admissions Ambassadors (SAA), an all volunteer group that gives campus tours, assists with student panels and much more. I will say it is a bit different to be on the "other side," as I was a member of this exact group during my time as an undergrad at UNI.

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Virtual Vision 2020 Recap

Dr. Bill Withers, faculty emeritus at Wartburg College, got our first ever virtual Iowa ACAC conference off to a great start! He discussed that in recent years many areas have been going through disruptions (or accelerated changes), and these have only been hastened by COVID-19 – media, health care, and K-16 education.

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Social Justice Education

Black Lives Matter. Racial justice and social justice must be prioritized in our work and on our campuses. It is our responsibility and obligation to educate ourselves. There is no excuse for not putting in the work and engaging in these conversations. Wherever you are in the process of educating yourself about social justice, here are some recommendations and resources that you can engage in.

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5 Questions to Ask

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Looking Back & to the Future: Government Relations

Over the past three years I have had the opportunity to lead our Government Relations Committee, while serving as Government Relations Chair for Iowa ACAC. Through this experience, we have successfully put on 2½ Visit the Hill events for high school students, counselors, admission professionals, and more (½  because the first year I took over there was a crazy ice/snow storm where we probably should have canceled the event, but didn’t, and only a few people ventured out to attend!). These events have had really awesome sessions, where hundreds of people have been able to learn more about issues that directly impact them. I will always be grateful and appreciative for the Government Relations committee members. They are the real reason why these events have been so successful and it has been a joy to work alongside them!

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