I am excited to announce a new initiative for Trinity Western University, where I currently work as the Registrar. This week we officially launched an eRecords system for students at TWU, using the MyCreds platform. [insert fireworks, a marching band (including bagpipes), and free e-cakes for all!] We launched this new service on Monday, August… Read More MyCreds eRecords, Here We Go!
The principle, “Nothing about us without us” is an important consideration for Registrars and Student Services in higher education. But like any nice slogan, it can be reduced to lip service without actual, practical implementation. The ideals expressed in the Universities Canada statement on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are followed with a section on what… Read More Nothing About Us Without Us.
So much has changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. The “new normal” everyone is talking about seems like constantly shifting sands in a sand storm. We can’t see too far ahead and the landscape and even our footing is shifting, causing us to be unstable and requiring us to deal with something new every day. I… Read More Empathy for Students
How does the Registrar’s Office treat students? There are many different ways, and here are some I have noted as I have been a registrar for 20+ years and have visited offices at many universities: Students are customers. This one is the most common. After all, much of the work we do in the Registrar’s… Read More Registrars, Students, Customers, Members
Many of you will have heard that British Columbia is burning down. For those of us not in an area with a forest fire, that statement might be hyperbole. But for those near a fire, it is reality. Check out this article with an interactive map showing all the fires currently burning. The fires are… Read More BC Forest Fires Affecting University Students
Friends, grab the nearest googling device you have and search “one stop shop university”. How many search results did you get? I have hundreds. In fact, the only thing notable about my search results is that my own university isn’t in the results, but don’t worry, yours is! This is a rant about why I’m… Read More This Trend Is So 1990s!
A service we provide to students is offering as many options as possible for them to pay their tuition fees. This is relatively easy for domestic students because they can pay by cheque or bank transfer or debit or whatever. It is a little more tricky for international students. They can pay by international bank wire… Read More How to Pay Tuition Fees
Remember the Sears Catalogue? I fondly recall flipping through the toy section of the Christmas catalogue (which came in the summer!) and dropping hints to my parents in the form of dog eared pages and circles drawn in felt markers around the items I wanted. Nowadays I suppose kids Snapchat their parents with links to Amazon.com…… Read More The Registrar’s Service Catalogue
Just the other day I dared you to get feedback about how your registrar’s office is doing at service. I believe in taking my own medicine, so after collecting and reviewing feedback from students about our services I discovered that there were about 15% of survey responders who seemed to be avoiding the Registrar’s Office.… Read More Responding to My Own Double-Dog Dare
People often wonder how I can be a registrar for so many years and not get bored. I get asked that question all the time (right after the “And what is a registrar?” question). I hope that accountants and librarians get asked that question too, because I can’t think of a more boring job than… Read More A Double-Dog Dare
Who Wants To Be A Registrar? 