Posts by Komail
[CASE STUDY] How La Sierra University Collects Involvement Data for their Annual Assessment of Outcomes
When La Sierra University first joined OrgSync in the summer of 2010, they needed a better way to centralize student organization management and track co-curricular involvement on campus. However, as administrators on campus began to become familiar with the platform and its capabilities, they soon realized OrgSync could be used in multiple departments across campus and help them to achieve their goals and objectives.
The Office of Student Activities (OSA) at La Sierra University uses the involvement data captured in OrgSync to meet all seven of their department objectives for their Annual Assessment of Outcomes and WASC accreditation. OrgSync has enabled La Sierra to collect, report, and analyze student involvement data on their campus.
The case study we’ve created with La Sierra, outlines how OrgSync has played an active role in helping OSA meet their needs and validate the department’s objectives.
OSA’s seven objectives include:
- Students will be able to easily join and manage organizations that they choose to be in.
- Students can track and manage co-curricular involvement.
- Campus will be informed of events through various types of advertisement means.
- Student leaders will be mentored, trained, supported, and given tools to facilitate success.
- Provide a management and communication tool for student organizations and departments.
- Advisors will be trained, supported, and given tools to facilitate success.
- Community-wide calendar with individual organization and department management availability.
“OrgSync has either been the answer or has helped with the answer. The system has fulfilled more of our needs than we could have imagined. Our department most certainly could not achieve our goals and serve our students without OrgSync,”
We encourage you to share how OrgSync has helped you meet your department goals.
4 Reasons to Attend OrgSync Connect
In less than three months, campus partners from around the country will be gathered in Dallas for our first ever user conference, OrgSync Connect. The conference will take place in Dallas, TX from June 21-23, 2012 and provide educational opportunities for attendees through intentional discussions and collaborative learning.
Are you still debating whether or not to make the trip? If so, here are four reasons why it will be worth attending the conference.
Learn best practices and creative uses
We all know Dallas can be a fun place to visit, but the conference isn’t about nearby attractions. Learn best practices and creative uses of OrgSync and apply them to meet the needs of your college or university. Educational sessions will be led by campus partners who will share their stories and help you find ways to maximize usage. If you’re interested in presenting an educational session to share your knowledge and experiences, we’re currently accepting program proposals through April 16th, 2012.
Network with other Higher Education professionals
One of the primary goals of the user conference is to facilitate conversations among our campus partners. OrgSync Connect will be a great opportunity to connect with peers, learn about processes and programs, as well as gain insights from other OrgSync users. The relationships you build at Orgsync will stay with you and help create an engaged community of OrgSync users across the world.
Spread OrgSync across campus
Did you know other departments on campus like Campus Recreation, Residence Life, Alumni Associations, etc can all utilize OrgSync to meet their unique needs? During the conference, we’ll explore how multiple departments on campus can use OrgSync and how you can help them to get on board.
Be the first to hear about product updates
Our Development and Design teams have been hard at work preparing to launch many exciting new product updates and feature enhancements this summer. All conference attendees will get an exclusive look at these new updates and be able to give feedback directly to our teams.
To learn more about OrgSync Connect and reserve your spot today, visit the conference website. Remember, early bird registration is now open through April 16th, 2012. We hope to see you in Dallas this June.
The new OrgSync.com is here!
Today we are excited to launch a newly redesigned OrgSync.com. Our website has been completely restructured and features a number of improvements including a simplified navigation, making it easier to navigate and learn more about the many ways OrgSync can benefit departments across campus.
Here are a few pages we’d like to highlight that we think will be especially useful for you and others on campus:
- Features - Help your students gain a deeper understanding of all the tools and resources available to their organization and your campus. The features section gives you a complete overview of all the features available in OrgSync and how you can utilize them today.
- On Your Campus – This section provides a complete overview of OrgSync on your campus, including specific department, organization, and student benefits.
- Documents and Guides – Whether you’re a new user or a seasoned pro, our new Documents & Guides section is a collection of resources we have created to help you get started with OrgSync and spread usage across campus.
- Press Center – Find all the latest news, facts, and other information in our press center. If you’re searching for approved logos, we have a branding guide for you as well.
We hope you enjoy the new website! Please let us know what you think in the comments below.
How OrgSync Benefits Students [VIDEO]
As students begin to arrive back on campus, we know that many of our new campus partners are preparing to launch OrgSync this spring. To explain how OrgSync can benefit your students, we created this short interactive video. Students are the catalyst that makes OrgSync a success on every campus we work with, and we encourage you to share this with your students to help spread the word about OrgSync across campus.
Thanks to our designer, Jeff Jurica, for the hard-work and creativity on this project. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
NASPA Western Recap – The Conference on Anthology
The week before Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to join four other OrgSync Rockstars in San Diego for the NASPA Western Regional Conference (#naspawr11) at the Hard Rock Hotel. This was my first experience as a NASPA conference attendee, and let me tell you I couldn’t have been more excited about the opportunity to attend. With the theme of “Anthology,” this year’s conference focused on providing attendees “a diverse collection of practices, priorities and values, grounded in the learning of yesterday and today, and committed to the promotion of student learning and success today and tomorrow.” In addition to the theme, the planning committee didn’t print any programs in an effort to promote sustainability and the green initiative.
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| Aimee with Alex (left) & Andrew (right) |
During the conference, I had the opportunity to attend a number of sessions and listen to a variety of topics ranging from social media, personal branding, entrepreneurship, and assessment. On the opening day of the conference, Richard Setterson, Ph. D, from Oregon State University, shared his fascinating findings from his research and published book, “Not Quite Adults – Why 20-Somethings Are Choosing a Slower Path to Adulthood, and Why It’s Good for Everyone.” Take a look at the tweets and conversations during Mr. Setterson’s keynote presentation here.
That same day, I was able to catch our good friend, Eric Stoller, and listen in on his sessions about introductory and advanced social media practices. Because of my responsibility as OrgSync’s social media evangelist, I was thrilled to finally meet Eric in person and to hear how Student Affairs professionals and departments are utilizing social media to connect with their students and build their personal brands.
While exhibiting, the marketing team was able to meet our long-time campus partner Aimee Shattuck, Director of Student Activities and Leadership, from Portland State University. It was exciting to hear how OrgSync has completely transformed her department, allowing her and her staff to spend less time on paper work and more on student success and development programs.
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| Mobros! |
On Friday, I was able to listen to Garret Westlake, Director of Disability Resources at Arizona State University – Polytechnic Campus, share his amazing initiative to promote entrepreneurship amongst students with disabilities. This presentation really hit home for me, because of the entrepreneurship culture at OrgSync and our understanding of what entrepreneurs can do to make this world a better place. Afterwards, I attended Sandra Mahoney’s and Serjio Acevedo’s presentation on “Nurturing a Culture of Assessment, ” from the University of the Pacific. Serjio’s contagious passion for Multicultural Affairs and teaching assessment filled the room as we were able to participate in a mock behavioral based interview and learn how the University of the Pacific assesses their programs and initiatives. We also meet up with a couple Mobros from Pacific!
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| User Meeting at NASPA Western! |
The final day was really exciting, especially for us in marketing, because we were able to hold a user meeting. The following NASPA Western region rockstars joined us early Saturday morning: Boise State University, Long Beach Community College, Portland State University, University of California – Los Angeles, University of California – Santa Barbara, and University of Washington at Bothell. After eating a delicious breakfast, our campus partners had the opportunity to share OrgSync best practices, provide development feedback, ask questions about their implementation, and discuss techniques to market OrgSync to students. Overall, the conversation was very lively, which made the trip an even more success.
This year’s NASPA Western Regional Conference set the record for number of attendees at any regional NASPA conference. But, I believe what made the conference even stronger was the backchannel. The buzz about NASPA Western was very lively on Twitter and you could tell attendees were enjoying the conversations both in person and online. Take a look at this snapshot from #NASPAwr11.
We’re already getting excited and preparing for next year’s NASPA Western in Honolulu, Hawaii! See you next year!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Every year, the OrgSync team has a lot of fun celebrating the holidays. As an OrgSync tradition, this past Sunday, we held our annual OrgSync Thanksgiving celebration. Our annual potluck dinner allowed us to share the things each team member is thankful for and reminisce about the exciting year we’ve had. This year, we have plenty to be thankful for, including our noticeable and highly discussed Movember moustaches. For those who are unfamiliar with this phenomenon, Movember is a worldwide charity event that raises awareness and funding for men’s health research, specifically for prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men. Hints why all the OrgSync men have distinguished “mos” on their faces. If you haven’t already, please take a look at this great cause, and make a donation today!
We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we can’t thank you enough for being a loyal reader and OrgSync rockstar!
We’re heading Southbound 35 to TACUSPA 2011
Next week (October 16th – 18th), Tracy and Cayce (pictured below) will be heading down southbound I-35 to the annual Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (TACUSPA) conference in Austin, Texas. We are proud to be a sponsor of the conference and are excited to be able to network with 300 Texas Student Affairs professionals in the city where OrgSync started.
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| View ePortfolio | View ePortfolio |
If you’ll be in attendance, make sure you stop by and visit with Tracy and Cayce at our booth. Also, they’ll be sharing how 19 Texas colleges and universities are utilizing OrgSync daily in their student affairs departments, including Lamar University’s success after only one year of implementation.
As always, if you’d like to schedule a time to meet with us during the conference, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We hope to see you in Austin!
Ruby Hacknight hosted at OrgSync HQ!
Last night, OrgSync headquarters was occupied by 15 developers from all across the DFW area who congregated for our first ever Dallas Ruby Hacknight.
For those unfamiliar with the term “hacknight,” it’s essentially a meet up for developers with a variety of skill sets to share ideas, network with others in the community and get help with projects they are currently involved with. After filling their stomaches with some food and drinks, everyone began collaborating together to talk about recent Ruby updates, ideas on side-projects they were working on and asking questions about various concepts they wanted to discuss. Each developer had a wide range of expertise ranging from Ruby on Rails to Java to .NET and more.
We want to give a big thank you to Dallas Ruby Brigade for working closely with us to promote the hacknight. Join us every second Tuesday of each month at OrgSync for Ruby Hacknight! Hope to see you next month.
5 Tips for Back to School
How college students can make going back to school an easy transition
The time of year has arrived. Students are rolling in by the hundreds, checking into their dorms, reuniting with friends they haven’t seen all summer and hopefully getting their schedule finalized. Back to school can be somewhat of an overwhelming experience for some students, but here is some advice to ensure the transition back to school from summer vacation is more of a rejuvenating experience than stressful.
Attend Welcome Week
Find out when your school has Welcome Week and make sure to allocate some time to attend. You don’t have to attend everything, but find some activities that would interest you and drop by. Remember, you can easily view and RSVP to all upcoming Welcome Week events on campus from the events section in Community Home.
Register/Login to OrgSync
The first thing you should do after getting a parking pass and registering for your classes, is register on OrgSync. But, if you already had an account from last semester, you need to Login and see first-hand the changes our team launched earlier this summer. Take a look under the hood at Community Home and OrgSync’s entirely new user interface, if you haven’t already had a chance to. If you’re just starting out, here is a Getting Started Guide we put together for you. Also, check out the Getting Started Guide for Organizations.
Find your classes ahead of time
This may seem unnecessary now, but I can guarantee you don’t want to be the one student that walks in 15 minutes late to class on the first day. Scope out where your classes are, what building they are in and if you need to catch a bus to class, find out where the bus picks up and drops off. Nothing is more reassuring when you know exactly where to go during the first week of class.
Browse organizations on campus that interest you
Join a club or organization! Get involved with an organization that interests you or gather a group of friends and create your own organization. You can always search all the organizations your campus offers by clicking “Browse Organizations” at the top of your Community Home landing page. Don’t be afraid to get involved, meet new people and use OrgSync to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Purchase your textbooks before classes start
Purchasing textbooks before classes start may be a challenge for some, however, many perquisite degree courses typically have pre-selected a textbook weeks before class starts. Try to find a used textbook from places such as: Abebooks.com, Chegg.com, Craigslist or even nearby used bookstores. Textbooks are always a burden on our bank accounts, so do a little research before class starts and try to get your books early.
Going back to school is the official end of Summer, but the start of another great year in college. We all have high hopes, big plans and ambitious expectations for how the year will shape, but since we can’t predict the future, why not just prepare ourselves for another successful year! What back to school tips do you have to share?
8 Ways Community Home Is Benefiting Students and Campuses
Nearly a month after the release of our new UI and Community Home, OrgSync is changing the way each student and campus interacts, shares information and discovers everything their community has to offer. Community Home is benefiting both students and campuses in the following ways and more:
Benefits for Students
1) Discover Involvement Opportunities
Getting involved on campus starts with discovering what events and organizations are available. Students no longer have to leave the home page to get details on upcoming events and find new involvement opportunities across campus. OrgSync also now suggests organizations students may be interested in to further increase their participation.
2) Interact with Conversations in Real-Time
Scroll down your feed on Community Home and start responding directly to polls, news posts and events. The enhanced feed allows students to get a glimpse of the conversations happening campus-wide and interact with content in the feed without having to leave the home page.
3) Quickly Access Campus Information
On the left side bar, under the community profile picture, each student can access information from various departments on campus. For example, a campus can direct students to the Volunteer Center, Campus Recreation and Student Life to quickly view all the publicly available information including forms, events and more.
4) Share on Twitter!
For all those Twitter lovers who already share multiple pieces of content to their social stream from OrgSync, you can now tweet content in your community including: news posts, polls, events, pages, photos and videos. Simply find the “Share” button next to these modules to connect to your Twitter account and tweet about the exciting events going on in your community.
Benefits for Campuses
5) Connect Multiple Departments
The release of Community Home also introduced an upgrade to our platform infrastructure, allowing more than one department inside a campus community to have their own umbrella to oversee their department, organizations and users. Examples of departments that are already moving to OrgSync include: Fraternity & Sorority Life, Residence Life, Campus Recreation, Civic Engagement, Service Learning, and Orientation.
6) Spotlight Campus News & Events
At the top of each Community Home landing page, is a rotating banner that can be used to spotlight important campus information. The “promotions” banner is one of the first things each student sees when they first login to OrgSync and it’s a great tool for pushing the most important content out to students.
7) Integrations with other Campus Systems for SSO Campuses
For campuses that have implemented single sign-on (CAS, SAML or Shibboleth), students can now access multiple campus systems with a single login. If you have any questions, please contact your campus consultant to learn more about setting up this option.
8.) Create a One-Stop Shop for Students
With the addition of multiple umbrellas and Community Home, OrgSync has created a one-stop shop for students. Students no longer have to access separate systems for each department to fill out forms, access documents, communicate with others and share information.
What are some things you’ve noted about Community Home that you foresee as a key benefit to both your campus and students?