About six weeks ago, in San Antonio, Texas, AACRAO staff were attending and exhibiting at the SACRAO Annual meeting when we had the pleasure of meeting Ruth Davies, student processes manager at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. Davies was accompanied by compatriots Shane Radford, a Student Data Manager at King’s College London, and Phillip Russell-Lacy, Assistant Registrar - MI and Data Quality at The University of Sheffield.
Davies had such a unique, thoughtful perspective on U.S. higher education—and the SACRAO Conference in particular—that we asked her to share her thoughts here.
A common bond
My first SACRAO Conference, held in the San Antonio hill country—“Deep in the Heart of Texas”—was also my first time in the States. What a privilege it was to be able to attend and to be made so welcome as a participant and particularly as a visitor from overseas.
It's been fascinating to begin to understand the particular issues faced by U.S. Higher Education sector—many of which were highlighted at the plenary session. In particular I enjoyed people's reactions to the FERPA rules/guidance and was fascinated by issues relating to veterans and service members.
It became clear to me, however, that there are many commonalities across the US and the UK and a need for both to make the most of their resources in challenging economic times whilst also grappling with evolving legislative issues.
The bull-whip brings you back
My lasting impression of SACRAO was the genuine and passionate concern everybody seemed to have for their students, their communities and one another as professionals and friends. This was evident everywhere—from the work people are doing to increase participation of under-represented groups, to the care with which people described their student bodies and to the genuine warmth with which people were recognised at the various conference meetings, from past presidents and honorary awards to people attending for the first time.
One of the workshop sessions I attended was “The Garden That's You,” which used the analogy of real gardening to give a fresh (excuse the pun) perspective on using personality tools for personal and professional growth. One of the concepts in the session was that “when it comes to scale, you should err on the side of abundance.” This could almost have been the theme for the whole conference for me. Food (and drink!) were plentiful, greetings were friendly as new and old friends met.
The opening session included a gun-twirling, bull-whipping cow-girl inviting attendees to The Big Event at The Enchanted Springs Ranch and the closing session included an invitation to Raleigh for the 67th meeting of SACRAO accompanied by the warm, sweet tones of James Taylor and the sweet, sweet taste of local KrispyKreme donuts. It seems it's true what they say about Southern hospitality …and I'm already in Carolina in my mind.
Davies is also a member of two organizations which are AACRAO International Partners—the Association of University Administrators (AUA) and the Student Records Officer Conference (SROC). She hopes to come to an AACRAO meeting next year and is looking forward to the next SACRAO meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina. We know AACRAO members will welcome her!
By: AACRAO Connect