Maintaining an understanding of current national issues in higher education, best practices in registration and records management, and staying abreast of advances in technology are all crucially important in the role of the Registrar.
Chapter 10 of the Registrar’s Self-Assessment focuses on professional development and encouraging team growth through skill acquisition.
Evaluating and Assessing your Registrar’s Office.
The Registrar's Self-Assessment is a cost-effective and practical guide for registrars to assess various functions, processes, and procedures. It allows users to grade their proficiency in several determined core competencies, including managing the registrar’s office, academic policies, grading processes, degree audits, professional development, and more. In addition, the Self-Assessment identifies areas for potential improvement and recommends specific relevant AACRAO resources and products to increase mastery in these areas. Available in both digital and physical formats, the Self-Assessment mimics the approach an outside consultant would use to evaluate the operations of a registrar's office.
Chapter 10: Professional Development includes a brief assessment and action plan based on the higher education industry's general best practices and guidance. Below you will find a truncated version of the guiding principles to familiarize yourself with the type of content you will find in Chapter 10 of the Registrar’s Self-Assessment.
Concluding this section, users are provided with a guided Action Plan to draw inspiration from and explore possible next steps.
Professional Development: Basic Principles
Routine participation in professional development opportunities allows registrars to maintain a current understanding of national issues in the field of higher education, best practices in registration and records management, and advances in technology that can facilitate future innovation.
Professional development can take many forms, including attending and presenting at workshops, webinars, and regional and national conferences; subscribing to industry listservs or journals; enrolling in online courses; serving in a leadership capacity on local, state, or national association committees; and authoring or contributing to industry publications.
It is wise to remember that, as we advance in the profession, there are newer colleagues who can learn from our knowledge and expertise. Providing professional development opportunities and mentorship is a means to enhance your personal professional development and advance the careers of others.
Interested in utilizing the Registrar's Self-Assessment in your office? Visit AACRAO's On-Demand Learning page to gain access.