We are ACUHO-I

When we pay for something we expect to receive a product or service in return. While this is a core feature of our global economy, it is by no means the only medium of exchange.  There are many other types of benefits or services that can be received, and our relationship with ACUHO-I is a prime example. We all pay to become a member of ACUHO-I, and accordingly we expect to receive traditional goods and services in return for our payment.  While this is a reasonable expectation, it misses a critical aspect of being part of an association: Together WE make up the association.

In other words, the transaction is not just one-way between us and ACUHO-I.  Instead, we are also paying ourselves and each other to access the goods and services we are seeking to purchase. A more accurate way to think of ACUHO-I is that we are pooling our resources so we can work together to provide more powerful services and benefits then we could generate on our own.

Moreover, money is not our only resource. In an association, the most important resource is the people that make up the membership. We know this because when we attend a conference we network with and learn from our peers. Our experience with ACUHO-I (or our regional or professional associations) would be radically different if we did not actively contribute to the content which make up the services and benefits we are accustomed to receiving.

In order to maximize what we receive from ACUHO-I we must contribute. Not only do our peers benefit from us sharing our time, knowledge and experience, but these exchanges will deepen our understanding of the issues. In some cases our contributions are as simple as joining a face-to-face or online discussion. In other cases it's the presentations we deliver, the articles we submit, the events we plan, or the leadership roles we play.  Is is the total of these contributions that make ACUHO-I work. To continue being a strong association it is important for us to understand that without each of us there would be no ACUHO-I. Put another way: We are ACUHO-I.

Consulting students through social media instead of face-to-face

Do students want to engage with higher education management through social media? Many don't, but some do.

My team and I are in the midst of building a case that my institution should build a new residence. To raise awareness of our vision and to seek input from our students we elected to use social media as the primary medium to consult with students and the community. We set up a blog and are using the #newUWrez hashtag to organize the discussion on Twitter.

I've wrestled with the idea of how to engage with students on Twitter in earlier posts - Twitter, a new way to serve students and Tweet students or not?  In the current #newUWrez discussion I've been able to interact with 30 or so students. My staff have overheard students talking about our consultation efforts in our student centre. Furthermore, students have shared comments in a few other forums, like Facebook, despite the fact that we made the choice to not actively use other social media tools.

These efforts have allowed me to engage a small number of students but, perhaps more importantly, it has given me insight into a set of tactics that can improve how I use social media in my work. The principles of our approach would seem to be:

1. Identify an issue that is important to students (eg. residence design), 
2. Break the issue into a few different topic areas (eg. We developed a calendar), 
3. Provide content to frame the discussion and material for students to comment on (eg. Wepps' Housing Blog) and
4. Be active in the discussion on Twitter. I've tried to be on Twitter two or more times each day. 

We still have a few weeks of consultation planned so I still have more to learn. Have you seen an institution or someone in student affairs use social media effectively to engage with students? If so, please share examples here so we can learn together.

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