The Home Stretch | Somehow I Manage
By Britt Yenser
Chewy, we’re home
Han Solo
While Star Wars fans everywhere are celebrating “Star Wars Day” during the first week of May, many folks in Higher Ed are reaching the home stretch. But what does it mean to end the academic year? Do you say, “The adventure is over– bye.” Or do you make it a little more meaningful than that?
While the end of the academic year is extremely hectic, I always make it a point to do two things:
- Give each student an evaluation
- Celebrate the staff, especially the seniors
I know that I don’t have a lot of time as the year wraps up, so I’ve made those action items as easy and sustainable as possible. Here’s the breakdown:
Evaluations
Each student has their own tab in an evaluation spreadsheet. Students are evaluated on a scale of 3 (highest) to 1 (lowest) in categories that are important to our department: inclusiveness, responsibility, communication, quality improvement and service focus, leadership, and job knowledge. I meet with students individually for no more than 30 minutes to review their evaluation and set goals for the next year. If the student is a senior, we also make sure we’ve exchanged the appropriate contact information if they will be needing a reference as they apply for jobs.
I recognize that this level of time and detail is easier for me than for someone with a large staff. However, I highly recommend providing all of your student employees with feedback when the year concludes, however that might work for you. All employees of the institution receive feedback about their performance– why shouldn’t our students? Evaluations are a great way for students to get even more “real world” work experience, to receive encouragement about what they do well, to discuss areas of improvement, and to get ready to hit the ground running in the next semester (or in the next chapter of their life).
Celebrating
If you want more ideas about how to celebrate your staff, you can check out my previous “Student Employee Appreciation Week” article. There is a lot of content there that is applicable here. I cannot stress enough that the end of the academic year makes me feel like a cat is clawing at my brain, so I keep it simple.
The first thing I do is send an email to the entire AV/IT department, including the students, thanking the students for their work. I highlight how many events we supported, specific moments of excellent work, and share that the work could not have gotten done without the student staff. I also highlight the seniors, congratulating them for their upcoming graduation. It might not seem like much, but receiving thanks and positive feedback during a stressful time can go a long way.
The second thing I do is put together a gift for the seniors. This is historically a drinking glass with our unofficial department logo (a greyhound wearing headphones) and a thank you card. Again, this is due in large part to having a small staff. I handmake the gift, and pay for the materials out of pocket, which would be impossible to do if I had a larger staff. That being said, I’m sure with some careful planning and a little creativity, even people with a large staff could whip up a gift (or party) for their graduating students. I am all about treating students like the employees they are– we typically celebrate employees when they leave for their next adventure, so why wouldn’t we celebrate our students, who are about to embark on one of the most exciting adventures of them all?
And there you have it! Two ways to end the academic year in purposeful, impactful ways.
I wish everyone the best of luck as they reach the home stretch!
