Alina Alvarado

I've learned the importance of balancing flexibility with routine. It is good to form certain habits like making time to reflect and prioritize health. However, it is also needed to use what is noticed in the reflection to be able to make changes to what needs to be completed and when.

I work with several higher Ed institutions, and I learned not just how they are affected by FERPA but how other laws, policies, and acts can affect FERPA and overall student privacy (or lack thereof).

I currently work with students in different schools around the country and am also working with an institution in its infancy with a goal of accreditation. It's interesting that FERPA does not define record retention aside from not destroying records of there is an outstanding review requirement.

I agree that there should be extensive training for both new and existing institution staff. It's also interesting to learn that state law can oppose FERPA requirements, and I would be interested to know what happens then?

I've learned that the guidelines for schools are very specific about the policies and procedures that they must or may do. The nuances of where and how information is provided is very important when considering student privacy. 

The idea of learning invitations/commitment emails is something I would like to apply/see applied in my team. It goes beyond just saying we care about development. It can also be a good segue into a development plan or even a tool for checking in on their progress in their plan. I am currently applying for a supervisory role over other academic coaches, and a lot of this course content has given me both ideas and key verbage to highlight my goals and intentions for the role.

It's important to establish what their goals/approaches are, how they feel about their performance or the situation,  and then ask to share your view. It was interesting to learn of the advice that coachees should do 90% of the talking in meetings and to learn how coaching is defined (or, more accurately, how it is not defined) because I would often interchange coaching with mentoring, training and providing feedback.

My main takeaway are the levels of exceptions made for the policies and regulations. They make sense to why they are needed, but can add confusion in fully understanding what is  or is not a requirement.

My team and I are going through Appreciative Advising certification for coaching clients/students, and it is interesting to see the parallels between it and appreciative inquiring. Appreciative Advising includes other steps though incorporating "disarm" at the beginning and "don't settle" at the end. Though we apply it towards our students, it is important to remember to apply it internally.

I didn't know there was a specific term for adapting language and delivery style to others preferences. Though very important, one thing that's concerning is at what point can matching seem disingenuous since that is not being open of your own preferences.