Back to School!

September 1, 2011

Autumn has always been my favorite time of year.  As a child, September brought a clean slate from which to start the academic year, new shoes, a fresh haircut, and a book bag filled with unsharpened pencils & spiral notebooks.  Now, years, later, I still am energized when I am able to assist a freshman navigate the downtown campus and am delighted to welcome new faculty and staff to DePaul who may be at the beginning of their career in higher education.  I believe this time of year speaks loudly of new beginnings, and untapped potential.

Over the summer WLP steps back.  We pore over nearly 900 paper and pencil evaluations. We put on our data-head hats and analyze charts and graphs that tell us what’s gone well, what’s gone not-so-well and ask ourselves questions like, “What’s not happening that should be?”  What are people asking for that doesn’t exist?” “Are we doing the best that we can with the talents and strengths that we possess?”  “Do we have the right people at the table—experts, educators and employees to give us feedback and input?”  “Are employees satisfied?” “Is learning taking place?” Then, we make some plans.

As we gear up for the start of academic year 2011-2012, we are feeling the excitement and energy as we introduce and develop new programs, bring back “foundational” courses and partner with University colleagues to raise the visibility and awareness of employee learning at DePaul.

Courses in career management and customer service are under development and will be launched as pilots in the coming year.  Both topics are of high interest to DePaul employees and managers alike.  In addition, Planning for the Performance Appraisal Process will be introduced as an online module this year.

DePaul Foundations:  New Employee Orientation has exciting news.  Part-time employees are now attending orientation and receiving a similar on-boarding experience as their full-time colleagues.  The online component is receiving praise for its thoroughness in telling the story of DePaul’s mission, history, culture and employee benefits and has been viewed as a valuable resource for new employees, as well as for veteran employees who are interested to keep up-to-date on developments across the University.

Finally, I am pleased to announce Learning@DePaul Catalog of Course Offerings and Programming.  Ten University departments have come together to produce an employee learning roadmap that will be launched on October 3, 2011.  Now, course listings and descriptions are available and registration is done easily in Campus Connection.

Here’s wishing you a fantastic start to the new academic year!  We hope you will check out what WLP is up to by visiting us at hr.depaul.edu.  We look forward to seeing you in the classroom!

Mary McGuinness
Manager, Workplace Learning & Performance