CAB Spotlights help you get to know the current Client Advisory Board members. The CAB serves as a liaison between CollegeSource and the community of professionals using CollegeSource software to maximize the higher education experience. Each spotlight is presented in a “Q&A” interview style and provides insight into CAB members’ institutions, what they are passionate about, and their perspective on issues within the higher education community. Additionally, CAB members may share anecdotes, advice, and what they have learned from being on the CAB.
We hope that these articles give you a new way to connect with the CAB and appreciate why each member was selected to represent our user community. In this portion of the series, we are excited to highlight two members.
Meet Ritu Sachdev and Drew Lurker.
In the Spotlight: Ritu Sachdev
Ritu Sachdev is the Associate Registrar in the Office of the Registrar at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has over 20 years of experience in higher education and has been in her current position for almost four years where she oversees the transfer course evaluation process at the institution.
Marquette University uses the PeopleSoft student information system (SIS) and utilizes TES and Transferology from CollegeSource.
Do you participate in any associations, industry conferences, or online groups? How does interacting with your peers from other institutions help you perform your job more effectively?
I’m a member of AACRAO (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers), WACRAO (Wisconsin Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers), WAICU (Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities), and HEUG (Higher Education User Group). I attend their conferences, meetings, and training sessions related to transfer topics whenever possible. I enjoy learning from others and their experiences. Getting tips as well as sharing ideas about using our systems more efficiently is exciting!
What advice can you offer first-time attendees or users trying to decide about attending the CollegeSource annual conference? What should they know before they go?
Don’t miss it! My mantra is ‘Network!’ Attend as many sessions as you can so you can pick and choose some takeaways to implement at your institution. Initiate conversations with other attendees and the presenters. Get to know the CollegeSource staff—put faces to names. They are super intelligent and friendly folks who will answer as many questions as you have, as many times as you ask them! Bring and share with them your ideas and wish list of new features for the products that you use. Always know that the CollegeSource family is rooting for you and your success!
What have you learned about being on the CAB? Why might you encourage others to apply?
I’m new to the CAB but I learned early on that CollegeSource genuinely cares about its clients’ experience. The team at CollegeSource takes feedback seriously—not only from members of the CAB but from the entire user community. It is indeed a rewarding experience to be a part of conversations that result in meaningful change for clients.
Reflecting back over your years in higher education, what do you see as having changed in Higher Ed that may not be understood or apparent to someone from the outside or who has just joined the community?
Paper to digits and in-person to web-based. The extent to which information including catalogs, student files, forms, transcripts, and even diplomas have been digitized; and training, appointments, tours, meetings, advising, and mentoring have moved to the web, has been a significant change in higher education in the past few years. From being buried in paper transcripts and a flurry of printed catalogs just a few years ago, I can safely say that our current transfer evaluation processes involve zero paperwork and significantly reduced turnaround times. It goes without saying that TES has played a key role in this for us!
Why CollegeSource? What do our products do for you that is critical to your and your students’ success?
We have TES and Transferology. Using the TES workflow and its features (like attaching syllabi) for our course evaluation process keeps things transparent and streamlined. We store our equivalencies in TES which makes the information available to advisors, students, and prospects 24-7 in Transferology.
What is something fun that the community might want to know about you?
I enjoy hiking, biking, gardening, and… sudoku!
In the Spotlight: Drew Lurker
Drew Lurker is the Director of Student Records at Ivy Tech Community College. He has been in his current position for the past 6 years, with a total of 12 years at the institution. He participates in the Indiana Credential Engine Advisory Board and the Interstate Transfer Coalition. Drew’s duties include maintaining uAchieve and TES systems, providing data from the degree audit to support strategic initiatives of the college, and maintaining the college curriculum of record. Prior to his current role, Drew was the Assistant Director of Academic Advising, and previous to that, he was the Assistant Director of Career Services.
Ivy Tech Community College uses the Banner SIS and utilizes TES, uAchieve Degree Audit, and uAchieve Planner from CollegeSource.
What advice can you offer first-time attendees or users trying to decide about attending the CollegeSource annual conference?
Be ready to meet a lot of really helpful people and come ready to share the challenges you are having. The annual user conference is full of very knowledgeable people who are willing to give you plenty of ideas about how to overcome the challenges you are having. One of my favorite sayings you will hear at the conference is, “There is no one correct way to solve a problem, however, there are lots of solutions.” The users and staff at the conference are always willing to talk and help you.
What have you learned about being on the CAB? Why might you encourage others to apply?
Being on the CAB has helped me learn how sharing about how we use the product can help inform how the product gets enhanced. Being on the CAB is a great way to advocate for your fellow users that might be facing some of the same challenges. Especially as a user from a Community College, it has been great to be that voice that can speak to the ways that community colleges can benefit from new features being developed.
Reflecting back over your years in higher education, what do you see as having changed in Higher Ed that may not be understood or apparent to someone from the outside or who has just joined the community?
The way that access to data has grown in the last 5 years is amazing. Currently at Ivy Tech Community College, we are working on several projects that will leverage data from the degree audit to ensure that students are making progress towards their degree, as well as ensuring that students are recognized for every credential they earn at the college.
What do you see as a recent trend or on the horizon for Higher Ed?
Data, data, data… The more that we know about our students, the better we will be able to support and serve them. However, the challenge will be knowing what is the right amount of data and how to get at it in a timely manner.
What is the best thing about your job? The most challenging thing? What strategies do you use to make yourself more productive?
The best thing about my job is that every day I am faced with a challenge that stretches me. With the scale of Ivy Tech, serving over 80,000 per year, we have to use technology to help us scale up practices efficiently. This can seem daunting at times but when we get it right, seeing the outcomes is very rewarding. On a fun note, one of the things that I do to work productively in the system is I have a mouse and keyboard that I can program to do repetitive tasks. I’m the king of setting up a Google Sheet and a macro to take care of a tedious job that has to be done.
Why CollegeSource? What do our products do for you this is critical to your and your students’ success? How are the products used well at your institution?
CollegeSource’s uAchieve is by far the most powerful and precise degree audit engine that I have seen. By utilizing the Degree Discovery feature, Ivy Tech Community College has increased the number of credentials we awarded every year for the past 5 years. Since we have started using the Degree Discovery engine, we have increased credential awards by over 30%. These tools help us accurately track our students’ progress and ensure they are recognized for every credential they have earned.
What is something fun that the community might want to know about you?
I’m one of the easiest people to find at the conference as I’m 6’6” and despite my last name being Lurker, I stick out in a crowd.
More CAB Spotlights
We hope you enjoyed getting to know our Client Advisory Board members. To learn about other CAB members, please check out all of our CAB Spotlights.
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