Officials get customer service honors
Two University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff officials received certificates of completion for the Customer Service Skills in Higher Education certification via the Academic Impressions virtual program in December.
Honorees are Sheena Meadows, UAPB director of educational assessment/assistant to the vice chancellor-interim, and Dora Sanders, UAPB director of the Center for Teaching and Learning.
Their service excellence certificates support one of UAPB’s 2023-2030 Strategic Plan priorities, strategic priority five, “Sustain a Culture of Institutional Excellence through Professional Development,” according to a news release.
The strategic plan, titled Accelerating the Next Seven Years of Growing the Pride, is focused on maintaining a student-centered and student-focused institutional culture that is effective, efficient, and responsive to changing conditions and circumstances in UAPB’s environment.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The plan outlines university values, which include quality customer service.
“UAPB provides an environment of respectful, polite, and consistently excellent service to its internal and external constituents,” according to the plan.
Meadows’ and Sanders’ certifications in customer service skills in higher education keep this value at the forefront of university priorities and directly impacts the student experience and the university’s commitment to excellence, according to the release.
Academic Impressions is an agency focused on providing leadership, personal development, and skills-based training opportunities to faculty and staff in higher ed, according to academicimpressions.com.
Academic Impressions offered leadership, personal development, skills-based training opportunities, workshops, coaching, learning paths, and certificate programs.
UAPB, in line with its commitment to strategic priority five, provides Academic Impressions membership to approximately 60 employees, including academic deans, department chairs, and university directors.
“As competition in higher education intensifies, so do the appetites of prospective students for institutions that provide the best education and experience for their tuition dollars. Instilling a culture of service excellence at all levels of an institution can directly enhance enrollment and improve student retention,” according to Academic Impressions.
The three-day Customer Service Skills in Higher Education virtual learning experience, completed by Meadows and Sanders, covered a wide range of topics. These included the critical competencies of good customer service in higher education, communication strategies and scripting, inclusive practices in service excellence, and tools for measuring and assessing the campus customer service culture.
The Center for Teaching and Learning at UAPB promotes excellence in teaching and innovation. It provides faculty development programming based on strategic plan priorities and faculty needs.
“This intensive training not only enhances my customer service capability, but also allows me to share the knowledge I gained to strengthen customer service campus-wide via the Center for Teaching and Learning,” Sanders said. “This accomplishment is not just about completing coursework or fulfilling requirements; it represents the resilience of dedication and passion for growing the mission of the university.”
UAPB’s commitment to providing quality customer service has always been prioritized and this commitment is ongoing, according to the release.
Featured workshops have included Retention through Excellent Customer Service and Mindful Classroom Management, presented by CTL and the UAPB School of Education, a mandatory in-service customer service training provided by an alumna and credentialed customer service professional via the Office of the Chancellor, and most recently, WE CARE!: Creating a Culture of Confirmation, Accountability, Respect and Equity presented by Derek Young, a culture and career strategist/keynote speaker.
For the past year, UAPB has convened its campus leadership to develop strategies to increase recruitment and retention.
“We are excited to leverage the knowledge gained from this training with the initiatives in place on campus to provide exceptional customer service experiences that are consistent and sustainable,” Meadows said.
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Dora Sanders