Professional Development Corner February 12, 2025

Make a plan!

If you had a New Year's resolution to engage in more professional development, we hope you've found some good opportunities and have started! If not, you can start now! There are plenty of online, self-paced, as well as instructor-led courses and programs available to you. Remember to discuss all professional development opportunities with your manager prior to applying for any funds. (See below for more information on the Education Benefit).

Why is Professional Development Important?

Check out this article from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, How Professional Development Can Boost Employee Engagement on how participating in learning activities benefits all.

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Coursera

Did you know that UVA has a University-wide subscription for Coursera? Check it out and start learning!

Upcoming Offerings

Listed below are links to offerings that may be of interest. (Remember, if you are requesting departmental funds, make sure it is approved before you make any arrangements).

NACUBO

• 2025 Annual Meeting - July 26-29 in Washington, DC (National Harbor, MD) -- Save the date; registration not yet open
• Washington Update: 2024 Post-Election Analysis - Recording from webinar on 11/19/24 is available. You must log in to listen. 
• Other Live Online Events - unless indicated, the session is free to NACUBO members (which we are, although you need an individual account)
• Washington Update: What's Next for Higher Education Policy: Navigating a New Congress and Administration - Feb 11, 2025, 2:30-3:30PM 
• The Change Leadership Toolkit: Resources for Leading Systemic Change on Campus - Feb 13, 2025, 4:00pm
• 2025 Endowment Leadership Series -- Seven webinars, Feb 18 - Mar 6, 2025 ($325)
• NACUBO Student Success Series - Feb 25, 2025, 3:15pm - Jul 9, 2025
• Self-Paced Courses and Microlearning
• Strategic Higher Education Finance and Planning ($595)
• F&A Short Form ($150)
• Facilities Management ($49)
• Essentials of College and University Accounting ($125)
• 2025-2026 Emerging Leaders Program (Applications open on April 1 and must be submitted by May 15, 2025)
• Podcasts
• Career Conversations 
• NACUBO in Brief

EACUBO

• 2025 Annual Workshop - March 9-11, 2025 in Boston, MA (registration open)
• 2025 Annual Meeting - October 19-22, 2025 in Pittsburgh, PA (Save the date; registration not yet open)
• Higher Education Leadership Program (with Cornell University) - August 4-7, 2025 in Ithaca, NY 

SACUBO

• 2025 Annual Meeting: Adapting to New Realities in Higher Education - April 13-15, 2025 in Miami, FL (Registration is open)
• 2025 College Business Management Institute – July 27-August 1, 2025 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY (Save the date; registration not yet open) 
• 2025 Fall Workshop – October 29-31, 2025 in New Orleans, LA (Save the date; registration not yet open.

The Chronicle of Higher Education 

• Professional Development Programs+
• Virtual Events (many are on-demand) 

Association for Financial Professionals (AFP):

• Upcoming Webinars 

*New* LearnBFSI (several interesting for fee courses – note this company is in Australia) including: ChatGPT for CPAs and Finance Professionals : learnBFSI

Also consider the following as you plan your professional development for the year: 

• UVA Human Resources offers many free programs and courses. 
• Self-Paced Learning - Human Resources also has links to microlearning courses and to LinkedIn Learning. (Participating in these courses does not require submitting a Professional Development Request Form.)
• Learning Tracks | UVA HR – HR has created two new leadership tracks: on for Aspiring Managers and one for New Manager. This is about a year-long commitment and requires completion of an online form. Note UVAFinance Managers – we are working with HR to have customized curriculum for managers, so if you're interested in one of these tracks, please contact Patty Marbury, pam5w@virginia.edu before you enroll. 
• UVA’s Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion current offerings.  
• UVA’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) offers many Certificate programs.  
• University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business online programs; many are $1,000 or less.  
• Stanford University Executive Education – the self-paced programs are $1,500. 
• UVA Darden Executive Education - There are two programs less than $2,000, using the discount. (Leading Mindfully and Collaboration and Influence.) 
• Use the discount code UVA50, which provides a 50% discount for the cost of the program. (The prices listed are for the full cost.) 
• See the Darden Executive Education program schedule for upcoming dates. 
• VCU’s Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute – offers several leadership programs for under $2000 (not including travel costs)  

Education Benefit 

Each year you have $2,000 of centrally-funded education benefit for professional development or $5,250 to use for tuition toward a degree-seeking program. See https://hr.virginia.edu/career-development/education-benefits-1 for more information. (To be eligible for this benefit, you must have had six months of service in a benefits-eligible position at UVA by the start date of the class, with the intent to remain on the active payroll during the entire term of the class.)  

 

Professional Development Request Form  

UVAFinance team members – Since we have submitted initial FY 2025 professional development requests already, please discuss with your manager and use the Professional Development Request Form before you register for any program. Remember, not all professional development opportunities require submission of the form. If an opportunity is less than ½ day AND there is no cost associated with it, then do not submit a form. Many LinkedIn Learning courses and some courses offered by UVA Human Resources or other UVA departments meet these criteria. Otherwise, the form must be submitted. If unsure, feel free to ask! 

 

For LEADERS 

Here’s an article from the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): The Top 20 Leadership Challenges – this informative article provides many links to other articles and resources.