Note: 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.
 |
| Don't neglect development. |
Why is professional development important?
Professional development offers a valuable opportunity to stay engaged and navigate the constantly changing landscape of Higher Education—and beyond. Whether you’re looking to learn new skills, sharpen existing ones, enhance your leadership abilities, explore new interests, stay on top of emerging trends, or simply connect with colleagues, there’s something for everyone.
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.
Doing More with Less: Rethinking Professional Development
Professional development is often associated with courses, conferences, and certifications—but meaningful growth doesn’t have to be expensive. When budgets are tight, development doesn’t stop; it just looks different.
Free and low-cost resources can also go a long way. Articles, webinars, podcasts, and internal training opportunities offer flexible ways to learn without requiring significant time or funding. The key is to be intentional about choosing resources that connect to your goals and applying what you learn in your work.
Some of the most valuable learning happens in everyday work. Thinking about professional development as something that happens through work—not separate from it—helps keep momentum going. Growth is not defined by cost, but by impact.
So, this month identify one no- or low-cost way to support your development.
Professional Development Opportunities
To help with your planning, following is information about a variety of workshops, courses, and resources to support your ongoing growth. While some opportunities are free and others may have a fee, many do not require travel. Please feel free to share other opportunities you come across and they’ll be included in future communications.
Coursera
Remember that we have access to Coursera, an online learning platform that offers a wide range of courses, specializations, certifications, and degree programs from universities and institutions around the world. 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. As we have done for the past couple of months, we’ll again focus on opportunities for which you can use your centrally-funded education benefit and are offered virtually, or in a few cases, locally, so there are no travel costs. Remember, if you are requesting departmental funds, make sure you have approval before you register for or enroll in any offering.
- Spring FOCUS – May 19-21, 2026 at VMI in Lexington, VA. In-person registration ($350) closes May 1, 2026. Virtual Attendance ($50) registration opens after May 1.
EDUCAUSE Events
What is EDUCAUSE? From their website: “EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to lead the way, advancing the strategic use of technology and data to further the promise of higher education. We connect and empower our member community through insights, advocacy, resources, and learning opportunities to anticipate trends and strengthen professional practice.”
NACUBO*
- Washington Updates
- April 6 Recording
- Other Live Online Events - unless indicated, the session is free to NACUBO members, which we are, although you need an individual account. Some also offer CPE credits.
- Recordings
- Conferences and Forums
- NACUBO 2026 Annual Meeting – July 18-21 in Anaheim, CA
- New: 2026 Actionable Insights for AI Series – May 12-28 online
- Self-Paced Courses and Microlearning
Selected NACUBO self-paced courses:
- Strategic Higher Education Finance and Planning ($595)
- F&A Short Form ($150)
- Essentials of College and University Accounting ($125)
- Facilities Management ($49)
- Endowment Fundamentals ($49)
- New to Higher Education ($49)
NACUBO Podcasts:
*Individual NACUBO membership is free through UVA’s institutional membership. To join, go to nacubo.org and click on “Login or Join.” From the Login box, click on “Don’t have an account” and fill out the form. In the “Primary Affiliate” field, enter “University of Virginia” and select the appropriate affiliate.
SACUBO
- 2026 Fall Conference – November 11-13, Myrtle Beach, SC. Save the date; more info coming soon.
EACUBO
- Higher Education Leadership Program – August 10-13, 2026, at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY ($2,999)
- 2026 Annual Meeting – October 12-15, 2026, Buffalo, NY. Save the date; more info coming soon.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
- Professional Development Programs
- Administrative Leadership Institute – May 2026 ($595 for one session; $1,095 for two; $1,495 for three)
- Virtual Events - many are on-demand and/or free
Additional Professional Organizations and Resources
- NCCI - Network for Change and Continuous Innovation
- AGA - requires membership
- LearnBFSI - several interesting fee-based courses; note this company is in Australia
UVA Organizations
- UVA Organizational Excellence has many learning opportunities, resources, and articles. Subscribe to OE’s newsletter.
- UVA Miller Center always has interesting programs.
- UVA Human Resources offers many free programs and courses.
- Learning Tracks | UVA HR – HR has created three learning tracks: Aspiring Managers, New Managers, and Personal Growth for individual contributors. These are about a year-long commitment and require completion of an online form.
- LinkedIn Learning - Human Resources also has links to microlearning courses and LinkedIn Learning. Participating in these courses does not require submitting a Professional Development Request Form.
- UVA Darden Executive Education – Several programs, with the 50% discount for UVA staff, are under $2,000. Use the discount code UVA50 when registering. See the Darden Executive Education program schedule for upcoming dates.
- UVA’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies offers many certificate programs.
Other Institutions
- Harvard Business School Online offers multi-course credentials and certificate programs; many are less than $2,000.
- 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.
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 UVA HR’s Education Benefits page 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.
UVAFinance team members: If you have questions about Professional Development opportunities, please contact Patty Marbury at pam5w@virginia.edu.
Article on Leadership
The Top 20 Leadership Challenges - this informative article provides many links to other articles and resources from the Center for Creative Leadership.
Please feel free to share other opportunities you come across and they’ll be included in future communications.
No comments
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.