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.
Small Habits, Big Growth
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| Make a plan! |
Professional development often happens through small actions repeated consistently over time—asking questions, trying new approaches, reflecting on experiences, or making time to learn something new in small doses.
These habits may seem minor in the moment, but over time they build confidence, strengthen skills, and create momentum. A few intentional minutes spent reading an article, listening to a podcast, or completing a short online course, can have a lasting impact when practiced consistently.
In busy times especially, small steps can make development feel more manageable and sustainable. Growth doesn’t always require major changes; sometimes the smallest habits lead to the biggest progress. So this month, choose one small learning habit to focus on this month—something realistic, repeatable, and easy to build into your routine.
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 I’ll include them in future communications!
Coursera
Remember that we have access to Coursera, and 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!
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.”
Washington Updates
Conferences and Forums
Self-Paced Courses and Microlearning
- 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)
Podcasts
- Career Conversations
- NACUBO in Brief
*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.
- 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!)
Additional Organizations and Resources
NCCI (Network for Change and Continuous Innovation) - NCCI positions higher education institutions to be agile, lifelong learning models to transform lives and communities around the world. All efforts of NCCI trace back to the goal of advancing sustainable excellence in higher education by promoting successful practices and approaches used to drive change, innovation, and continuous improvement across academic and administrative functions.
AGA - is the association that connects and empowers professionals who support government, from financial management to IT, human resources, cybersecurity and more, to advance good government initiatives, grow their expertise and accelerate their careers. (Requires membership.)
LearnBFSI (several interesting for fee courses – note this company is in Australia.)
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.)
UVAFinance team members – if you have questions about Professional Development opportunities, please contact Patty Marbury, pam5w@virginia.edu.
Article on Leadership
The Top 20 Leadership Challenges--this informative article provides many links to other articles and resources. (Center for Creative Leadership)
Please feel free to share other opportunities you come across and I’ll include them in future communications!
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Related Content: Microsoft Copilot Workshop at UVA School of Data; Organizational Excellence Building Connections Workshop
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