Bi-weekly Conference Calls

Submitted By

Lin Maus, Coordinator, Academic Studies, Yellowknife Campus, Aurora College

Best Practices Supported

• Staff Development and Support
• Instruction

What You Need

• Speaker phones if more than one participant at a location
• List of participants with phone numbers (including area code)
• Operated assisted conference call set up through telephone company
• Inform participants of time and agenda of the meeting

How It Works

Community programs at Aurora College are delivered at five community locations (Wha Ti, Wekweti, Gameti, Dettah and N’Dilo). Since three of these sites are outside of Yellowknife, a bi-weekly conference call has been set up so that community program staff have a chance to interact. The conference call starts with an update from the various communities (including Yellowknife). Adult educators have a chance to discuss their programs, concerns and new initiatives. There is a portion of the meeting which is agenda driven so that staff can be updated on college information and recommendations and requests from community programs can be discussed with the supervisor. This conference call has promoted a sense of teamwork and allows the supervisor to have a broader view of programs presented when input is received from all areas at the same time.

The community adult educators are working in isolation. They are often the only college employee in the community. It is necessary to ensure that these individuals feel supported as a valuable part of the college environment. The conference call is a step toward providing the support that is a necessary part of these positions.