Meeting 14: July 9, 2026

Open Discussion:

Conference Wrap-Up 

• Share one thing that you learned from the conference and plan to use in the fall or one question about the conference

  • Katie noted that she enjoyed making connections with other people and being able to see others in person

    • Most interesting session attended discussed tracking success rates long-term and how this can translate to improving program and showing program successes. Katie suggested being intentional about questions asking of students who are and are not attending sessions and using this data intentionally when sharing on campus

  • Russell had a question about data. His college is starting SI program, and his boss tasked with figuring out what data to track.

    • Katie discussed the data page from the UMKC page to see what to track and what data to share with faculty

    • Laine provided information about end-of-semester survey that program provided

    • Taylor mentioned that it could be useful to track why students weren’t attending SI sessions or what impacted their inability to attend

  • Taylor was going to try to implement monthly meetings and asked what kind of professional development ideas the group had

    • Katie stated that they have bi-weekly meetings with leaders because all her leaders are online, but this helps her check in with leaders and problem solve issues that have come up. She also creates a running agenda to allow leaders to see what has been covered so far. They discussed resumes, how to increase attendance, and did an AI training session and how to use it responsibly and ethically in session planning. Katie also shared specific information on how they developed and created AI prompt for leaders to use.

    • Laine shared about her weekly meetings and the general topics that are covered that are in three general categories: personal development, professional development, and job development

    • Katie suggested having other people from around campus come to their meetings so that students are knowledgeable about other resources that exist on campus

  • Russell asked about how to recruit good SI leaders

    • Katie noted that she liked to get a reference from faculty to start because they often know the students well. She also likes to see interest in helping students succeed and recommended doing one-on-one interviews.

    • Laine mentioned about the interview process on campus and how to develop questions to sort through candidates and get a sense of whether or not the student would be a good fit for the job.

  • Lindsey asked about how to recruit candidates for the job.

    • Katie noted that she has a check box on the end of semester survey to see if students would like to be an SI leader. Also, she can use the fact that they can create their own schedule as a selling point.

    • Loretta noted that she used faculty and leaders to get referrals. She stated that her leaders encourage students to apply.

    • Laine mentioned that she emphasized the benefits of the job for resumes and future careers. She also talked about having leaders encourage their students to apply.

Whiteboard Activity

• Katie introduced the whiteboard and the two topics: reflection on last year’s structure and fall meeting topics.

• Reflection on Last Year

  • One person liked the conversation on leadership and coaching SI leaders

  • One person enjoyed having casual conversations with other people in the regional group about how they were handling particular issues on campus

  • Another person liked the Midwest Regional Group site

•  Brainstorm Ideas for Fall Meetings

  • Obtaining faculty buy-in and ways to foster relationships

  • How to use data to tell your story

  • Recruiting new SI leaders

  • Hosting info sessions to encourage hiring

  • Developing metrics for success to show your leadership the program is meeting or exceeding expectations

    • Russell asked about this comment

    • Katie indicated that this was her comment and noted how important it is to set the metrics and set expectations for the university leadership.

  • Delegating program tasks to GAs or other program admins

• Katie noted that all of these ideas would be shared with the rest of the admin group to set plans for fall meetings

Whiteboard Screenshot