Megan Kauffman

This issue of the Exchange features Megan Kauffman, graduate records and data assistant at Millersville University.

Q: How long have you been with Millersville University?
A: Three years.

Q: What college/university did you attend? What was your major?
A: University of South Carolina. Bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications; major in advertising.

Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up here in Lancaster, Pa. I went to Lampeter-Strasburg High School.

Q: What do you like best about your job?
A: I really enjoy all the people that I work with in Graduate and Professional Studies. I’ve found that anywhere you are and anything you do, the people make the job. I also find great satisfaction in finding ways to update processes and constantly improve our service to graduate students.

Q: Why do you feel so many people choose Millersville University for grad school?
A: Millersville has a strong academic reputation, particularly in the education field, in which a majority of our master’s degrees are offered — this along with being the most economical choice for graduate study in the area are strong contributors to our enrollment. More and more, Millersville is offering online courses and convenient evening/weekend course options for working professionals, which also helps make us an attractive choice for students.

Q: Why is having a College of Graduate & Professional Studies so important at Millersville?
A: Having a College of Graduate & Professional Studies lends more credibility to Millersville, or any institution. It shows that as an institution we are dedicated to graduate study and growing in our graduate student population and degree offerings. We continually work to grow our graduate student population within our offerings.  Currently, there are three new master’s degrees and our first post-master’s degree in various stages of development.

Q: What services are offered through the College of Graduate & Professional Studies?
A: In 2009, we went through a transformation to become the College of Graduate and Professional Studies, encompassing our master’s degree and post-baccalaureate certification programs along with our educator workshops, distance learning, the Corporate University and the Nonprofit Resource Network.

We handle recruitment and application processing for all graduate students including non-degree, and then work with them on all progress to degree issues through to processing their degree conferrals and planning and implementing the graduate commencement ceremony. We also administer the graduate assistantship application and placement process. The “professional” side of our office handles all aspects of educator workshops, from planning and marketing to delivery and evaluation.  They also plan the summer and winter term schedules and work with distance learning courses.

Q: Does the College of Graduate & Professional Studies have offices at Millersville University – Lancaster?
A: We do have an evening coordinator at Millersville University – Lancaster to handle coordination of our evening courses held there, many of which are graduate level. The graduate dean, the Nonprofit Resource Network director and the Corporate University director also have offices at the MU-Lancaster campus.

Q: What led you to Millersville? Where did you work previously?
A: Immediately prior to Millersville, I worked briefly at an advertising agency in the area as an account executive, but before that I worked as a program technician for continuing education at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO). After receiving my bachelor’s degree, I worked at an advertising agency in Syracuse, NY and decided that it wasn’t the environment I wanted to work in.  When I received my position at SEMO it was a perfect combination of my advertising experience and the environment of higher education that I enjoyed. When I decided to move back to this area and remain in higher education, Millersville was a natural choice.

Q: How do you help match graduate students with graduate assistant (G.A.) positions?
A: The graduate assistantship program is handled very much like any job search and placement. Students complete an application in which they outline their experience and skills including references, and we encourage them to attach a résumé. From the pool of applicants, department and office supervisors review the applications and choose those who best fit the qualifications they are looking for in their open positions. They conduct interviews with the students and make their recommendation to my office. Then I verify a student’s eligibility and send out an offer letter. Since the positions vary so greatly by department, there isn’t a way for our office to “match” students with available positions. We maintain the application pool and monitor eligibility, but it’s really up to the student to provide the best application package possible to receive the most consideration from various departments.

Q: Do you help with commencement? If so, how do you help?

A: I do help with commencement. I work with the commencement committee and help to organize all the elements of the graduate ceremony. I am mostly responsible for the master’s degree students participating in the ceremony. Since I process the graduation applications, I know who is graduating and I send some prior communication to those students, then I work with the dean on name pronunciation and print the name cards and line up the students on commencement day. I also line up the graduate coordinators who walk with their students to congratulate them as they walk across the stage.

Prior to the ceremony I collaborate with the certification office and the development office regarding the certification students and award students who attend the ceremony and the details of their attendance. Commencement is a large undertaking and requires coordination among many offices on campus, even for our smaller graduate student ceremony.

Q: Why is there a separate graduate commencement?
A: Last year after the December commencement was cancelled, it made sense from a capacity perspective to fast track the graduate commencement ceremony, which was in the early consideration phases. However, the capacity is only a small reason for the ceremonies being separated. Many other schools already were holding graduate student commencement ceremonies, and we wanted to do the same to recognize our graduate students in a ceremony which would be more meaningful to them, as opposed to just being a small population of the large undergraduate ceremony. Also, this enables us to recognize our certification students in a formal ceremony as opposed to the separate banquet that we previously had for them. The program for the ceremony itself is very similar to the undergraduate ceremony, just focused on the graduate student population.

Given the number of graduate students eligible for degrees each semester we decided not to hold very small scale, separate ceremonies each term, but rather have one grander scale ceremony each year in May to recognize all students from June-May of that year. One of the highlights of having our own ceremony is that there is no need for us to limit tickets for graduates friends and family to attend the ceremony. Last year for our first ceremony with just about 150 students (master’s degree, certification and awards), we had more than 1,000 attendees! The ceremony this year will again be the Friday before the undergraduate ceremony, May 6, 2011, at 6:30 p.m.

Q: What did you want to be when you were young?
A: When I was very little I used to want to be a teacher, I played “school” all the time. Then for a period of time I wanted to be a psychologist, I minored in that during my bachelor’s degree and they were some of my most interesting classes. I still have an interest in psychology but found that wasn’t what I wanted to do in practice.

Q: Finish this sentence, “If I could…”
A: Travel anywhere, I would go to Bora Bora in French Polynesia.

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
A: I love biking and indoor cycling (spinning), cooking, baking and traveling to visit friends.

Q: Would you rather lie on a beach or ski down a mountain?
A: Lie on a beach! I want to be warm on my vacation, not cold. Plus I’ve never been skiing and would rather relax in the sun than wind up with a broken leg!

Q: Who is someone you look up to? Why?
A: My grandparents. My grandmother worked at a bank for many years, though many women in her time did not work and were reliant solely on their husbands. She juggled a career and the demands that home life placed on her. My grandfather served in the Navy so I greatly respect him for that, but also that in addition to working hard for everything he has, he was and is involved greatly in his children’s lives and in my life. They are both the most caring and dedicated people that I know.

Q: What is one thing most people don’t know about you?
A: At the University of South Carolina, I was a University ambassador working in the visitor center and giving tours of campus. One year I served as president of the organization and earned the “Ambassador of the Year” award.

Q: What is your favorite type of food? Why?
A: So hard to pick just one, but I’ll say Latin food. I love El Maizal, which is a Colombian restaurant, and Cocina Mexicana in Lancaster. The Colombian empanadas are amazing and Cocina has the best tacos!