If you work as an administrator (particularly Grade 7 and below), within university administration, how do you define yourself, when asked by others \u201cWhat do you do for a living<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
To a large extent, we define ourselves by our job, and so how would you answer the question just posed?\u00a0 Many of us have a standard answer to the effect of \u201cI work at the University of Kent<\/i>\u201d, but more often than not, this is usually met with the reply \u201cOh, are you an academic<\/i>?\u201d to which we meekly reply \u201cNo, I\u2019m just an administrator<\/i>\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, (deliberately or not), the emphasis of our intonation falls on the word \u201cjust\u201d almost as if we are apologising for our profession and slightly embarrassed by it.<\/p>\n
Labels at work are important.\u00a0 Take for example, the term \u201cnon-academic<\/i>\u201d.\u00a0 Should we be defined by what we are not?\u00a0 The term, \u201cthe admin team\u201d can sometimes convey a sense of dumbing down and even the term \u201csupport staff<\/i>\u201d has an upstairs\/downstairs flavour about it.\u00a0 Anyway, are we not all partners in this together, and don\u2019t we all support students in the customer focussed environment in which we work nowadays?<\/p>\n
Shouldn\u2019t we be proud of being a university administrator? After all, the Nolan Committee <\/a>\u00a0referenced in the University of Kent’s Annual Review 2013 defines that university administrators\/managers should aspire to the seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership<\/i>.\u00a0 These are qualities that we uphold everyday in our working lives and are all elements of being a true professional and of displaying professionalism.<\/p>\n What do we contribute that is so important as university administrators and why do we think it\u2019s essential to be viewed as professionals? Well, a key function of our roles is to serve the public interest and to properly manage public funds.\u00a0 We serve the needs of a variety of stakeholders including: \u00a0students, their parents, students\u2019 eventual employers, our colleagues who also work in Higher Education, commercial clients and suppliers, and the government. \u00a0This is a broad remit of responsibility and certainly not something to be ashamed of.\u00a0 Students see administration staff as their first port of call and we often \u201cfill in the gaps\u201d, supporting the students when academics are unavailable and being asked the questions that students are often afraid to ask academics.\u00a0 You could say we do the \u201cglue\u201d work that goes on behind the scenes \u2013 and that it is done best when not noticed.<\/p>\n However, not being noticed can sometimes lead to anonymity, \u00a0invisibility and a feeling of being undervalued (remember how we introduce ourselves to others!)\u00a0 But by playing down our function, we are in fact contributing to old stereotypes and falling foul to professional snobbery. \u00a0In fact, this message can apply to all positions across the university. We all have a very important and relevant role to play and to actively celebrate and promote our unique contributions can only be a good thing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you work as an administrator (particularly Grade 7 and below), within university administration, how do you define yourself, when asked by others \u201cWhat do you do for a living?\u201d To a large extent, we define ourselves by our job, and so how would you answer the question just posed?\u00a0 Many of us have a … Continue reading Just an administrator?<\/span>