Administrative Assistant Academy
The UNLV Administrative Assistant Academy (A3) is a training series designed to foster a culture of continuous improvement for all administrative assistants. The eight-week program outlines six competencies that UNLV administrative assistant professionals, supervisors, and leaders have deemed essential with in-person seminars, interactive time with colleagues, webinars, and self-paced modules taught by subject matter experts and peers.
Training is delivered using different modalities to make it easy, convenient, and accessible for participants to complete. The program is a partnership between Human Resources, Business Affairs, NSHE, and others to ensure the content is relevant, timely, and UNLV specific.
The Administrative Assistant Academy is a great training program for administrative assistants for UNLV. I highly recommend that staff take advantage of this opportunity. Kahala Crayton did a great job organizing everything and was incredibly helpful.
Jenny Ross, administrative assistant III at the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs Academic Advising Center
Program Requirements
To participate in this program, you must be able to:
- Dedicate at least three (3) hours a week for eight weeks
- Obtain approval from your supervisor
- Willingly discuss skills and knowledge with your peers and supervisor
Competencies
Participants will demonstrate knowledge and skills specific to technical, professional, and administrative responsibilities through the application of the following competencies
Accountability/Prioritization
Holds self and others responsible for accomplishing work objectives and administrative activities in a timely fashion.
Collaboration/Teamwork
Works cooperatively with others to set and/or implement department and strategic goals using constructive conflict and problem-solving strategies when needed.
Communication
Conveys information verbally and in writing to provide direction, foster, encourage and facilitate open communication.
Leadership
Provides direction and motivation and sets an example through open communication, ethical behavior, and professionalism.
Resource Management
Demonstrates responsible stewardship of resources (financial, equipment, labor, space, and material) in a manner consistent with university policies and standards.
Technology
Utilizes technology to complete office operations such as communicating, solving problems, and managing resources.
Courses
Participants must be able to attend at least three (3) in-person general/cohort sessions. Cohort sessions are divided into the following learning paths:
- Learning Path A: Administrative assistants who have been at UNLV for six (6) months or less
- Learning Path B: Administrative Assistant I or Administrative Assistant II
- Learning Path C: Administrative Assistant III or Administrative Assistant IV
General Sessions
In today’s highly connected and geographically dispersed world, effective communication is more important than ever. Crafting clear messages that are understandable by diverse audiences and the ability to solicit information and input from individuals and teams and process it well are critically important leadership skills. This intensive two-hour workshop will explore best practices in communicating to build and maintain trusting relationships and enhance collaboration and productivity.
Presenter: Kim Stott, HR Humanist Consulting
In this session, you will engage in a deeper understanding of what it takes to create, build, and maintain a high-performing team. This will help you gain knowledge of how they function within the boundaries of a real team given specific goals, outcomes, and deadlines. This session will also cover the importance of trust within an organization and how trust ultimately impacts performance and the organizational culture.
Presenter: Tim Furlong, Simmons Group
Cohort Sessions
Learning Path A
Have you ever started a job and wanted to know who you should ask your questions to or where to go? This session will provide a brief overview of three key areas that every office professional could benefit from at UNLV.
Presenter: Varies
This session explains how the underlying drivers of conflict can perpetuate disagreements and complicate resolutions and uses Friedrich Glasl’s model of conflict escalation to help better understand how conflicts escalate.
Presenter: David G. Schwartz
Learning Path B
CliftonStrengths is based on 50 years of research and can help you realize what you are naturally best at and what sets you apart from others by measuring the 34 different themes within. In this cohort session, you will complete the CliftonStrengths assessment and identify/discover your unique talents and strengths.
Presenter: Lateka Grays and Kahala Crayton
This interactive workshop explores better ways to communicate and work collaboratively with your supervisor and provides strategies for overcoming several common complications.
Presenter: David G. Schwartz
Learning Path C
The "FourSight Mindset Reveal" is a training session that dives deep into the way people solve problems together. In this session, you will identify the thinking preferences that show up when you try to solve complex problems.
Presenter: Kahala Crayton
No matter what role you occupy in an organization – you can be a leader. You can lead from the top and the middle using the same skills. This session will explore what it means to lead from the middle. Learn about accountability and optimizing performance through coaching and delegation.
Presenter: Kim Stott, HR Humanist Consulting
Participants will also need to complete an additional eight courses according to their learning path and competency requirements.
I thoroughly enjoyed the in-person courses. It was also nice to meet and connect with administrative assistants from different departments across campus.
Nohealani Benicarlo, administrative assistant III for the Office of the Vice President of Business Affairs
Registration
The Administrative Assistant Academy is hosted twice a year. Space is limited and provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you are interested in participating, fill out the . Once completed, you will receive information on how to register in REBELearn.
Contact learninganddevelopment@unlv.edu with any questions.