by Travis Courtney, Student Services Coordinator

Whatever your profession, whatever area of expertise you have, you can always find more to learn and room to grow. Imagine an accountant filing tax returns for his or her clients for 20 years without taking the initiative to brush up on skills or to learn about new tax laws. Imagine the lifelong engineer or architect who doesn't strive to learn of the latest building materials or construction techniques. Where would many of us stand as professionals without the regular contact of our peer groups helping us to stay abreast with the latest advances in industry?

I recently attended a higher education technology conference that gathered more than 250 representatives from 180 educational institutions from 3 continents. The opportunity to interact with, share with, and learn from my colleagues in the higher education industry was incredible. Not only was the experience enlightening and will certainly assist me in working with UWP's distance learning students, but it was also refreshing, charging me with a renewed energy and focus for the services we provide.

On-site conferences aren't the only way to interact with others in your profession. Online blogs, discussion forums, RSS feeds, professional development webinars, and online courses all provide excellent opportunities to keep up with industry trends and to stay on top of the game. If you know of additional types of resources for professional development, networking or training we want to hear about them!