Lori Sisk is the Student Services Manager at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP). Since she joined the staff in 2014, Ms. Sisk has helped shaped and develop the Office of Student Services with an enhanced effort to provide support and resources to all university students.
Ms. Sisk has a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration and will finish and receive her master’s degree in higher education administration this June. She has 12 years of experience working in higher education. Prior to coming to RMUoHP, she served as the Director of Student Services with an undergraduate student population for six years. She has also worked in admissions and registrar offices, where she gained valuable insight into all aspects of the student lifespan—from applying to graduating.
For students here at RMUoHP, Ms. Sisk works hard to provide them access to information and resources so they can be successful. She explains, “Student Services focuses on student support services and resources by endeavoring to advance student development and learning, foster community engagement, promote diversity and respect, and provide a supportive graduate student-centered environment.”
The Office of Student Services works in conjunction with all other departments of the university to ensure there is a focus on student centeredness and student success. She is an advocate for the students. “Advocacy is vital to graduate and post-graduate students success; with online learners, this increases. The student needs to know that there is an advocate for them at any time, to work through policies, procedures, concerns, life-events, and goals,” says Ms. Sisk. “An effective and strategic student services department will provide those needs for students while additionally creating life-long relationships maintained through alumni relations.”
Ms. Sisk recently worked with university administration to create the role of Alumni Relations Coordinator to better build alumni relations and support. Ms. Blythe Stewart stepped into that roll earlier this year.
One of Ms. Sisk main initiatives at the university is fostering student health and wellness. With this as her goal, Ms. Sisk started the Health and Wellness Committee with a mission to focus on “the student as a whole by providing holistic health and wellness services, resources, and programs that support overall student development during their pursuit of an advanced healthcare degree.” The committee brings together a broad range of university representatives to serve the needs of the students.
“If students have the tools within their toolkits, they will know how to handle the majority of the challenges they may face while matriculating at RMUoHP,” explains Ms. Sisk. The committee started Health and Wellness Forums for students to learn information about various aspects of wellness while in school, as well as for the rest of their lives. “The intended outcome is that students will know how to properly navigate whatever may come their way and additionally when and how to seek additional support and resources, for themselves or their classmates,” says Ms. Sisk.
She continues, “The University is trying to get resources out to students towards prevention while breaking the negative stigma that can surround mental health topics and issues. We want an environment where students are encouraged and feel safe in reaching for additional support pieces they may need during their matriculation at the University.”
Ms. Sisk believes that by providing better resources to students, there will be a profound impact not only on their lives, but also on the lives of the patients they serve. “By fostering student development at RMUoHP, our students learn how to be transformational healthcare leaders—seeing each of their patients as an individual, not a number, and addressing the various dimensions of their wellness for optimal health.”
The Office of Student Services provides resources to students, including, but not limited to, ADA academic accommodations, leadership opportunities, service opportunities, local and national resources, discounted rates on hotels and accommodation for non-residential students, healthcare and emergency information, guidance on procedures and policies, and alumni relations.
For Ms. Sisk, “Being the Student Services Manager at RMUoHP allows me the honor to support, encourage, and provide assistance and guidance to the highest caliber graduate healthcare student, and I absolutely love my job!
For more information about the Office of Student Services and resources for students, visit our website, https://rm.edu/student-services/.
