CASP Profile - Sharon Boyd

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Sharon Boyd
Associate Vice Chancellor, Business Services, UNC-Wilmington

What is your educational background and career experience in higher education auxiliaries?
I have a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), and I am a Certified Internal Auditor. Much of my career has been at UNCW, first in accounting and internal auditing, then in an expanded role in systems accounting. In this capacity, I implemented financial systems, including payroll and purchasing cards, along with associated policies, procedures, and training. These experiences have afforded me the opportunity to learn about many university areas in great depth.

To whom do you report?
The Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs

What departments/operational areas report to you?
Dining, bookstores, card services, parking and print/mail report through a director auxiliary services. I also oversee technology/access control/business systems, Environmental Health & Safety, Emergency Management and more recently, I acquired Institutional Risk Management.

What prompted you to apply for a CASP certification?
I had been following the development of the program by NACAS because it seemed like such a great idea for our professional business field. We are such a diverse group of professionals, even though we have much in common. Also, after looking at the content areas detailing a foundational Body of Knowledge important to our career standards, I wanted to test myself, both to learn my strengths and to find additional areas for personal and professional improvement.

How did your supervisor or institution support you in this effort?
They were both very supportive of my certification — leave time, travel, application costs and other associated expenses. To complete the program; however, I did have to find time outside regular working hours. The Vice Chancellor and I both felt this not only would be good for me professionally but also an important asset for UNCW, because it’s a clear indication that we hold ourselves accountable professionally speaking and that we take our jobs seriously.

How did you prepare for the exam?
I first spent a significant amount of time reading the actual practice analysis, both to review the industry as a whole and to identify any areas in which I needed to learn more. I followed up by reviewing the test content areas, and then mined the recommended resources to develop a good reading list and up-to-date reference materials. My accounting background and habit of reading leadership literature helped me feel prepared in most areas. For other areas with which I was less familiar, I combed the NACAS Online Community library and became involved in various NACAS discussion groups. All of these initiatives were extremely helpful.

What was the exam like for you to take?
It had been a while since I had taken a standardized test, so the very first question felt challenging, but I just focused my thoughts and moved forward. The test-taking experience itself was certainly well organized and proctored.

What has been your response from your supervisor or institution since you received the CASP designation?
My Vice Chancellor was very proud — so much so that while we were waiting to see the accomplishment published in our university newsletter, he posted it in our Business Affairs break room. News travels fast at my institution, and my coworkers have been very complimentary.

How do you feel the CASP certification will affect your career path/development moving forward?
As an Associate Vice Chancellor, I am not in the early stages of my career, and therefore, I am not sure it will necessarily make a difference in my career per se. What’s more important, however is what it will enable me to do for my university. In higher education, "accountability" clearly is a top priority; we all need to be concerned with this. We owe it to our customers to be as professional, knowledgeable and as innovative as possible, and the CASP certification is both an outward and inward indication of our values. In auxiliaries, we can’t afford ~not~ to be the best at what we do. We should continually seek to improve our business practices and fundamentals, compliance standards, and knowledge and understanding of our customers’ needs. Only then are we prepared to identify and/or take advantage of opportunities for innovation when they arise. 

I am excited about what my CASP certification can do for our university as well as for me personally. I have always felt that personal rewards follow when one simply does the right thing. I believe that my effort to acquire the CASP certification sets a good example about the need to continually pursue professional development goals, both for my colleagues and subordinates. I’ll be recommending this path to managers and directors in my organization.