Successful Student Unions: Essential Qualities and Best Management Practices

Internal (Campus Stakeholders) Survey

These are the questions asked of campus stakeholders, based on the Appreciative Inquiry methodology.

PART ONE: STAGE-SETTING QUESTIONS

1. What do you envision when you ponder the notion of “a revitalized, vibrant university center that builds a sense of community? ”
   1. Is your vision inspired by any particular university center(s)?
   2. If yes, why do these university centers come to mind?
   3. If not, are you aware of any university centers on other campuses that might come close to embodying this vision?
   4. Describe what makes these centers vibrant and how or why they attain a sense of community?

PART TWO: TOPIC QUESTIONS

Topic # 1 Now, consider Cals Institutional Environment. In other words, Cals governance and leadership model, administrative structure, funding structure, culture, physical environment, demographics, political climate, or anything else that affects the general university environment.

2. Which of Cals assets or unique characteristics might a, revitalized university center optimize?
3. Are there any individuals, positions, campus units, or services that will be key in realizing a new campus vision for modernizing and revitalizing the Upper/Lower Sproul units?
4. How might your unit or group help foster a sense of community at Cal, within the context of a new university center?

Topic # 2 The next set of questions refer to Cals current Student Center management structure and its management team. Consider their unique features or qualities in terms of components, organizational structure, management and reporting structure, funding mechanisms etc.

5. Discuss what you know of the management structure for Cals existing student center complex in terms of:
   1. its best characteristics or qualities;
   2. their most notable successes;
   3. how you, your unit, or your group interact or collaborate with it;
   4. your most successful collaborations with the management team.

Topic # 3: Now let’s talk about Cals current student center users. Note that the term users refers to the students, faculty, staff, tenants and non-campus community.

6. Give an example that illustrates how Cals diverse student center users successfully participate in planning, operating or managing some aspect of the student center complex.
   1. In your example, what accounts for the resultant success?
   2. How was this kind of input or participation solicited or secured?
7. What is your vision of how student center users might participate in shaping the management of a revitalized university center?

Topic #4 Now think about the non- campus community environment and how Cal co-exists with it. This includes the City of Berkeley, city residents, city infrastructure and, local merchants.

8. What successful (past or present) collaborations or partnerships has Cal forged with the city of Berkeley government or residents?
9. What about those joint efforts might be instructive in developing a model university center management structure?
10. How might Cal and the City of Berkeley collaborate with respect to designing or managing Cals revitalized university center?

Topic # 5: This section focuses on Cals current Student Union management team experience(s) and the wisdom we can gain from those experiences. Think in terms of lessons learned and best practices.

11. What valuable lessons or conclusions would you draw from the existing approach to managing the existing student center?

PART THREE: CONCLUSION QUESTIONS

12. Considering all that weve talked about, how would you like to see a new university center managed?
    1. What would the organizational structure look like?
    2. Who would be involved in creating the organizational structure you envision?
    3. What mechanisms would you install to ensure that the management structure is poised to adapt to changes in campus priorities, technology, user preferences, campus demographics, fiscal climate etc?
    4. How will your ideal management structure help improve Cal's sense of community?
    5. How would it enhance life on campus? For students? For faculty? For staff?
    6. What would students, faculty, staff and the surrounding community do differently?
13. Imagine you have the authority, resources and support to implement cutting-edge innovations that will enable Cal to design the best center management structure in the nation.
    1. What would you implement?
    2. How would you accomplish the implementation?

Thank you so much for your time today. If you are agreeable, I might call you for additional information. Please do not hesitate to call me at xxx xxx-xxxx if you have questions or if there is anything else you think is important for me to know.

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Previous Section (Appendix 4: External (Top Five) Survey)
Next Section (Appendix 6: External Survey Responses)

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