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Successful Student Unions: Essential Qualities and Best Management Practices |
| Moving back to Madison for family reasons, wanted a job that sounded like fun and got this. Has morphed over the years. Values that she keeps getting new projects and has room for growth. Was a dept with 1 staff - now has 3. Likes that she really works on "organizational development " under the radar while doing "training" as a job title. |
| I am the only faculty member in the board of directors of ASUCLA. I am a big fan of UCB and worked with Clark Kerr. I vlaue UC Berkeley's mission. |
| Came to Madison after spending 11 years at Univ. of Indiana as Assistant to Programming at IU's union. Wanted to come to Madison b/c of the student-centered philosophy (Porter Butts)used to establish Madison's union 75 years ago - the same philosophy driving the union today. Also was interested in the building and operations challenges that came with the job. Values highly the student interactions the job affords him. |
| Received both her BA and MA from Madison – considered working at the union ‘a dream come true.’ Being AD of Food and Retail offers lots of interesting challenges – likes that, and the fact that the environment is constantly changing. |
| Worked initially as Manager of Travel @ Madison. Developed programs for travel abroad. Advised the travel and alternative breaks committees. 2001 moved into this position which was vacant. Time to try something new, grow, get promoted. |
| Started out as Director of Student Activities at UMD before assuming role as union director (didn't seek it out). Enjoyed the possibility of activities and facilities together -- it was an intriguing opportunity to maximize possibilities. Problem solving and honing responses to customer svc. needs. RELATIONSHIPS |
| Each of the Wisconsin Union Directorate(WUD) students chose their positions to learn outside the classroom and because it was an area of interest to them. |
| FT: Has experience with corporate food service structure--UofM is similar. Can relate to Loren's vision for changes, but can also relate to current structure. Building directors for different unions--similar to business facilities with facility directors. LR: Decentralization can be helpful and hurtful. Wireless installation is delayed--students are harmed because no one is responsible. Centralized "stores" department, adds costs--antiquated way to do food business. Decentralization makes it hard to change. Re: admin structure of unions: Don't want to harm uniqueness. Not as much coordination as they really should have, but it is OK as long as it serves distinctness. Ideal structure might be to have director of unions, director of operations, director of programs. Maybe sales and marketing. Centralize non-distinctive services. Distribute distinctiveness. Frank is valuable--would you report to him as best practice? Would like to report directly to VP, but Frank is good. Which VP? Awkward fit. Finance vs. Student affairs. Better to be in finance than student affairs--money is important and easier to get if you're on the financial side. |
| I kind of fell into this position. Worked here for 20 years and 7-8 years of it was student union. Have been here since 1988. and 1995 became interim director, it wasn't a choice. Enjoy being coneccted to students and being able to live in west of LA. I got really lucky. I also enjoy doing variety of work, from facilities management to event management and to operations. Every day is a new day and every day is a challenge. |
| N/A |
| 1 Came to Michigan as director of the Union because the Union had ‘lost its way.’ It was in bad shape—he showed us a photo and might send some. He arrived in about 1980. There was a commitment to purpose there but no plan; the funding model for a remodel/reorg/revitalization had been set in place, but no master plan. Student fees were increased to fund the remodel and revitalization of the Union, but there are no student fees for maintenance. There was no utilization plan. They got together stakeholders to pan the revitalization. ‘They didn’t know what they didn’t know.’ Master plan was drawn up after focus groups etc and then they looked at available funding, proceeded in waves. First thing to establish was clarity of purpose. |
| 1. Kay came from a non-profit; background in accounting Audrey’s background was in food service, then moved to scheduling and operations in Universtiy, with student employees. This got her interested in student unions, student life, more than the bottom line, which is the most important thing in food service |
| UMD in 1982. Came from grad school to work in campus activites. Enjoy vibrancy of union -- it's where people go to enjoy day-to-day interaction with students. "Home" to students -- programmatic and otherwise |
| "I wouldn't trade this for a million dollars" Lucky to get paid to do what I do Involved w/ ppl from diff. parts of country and world daily |
| I got recruited into my position. I was a hospital administrator. I like working with students and this job is like being a CEO of the student association. |
| Mentors -- I was a foreign student at Ok. St. Univ. The student union there was a second home to me, so I began to work there. It mushroomed into a career. I then went to SMU and decided to work here because it is a benchmark union for ACUI. "I wanted to work for the best". |
| Alumnae -- graduated from UMD 1977. Working with the Union for 18 years (Not for Union, with it -- i.e., as a client). People who work in the union always have a customer service mindset and are very helpful |
| Started 13 years ago as a secretary because of the great benefits and it seemed like a fun job. Promoted to manangement when catering and scheduling were combined because of 1-stop-shop concept. It's the best job in the Union because she works with students, faculty, staff and the campus community. Fun to be on campus and be a mentor for students, watch them change and evolve and affect their lives and their success. |
| Interested in union as an undergrad--out of class experiences were as important as in-class. After graduation, decided to make it a career. Enjoy two aspects; finances and services. It's a balance--you can make a lot of money renting space to commercial entities, or you can provide good service to the students, but not both at the same time. Something is always working right. Likes working with kids, lots of energy. |
| Patti started there 17 years ago as an accounting clerk because it was familiar work. She has been in this position for 5 years. Enjoys the people, interacting with the students, and the relaxed environment. |
| To be involved in student government. I enjoyes interacting with other student organizations and valued the diversity of the campus student organizations. |
| Respondent has been an employee of the Union since 1984, when he attended college at the U. of Arizona. He started as a grill cook, transferred to concessions in food services, where he worked until 1999. He transferred over to building operations right before the union renovation. He was persuaded to take a position that had just become vacant. As a result, he's now the resident expert on the two new union buildings. |
| Respondent finds value /reward in working w/ students. Specifically, the experience of seeing them come in as freshmen and growing and developing during their years at the university. Also, he did a graduate assistantship at a student union in 1972. First job out graduate school was an assistant directorship of a student union. |
| Respondent's initial choice of career field was by chance. As a student at South Dakota State University, a very agricultural institution, he was involved in many different things. South Dakota State didn't have what he would consider one of the "best practices" student unions. Respondent found that he could apply what he learned in leadership development and what he learned as an undergraduate youth in an area where he can develop programs that help develop others, he found this a nice use of his skills and preferences. Working at the University of Arizona was good career move for him personally (from the U. of Wyoming) that was prompted mainly by the fact that his wife applied to and was accepted a Ph.D. program at the U. of Arizona, a top choice graduate program for her. At that time, the U. of Arizona student union was not what it is today. It was not the union it is today, it was in disarray. |
| She's been here for a little over two years. Came for grad school and started working for the Union as a graduate assistant. This position opened up. Variety of experiences and things this specific student union oversees and deals with. Same for overseeing Park Student Union because they do their own dining, and have retail operations and programming. She is not professional pigeonholed. |
| Came from the private sector, the “real world”. Operated his own advertising consulting agency. Tough market. Having top-notch materials, an excellent business plan, strategies, goals and state-of-the-art technology are essential to stay competitive. |
| Started 13 years ago as a secretary because of the great benefits and it seemed like a fun job. Promoted to manangement when catering and scheduling were combined because of 1-stop-shop concept. It's the best job in the Union because she works with students, faculty, staff and the campus community. Fun to be on campus and be a mentor for students, watch them change and evolve and affect their lives and their success. |
| Graduated here in ’72. Worked here as a student before that as a projectionist in the Gallagher Theater. In the early ‘80s he got the opportunity to get into computers when it was still a new technology. He helped to recover some lost accounting data, and has been fixing them since then. He gets paid to have fun. It’s a sandbox. They buy the toys and he gets to play. Likes what he does, and along the way management has not taken the fun out of it. He’s hands on fixing things rather than being stuck in a corner buried in paperwork. New challenges all the time. |
| 180 permanent staff. 800-1000 student employees. See below. |
| He wasn't aware that ASUCLA is a successful student center and was kind of surprised to hear that. He thinks student center at UCLA doesn't promote intelectual exchanges between students and faculty. He also thinks UCB needs to define the mission of the University Center first and then based on the mission needs to have the management structure in place. |
| The Union’s history – has been in operation 75 years, one of the first in the country. |
| History. Tradition. Students were involved from the start in the union - in 1920's each gave $50 (alot at the time) to get it built. |
| Latitude to make decisions on a daily basis. Environment = values are congruent to organizational and personal values. Adequate resources. Support for the mission of the Union (community center, student life point of contact, center of activity). |
| Programs to university community at large. |
| The physical environment is a plus. FT: Buildings are landmarks, those are draws. Not only for students but public. State Street, lots of competition is a disadvantage. Can't really market on State Street. Michigan League buffet has no visibility from street, no draw for students. LR: Great being downtown, lot of hubbub. Sophisticated market. Users have choices--he likes that. |
| The structure at UCLA is similar to CAL mainly because we are two of the oldest structures in California. Historically, It is student's responsibility to run the center. History of the student government is what makes the ASUCLA. |
| N/A |
| 2. Clarity of purpose is critical |
| 2. Students want to have a large say, they have a vested interest. They see it as their union, they direct programs. Business partners must fit with student orientation. |
| Three things: 1. Longevity of staff -- invest in the institution as people 2. "Place creates pride" -- regular usage of facilty 3. Cash -- policies have played to our favor and people come here to seek resources |
| Open communication Empowerment to make decisions Questioning/criticism allowed Collaborative env't Low stress |
| Governed by students and students needs are priority. |
| Leadership -- student centered views in facilities and programming. It is a campus "focal point". We create the continuing impression to 1st time users that is lasting -- when they think UMD, they think student union. |
| Helpfulness Customer service ethic/orientation Flexibility Willingness to call people and ask them to vacate rooms, etc. |
| There is lots of support from University administration. Everyone utilizes the Union so it’s important that the users feel welcomed and the services meet their needs. |
| Michigan is large and multicultural. Niche for everyone. Produces every type and form of student. Very decentralized, which has plusses and minuses; they have to figure things out on their own, but they're also in charge of their own destiny. |
| It is in the heart of the University, and offer so many services for the students; also, for the faculty and staff there’s the bank and the dining services; the testing center. |
| Access to food and other day-to-day needs of the students. |
| Renovation of the union was a consolidated movement by union management and campus administration. The old facility had problems. Funding became the biggest challenge when students voted down two student fee referenda. The university president stepped into this position as this was happening and quickly realized that funding for the renovation would have be found elsewhere. Many campus units came together, namely Athletics, Residence Life, the Bookstore, got involved, contributed money and solved the need. (Note: the U. of AZ union has always been self-supporting. It gets a small portion of "retained fees" but that piece of their funding is restricted funding that can be used only for facility related expenses, it's mainly used to help cover the cost of utilities.) The need to renovate the union was recognized by many on campus. The campus had to pull together to fund it. Everyone realized the union is where people come. |
| Location in relation to the rest of campus. U. of AZ is in the heart of the campus and gives the center a flow of people coming in and out. A number of operations that the campus has come to depend on, mainly food and facilities. (Note: U. of AZ residence halls have no dining facilities). Great credibility on campus for being a successful operation. Management team has great credibility for being "astute business managers". The U. of AZ center adheres to and follows the university mission, it is not a separate auxiliary like at UCB. The Student Advisory Board is just that, advisory. Funding structure. The U. of AZ has a total annual budget of $18 million and only $840K of it (roughly 2-3%) is state funds from the university. Students pay $3500 in yearly tuition and only minor fees that have nothing to do with the center. Reporting structure. The Center reports up through the Dean of Students to the Vice President for Campus Life, not through the VC for Bus and Admin Services, that reflects the campus' commitment to students' academic experience and an alignment w/ academic goals. The operation is not seen as just a business, it's seen as an integral part of student development because of the vast array of opportunities the center is able to offer. Campus commitment to excellence applies to all levels of the campus organization not just academic areas. The campus looks for ways to create a good environment for faculty staff & students to work in. A culturally diverse population, both in terms of students and staff. The university culture is such that the center management is allowed to operate and succeed. |
| Organizationally, administratively and financially, there are good and bad sides to how things are structured at the U. of Arizona. There are costs as well as benefits. The benefits are that the U. of AZ Union is an Auxiliary, almost 100% Auxiliary. The university funds only 1-2% of their of a $20 million budget. The union generates its own revenues and there are benefits to generating your own revenues. Mainly, it affords the union some flexibility. As Assistant Director of an activities unit, respondent argues that there are very few unions who, without student fees, can operate a $2.1 million activities program, with 21 full and part-time staff. The U. of Arizona Student Union runs such a program entirely on union revenues. Revenues afford them programs and activities that other unions cannot. For example, the Arizona Collegiate Leadership Council (ACLC) started as a conference for 200 students. Whatever revenues were made at the conference was reinvested into the conference. As a result, it has grown to be a conference that serves 700 students from institutions across the southwest as has accumulated a budget of $56K (Naomi Wolf was an invited speaker to the conference). This couldn't have happened at 90% of the institutions because the university would first ask: "Where's the $50K? Where's the $50K? The union would be left with begging here and there and hoping, in their dreams, that somebody will give them $10K of the $50K cause there are so many safety nets to prevent the university from any level of risk and potential losses. In a management and financial structure such as the U. of AZ, they can speculate by taking the $50K and putting it out there as a zero-based budget and making it up in donations, cash receipts, "the whole 9-yards". And, they can make the university happy because the safety net is the $20 million center budget, they risk no state money at all, they risk only their own revenue income. Organizationally, there are things that are good about the way things are structured at U. AZ Student Union. Everything is centralized in one place, with few exceptions such as: student government, residence hall government. Major institution-sponsored activity units (Commuter Affairs, Greek Life, student organizations, a extensive leadership program) are all located in the union, under one roof and one management structure. This eliminates the notion of separate budgets, separate money, conflicting purposes and "silos of administration" for running it. All activities operate under the same rules and therefore, are partners rather than competitors. (Note: the present union structure didn't always exist, it came into existence approximately 10 years ago. The transition involved moving units and staff into the union, it resulted unrest among staff, some people left, but some are still there). Respondent emphasized that "programmatic units are competitors" but if you put them all in one place, as a team, they don't compete. The institution "must have somebody in upper administration with the vision and experience with this sort of thing. And, someone, and other people around that person, who has the guts to carry it off." Leadership programs and Greek Life don't necessarily mix on every campus. They're funded differently and have different missions. Greeks are looked at as being "high and mighty organizations", other organizations are looked at in another way. "But if you fight through the differences and mandate them coming together, as much as it is resisted, eventually they will turn into a cohesive unit. The union is a perfect place for this to happen. Being an activities program that is an auxiliary and not student fee funded has advantages. - Not answering to a student government that is not looking at things in the most visionary way. - A lot of flexibility without compromising student involvement in the least - Not answering to anyone except a Center Director, the hierarchy of the institution and the bottom line. - One can set the standard as a group, as an organization. U. of AZ union has never been student fee funded. Respondent advises institutions making the transition to being only partially fee funded or not fee funded is: - "If you've got a fee, I'd never get rid of it". There's a lot of risk to being revenue supported, itˇ¦s a very dynamic environment where you have to adjust very quickly. In a fee funded environment you've got the fee coming in, in good times and bad, and "it's the backbone" of your budget. - Keep the fee, to some degree, in student government, that's an excellent function of student involvement. But for other sorts of mainline activities that may not be funded or run by student government, centralize them under one source, be it the student center director, the vice president. - Come up with a formula where those dollars are available and you have the flexibility to work with those dollars through your center budgeting process. Set up a "check and balance" process for the end of the year not the beginning of the year. This way, you can give people a chance to dream and to work with some things to make them happen. Account for funding at the end of the, when "it will all come out in the wash" (i.e., the gains offset the losses etc.). Give lose guidelines to allow the creativity to really work. A student union can function under any sort of campus mission. The Union "should take on the personality of the campus and operate on the fringe, and in the gap because institutions are made up of academic programs, and faculty, and trustees, and people who direct the educational heart, the in-classroom, formal, educational part. You gotta look at where's the gap. There's a gap everywhere. Figure out where those needs are. If it's campus dining, you gotta bring them on campus to dine. Great. If you're a commuter campus, food is a great way to get people, commuters, on campus." There's a lot of room and a lot of needs that can be filled by a student union. Have "the dog in front and don't let the tail wag the dog". Figure out "what's our institutional mission?" and then, "where's the gap? "Where do we need to make a community center that feels that need?" Example: U. of AZ largely a commuter campus. Commuter programs have become a huge focus throughout the institution. The Student Union has adjusted to this part of the campus mission. Deans, coaches, trustees, visitors, all think the union is a great place to go cause it was built to "emulate what the campus is about." They come to show the student union. |
| The University does not support that effort because the Union is completely self-sufficient. The University is really hands-off. The University is very decentralized…many divisions between student life and education…many universities within the system. |
| There is lots of support from University administration. Everyone utilizes the Union so it’s important that the users feel welcomed and the services meet their needs. |
| Although no written policy mandates it, there is strong informal support from all over campus. |
| They are a separate being from the university. They have ties and some departments work more with the university, but the Union has it's own HR, Budget, Facilities, Training Dept, system. |
| ASUCLA is run by board of dirctors. He thinks students have too much power, specially in the area of finances and it is very dangerous to run an organization like this. |
| see organizational chart |
| Student majority on the policy making board with support from administration. |
| Report to Student Affairs -- congruence of values (mine, school's, etc.). Meeting needs of students. |
| The committee members and volunteers in the WUD have power of deciding programming. The Union is generally autonomous from the university. DP: Alternative breaks students that go on the trips plan and implement the programs. They work with advisors and the staff preps the students for the type of work they will be doing. They also do similar service prep around Madison prior to the trip. |
| The executive director of ASUCLA is hired by students. She is resigning from her post by the end of the calendar year. |
| Don't know |
| 2a You can have multiple management structures as long as they work within the consensual single purpose or vision. At Michigan that overriding purpose is students, their benefit. |
| Our job - to make things happen Much partnering amongst staff Building use/revenue generation (fees, revenue from ops) utilizes mkting, customer svc., and programming to use building best |
| Pyramid effect -- we can go up or down through org. to talk to people and pool resources Not a lot of red tape/bureaucracy Strong mkting. |
| Disconnected from the UCLA administration and this makes it less burecratic and not too much red tape. |
| We all think in terms of the union and of creating an atmosphere of seamless service provision. This comes from the philosophy and culture that the leadership provides. |
| Director -- manages union, but delegates authority to staff Empowered staff -- TRUST in staff by mgmnt. |
| From the President Likins to Dr. Taylor of Student Affairs, who is a big supporter of the Union, everyone was interested in finding out what they need to do to make the center a success. |
| Have to get support of vice-chancellor (or vice-president), but freedom comes from Loren (director of unions). Bob reports through budget+finance. Used to report to student affairs, but hard to get money that way. Positioning is important. |
| The departments on campus get involved in approving and helping make projects happen. There's plenty of support from the community and the students. |
| My Student organization had two advisors which we dealt with. this model was great since they knew us and we knew them. We always went through them for our needs. |
| The student life division that reports to the Dean of Students has a lot of autonomy. Implementiion of anything is done in a very autonomous fashion. But the Union is given a lot of flexibility and they’re allowed to be creative and able to do things they think are best as long as they meet the certain main objectives that are laid out from the top down and fits into the University's mission at the same time. |
| From the President Likins to Dr. Taylor of Student Affairs, who is a big supporter of the Union, everyone was interested in finding out what they need to do to make the center a success. |
| Mark Guthier, the Director, reports directly to the Chancellor. The Chancellor has bought in to the idea of the Union and supports it's vision. |
| The mission gives students opportunity on how to manage and how to contribute to culture of the university. 95% of the employees are students. |
| The union receives very strong support from campus "The Chancellor philosophically gets what the union is about." |
| Union has strong support from the Chancellor, as well as other important units on campus such as Risk Management and Purchasing. The Union Director is an important advocate for the Union with the rest of campus, as well as the community at large |
| Access to campus decision makers. Especially helpful in areas of policy, funding, etc. |
| It works great for the students to learn lifelong leadership skills by being leaders in the WUD. It works well for the students to have advisors that are mentors/guides more than puppeteers. |
| There is a board of directors consist of students (4 grad, 4 undergrad), one faculty mamber, 3 alumni, 3 administrative staff including executive director of ASUCLA, Patricia Eastman (Jerry Mann's boss). |
| Don't know |
| 2b Students trust administration at the union to run the place in their interest. Associate Vice President (Frank) critical to the union’s mission as a former union director—he speaks the language, can advocate for them. President and VP must be informed about campus union ideas, models, benefits. ACUI can help provide resources to inform upper management. |
| Director (Jim Osteen) has great legitimacy and cachet b/c from both worlds (activities and academic). He is a senior campus leader and citizen. Posture b/c of staff & leadership |
| Director is a regular guy & good manager Good delegation/follow up |
| Board of Directors. Students serve on the board for 2 years. Key management serve on the board. |
| See above |
| Director is "terrific" "It starts with him and goes through entire union from there" Student affairs mentality |
| The campus community was involved with making the success of the Union happen (Administration, Athletics and staff) Everyone’s input was run through Director’s Advisory Board. |
| Leadership needs to understand the value of the union. |
| Set the example of being involved and keeping others involved in the project. |
| The campus supports their location on the organizational chart by keeping them under the VP of Student Affairs rather than sticking them off somewhere as just an auxilliary or business. |
| (They) have a lot of support. Not resources, because resources are tight, and they are faced with continuos budget cuts. But they are successful, and recognized for their success, so they get flexibility and the autonomy to do the marketing for the student union. The biggest key is that upper management recognizes the value of marketing. |
| The campus community was involved with making the success of the Union happen (Administration, Athletics and staff) Everyone’s input was run through Director’s Advisory Board. |
| Strong sense on campus that the Union is the living room, family room, playroom for the University and the community as a whole. |
| That it is predominently independant from the university. |
| The food services are run by commercial chain restaurants. More efficient this way. |
| The decentalized structure of the campus gives the union an auxiallary status, allowing them to run independently |
| Stressed the importance of running independently – all services are in-house, from electricians and furniture upholsterers, to food servers and custodial staff. They only request campus services as a back up. Campus and union view this as mutually beneficial. |
| Good relationships with key people in that division. Self supported union -- latitude in putting budget together. Accounting function rather than enabling. |
| There is a dotted line between the executive assistant of ASUCLA and VC of student services. We have been invited to join in with student affairs office. Last few years, we are at the disadvantage of being without the student affair. What we have been able to accomplish was without the student affairs office and we have done a good job with that vacume. Overall strategy is that the student affair is not part of the ASUCLA and we are governed by students. I attend all workshops and I am involved with professional associations of the student unions. I became highly educated about student unions by attending these workshops and conferences. |
| N/A |
| 2c Centralized maintenance and accounting. Will centralize scheduling and marketing soon. Unified management of different facilities. Eash has its own director and functions with some independence but common functions are unified, for efficiency sake. Uniqueness of each is respected and maintained, but bottom line is also respected. They are moving more towards a unified structure, or moving more elements into the unified part of the mgmt structure, to increase efficiency and utilization which = revenue. |
| Bi-weekly meetings for senior staff (3 Assoc. Directors) and weekly unit meetings. Multi million $ enterprise -- great business/admin person (Steve Gnadt). Good revenue streams -- food operations (e.g., McD's, Taco Bell, etc) are branded but k'ed out. Same for bookstore (Barnes and Noble). Bookstore sits at table for union business bi-weekly. Service delivery agencies (i.e., bank, convenient stores, etc.) to draw people in |
| Solid Self supported enterprise w/ retail (k'ed out bookstore and dining) Good planning Make things work for students Efficient layout |
| Very independent structure. |
| See above |
| Not familiar with business structure, but no problems with them Efficient billing processes |
| The University administration is supportive of the Union's success was key in helping push past the obstacles. |
| Students can have a voice, but most aren't interested. Students would like to be on regent's board. They're not that interested in the BoD for the unions. |
| Managemnt was involved in the project from the start, there were so many meetings. They continuously asked students what they want; they took lots of polls to make sure they were getting it right. |
| Because the University is so decentralized, it sends out different messages from the different areas and there was nothing that ties it all together. Some universities have marketing departments that can oversee the whole marketing mission. This is not one of them. But, this is one of the best run unions in the country. The University cannot direct the Director of the union to cut components of the union. They run their own operation as long as they meet their budgets, and give the 5% back the University. |
| The University administration is supportive of the Union's success was key in helping push past the obstacles. |
| Separate from the University. Self supporting. Part is paid by student reg fees, but >50% income is from food and retail sales. Memorial Union Building Association- the initial money for the Union 75 years ago, still is strongly funded by membership and marketing efforts. |
| The income source of ASUCLA is from store and restaurants plus student fees which he thinks is unfair because most students pay for the services they may never use like graduate students. |
| The union is primarily self-supporting (largely through food concessions and fees from union programming activiites)however they do receive a small percentage of the their operating budget from campus. All divisions within union responsible for their own budgets, which must be approved by the union council. |
| Having memberships is good. Part funded by membership, part reg fees, mostly concessions. |
| Permission to raise fees: Internal Advisory Board Campus fee review committee Regents Rates: wide latitude managed by mkt. Student fees: most of our budget rest: rental of space, bookstore/food K's, activity/meeting space rentals, fees for service, etc. |
| No funding comes from the Uiversity. $7 per year comes from student Union fees. The entire funding comes from revenues generated from retail and food. this is good and bad we rely on student employees to run the center. very lean management structure. The down side is we are constantly scraping. We are not able to provide free services. relying on retail services is no longer viable option because of The power of the web. but the expenses are constantly are going up. |
| N/A |
| 2d "Student unions are robust beasts but they are hungry too." Must have a $$ engine. Michigan is basically self-funded; the CFO at the union is very important—they have to balance the books each year. |
| Transparent budgeting process -- empowers unit mgrs to be responsible for own budgets. Union is self-supported. Small amount of money from campus for campus programs, but remainder of funding from student fees, ops revenue and development (naming rights = wave of future?) |
| Student activity fee (40% of budget) Retail/other ops revenue (60%) Other Y sources = conferences, etc. |
| Funding comes from retail and resturants and very littlew comes from student fees. |
| Each segment in union has own budget it has to formulate, present and defend annually. No problem with funding so long as you can justify. Mostly self-support -- not much state money |
| No idea -- self support unit? |
| Funding was always a problem but the University administration was always involved. Many departments made contributions. Athletics provided $2MM at a critical time. The Union is 97% financially independent – pretty good for their first year. |
| Student fee support is probably the worst in the country--no money from fees. Have to make it up on commercial revenues. |
| Student government (MSA) is its own incorporated entity (non-profit). Also gets some student fee, $3/student/term. |
| We have requested funding and there was no limit on the amount but they never funded the full amount. there was an interview process to determin the amount and the need of the request. |
| They are 97% self-supporting. |
| The Union is funded by revenue from the services they offer. They are in no way student fee funded. They receive no State funds. They are self-sufficient. They (upper management) need to understand the value of marketing, put some money up front, and the returns are on the back end. He's not taking credit for all of the success, but he knows he has had something to do with it. They (Union) have great people working for them. |
| Funding was always a problem but the University administration was always involved. Many departments made contributions. Athletics provided $2MM at a critical time. The Union is 97% financially independent – pretty good for their first year. |
| He sits in this $70 MM student union and realizes that the Athletic department put up $2 MM, the bookstore contributed, all the different departments use this facility and they share it together. Although no written policy mandates it, there is strong informal support. They get some money from retained fees, they don’t enjoy the same financial support that some unions get from their universities. |
| Active population likes that activities and outdoors. Lake brings people together. |
| Mission of the university creates culture. He was very disappointed at the UCLA culture. He thought ASUCLA doesn't p[romote any intelectual exchanges between students. He thought for example Meusuems should be part of University Center. |
| The union administration is one of the most recognized on campus, along with, the Directorate (student-run programming)and the ASM (Associated Students of Madison - student gov't). These organizations are larger than the athletic org.s on campus. The union's membership policy plays a key role in their visibility, drawing from existing students, but also from staff, faculty and community. Graduating seniors are encouraged to purchase lifetime membership to the union - a $40 fee at graduation that increases to $200 thereafter - and a high percentage do so. |
| 1. The Wisconsin Idea: borders of campus not just physical buy state borders. Teach, research, public service across the state. 2. Creative humor. |
| Good Student Affairs division -- not as much scrutiny, so we can focus on doing our jobs. Values (student involvement and leadership). High level of comfort in students for bldg., which makes them ready-made advocates. |
| RG: Politically/socially active school, so that helps her group - contemporary issues. |
| I likt the coffee house. It is a gathering place for students. Too small. |
| 2e Student union administration must ask students about changes or policy; may need to educate students about models, options from other universities. Must consult with them, ask, include. This builds trust; actions speak louder than words. |
| Name diff. rooms in union for diff people/events in UMD and MD history. "Living room" of campus where folks can be comfortable. Every 5 years -- assess use of facilites and users. Tells the story of a diverse population (in exhibits, art, furniture, array of service options) |
| "like the UN" Accepting of diversity |
| The culture of ASUCLA is some what different than UCLA culture but in some ways it is similar. ASUCLA strive for very high standards. There is a push and pull system. there is a push for excellence and there are not enough funding to achieve the excellence. |
| Impetus for our success is the exercise of 100% customer service "We don't tolerate people who don't have customer service qualities" 1st priority is customer service in all areas of ops, programming, etc. |
| Everyone is friendly and helpful Lots of student empees (esp. at INFO DESK) "Student affairs culture -- sometimes it drives me crazy" |
| The Student center is the ‘Heart of the Campus” and they wanted to build a place where students were welcomed and did not want to see it privatized—wanted to do it in-house to maintain quality control. This is where students spend most of their time outside of classrooms or dorms. Also, many of the Union’s employees look at the students not only as customers but become vested in their success. |
| Ver diverse and student union management promoted the diversity of the campus. |
| n/a |
| The Student center is the ‘Heart of the Campus” and they wanted to build a place where students were welcomed and did not want to see it privatized—wanted to do it in-house to maintain quality control. This is where students spend most of their time outside of classrooms or dorms. Also, many of the Union’s employees look at the students not only as customers but become vested in their success. |
| Union is the dining facility of the campus, no dining in residence halls. Since the first union is the ‘50s the students ate in a common dining hall, and they maintained that concept. Students are not required to dine on campus, they just do. The meal plan supports that with 26 restaurants. A large part of that allows them to do the programming. The bookstore isn’t a part of their organizational structure. |
| The LAKE - it is a huge draw for students, faculty, staff and the community. The terrace(huge patio facing the lake) with hundreds of chairs and tables to sit, eat, hang out, listen to music etc. |
| The real estate of the ASUCLA is very valuable. Center of the campus. Not too high tech. Graduate students don't use the center because they mostly interact with their peers. He was also disappointed that the student center ha=s TV s all over the place and this doesn't allow students specially grad students to engage in intelectual conversations. |
| Didn't mention - other than their need and plans to expand. |
| LOCATION- right on the lake- beautiful and lots of activities. |
| Central location -- "crossroads of campus". Garage next to bldg. so as to ensure ease in access for communting students. |
| MS: Geographic location - good outdoor rec programs. |
| The location of the student center is a great location. Rec center is right across from the center, gay and lesbian center, student outreach is right across street from student union. Location is very important. The athletic department is right across street. |
| Location of the center is great. It is right in the middle of the campus and close to every thing. you don't need to go out of the campus for anything. |
| 2f "Home away from home." They don’t make judgements about content of programs or events at the Union. First come first served but students first always. The Michigan League is more the ‘white collar union,’ the Michigan Union is more the ‘blue collar union. |
| WIRELESS Check out laptops at INFO DESKS -- avoid stand alone computer space. "this is the wave of the future" "Create an env't that says 'come sit with me a while'" |
| Renovation (phase III) currently in progess Getting better. Moving away from institutional feel. Natural light, open, comfortable Ballrooms that can accomodate a separate conference and yet not impede daily ops. Mulitple uses TECHNOLOGY -- WIRELESS. State of the art. Separate IT staff dediccated to union only. Central control room for room lighting/sound, phone lines, etc. Carts w/ all needed supplies ready to go. |
| Can't be in a better place. center of the campus. It has some drawbacks l;ike parking problem and being too far away from parking structures. Access is a little difficult for community and commuters. |
| Renovation now -- place was in bad eshape 4 yrs ago 42 Million phased occupied renovation Traffic flow continues into bldg., but will be more conducive to needs Meeting rooms, ballrooms, study areas, food (14 vendors), band area to attract ppl after 5 PM, etc. |
| Location is "perfect" Middle of campus and events, etc. are easy to find -- this is extremely important for the President's office Beautiful bldg. -- reovated parts esp. Good colors, accents, etc. Welcoming place Food |
| It’s all tied together because the University is such a key component of the city; a big draw for Tucson because of the academics and the research. |
| UM sometimes takes over city land; city doesn't like it. But mostly, relationship with the city works nicely. Kids grow up fast in an urban environment. The city understands that the university is key, doesn't fight university initiatives. The League is more of a conference center than a student center--lots of city businesses use it, used for weddings and such. The sidewalks and roads across the campus belong to the city--odd relationship. |
| great location. Center of everything. Great location for me since it was very close to the south campus which was mostly sciences and engineering departments. |
| Physical environment and location is attractive to the student population. Not a residential campus – under 6,000 students living on campus, leaving over 30,000 commuter students with a 5 mile radius. Easy walk to food. No dining in residence halls so students go to the mall or off-campus. Food carts on campus by the academic buildings also operated by the dining services. Lots of outdoor seating and spaces that draw students. Internet connections all over so they can “plug in” outside and work and enjoy the good weather. |
| All the services are housed within one physical structure. They have 24 meeting rooms, ballroom, and a theatre, dining and concessions. They provide programs and other services that meet the students’ needs. They did lots of research, talked to students before they put it all together. There are laptop hookups readily available. |
| It’s all tied together because the University is such a key component of the city; a big draw for Tucson because of the academics and the research. |
| n/a |
| In the Universities Mission Statement, Under the topic of Advancing Learning are pertinent goals of: 1)To build community through residential education and an active engagement with the out-of-classroom learning environment. 2) To encourage Leadership through service, research and individual creativity. Under the topic of Nurture Human Resources: 1) To build a welcoming, inclusive, engaged community. 2) To increase involvement in governance among all campus communities. |
| He didn't really respond to this specific question, but overall thiks that UCB mission should be defined when the center is being build from the ground up. |
| The union plays an important role as a service center creating a place to meet, greet and eat. But almost more importantly, the union's commitment to social education makes it a great a place to exchange ideas and to develop real world experience. |
| Feels the union is viewed as the ‘heart and soul of the university.’ |
| Land grant institution -- we're here to serve the public Diverse community -- use of facility. Academics -- UMD pushing to increase standings, and we support that. |
| Bookstore % off for points at sporting events creates word of mouth advertising and enables academic side of house to feed off of athletics side. Opportunity and space for dialogue and "being real" with one another |
| "Dovetails beautifully" Pres -- VP Student Affairs -- Director = good communication |
| Education, Research and community service. Student union supports academic mission of the campus, but not so much of the community service. |
| Provide a quality education and best experience for students. This is the 1st place visitors see "it's where impressions are made" |
| It is the natural place to go -- varied service (bookstore, food, meeting space, conferences, etc.) "Critical to campus" as central gathering place |
| It’s all tied together because the University is such a key component of the city; the University is a big draw for Tucson because of the academics and the research; the Union is a draw for the University. |
| Union is central to the mission; practical learning, as opposed to theory. Opportunities for growth and development. |
| N/A |
| They are 97% self-supporting by running their own dining services and the campus is protective of what they have. They are housed under student life in keeping with the Union’s mission of being a place for students. |
| They listened to the staff, the students, the faculty, and what the University’s needs were as then provided the services as if they were privatized, but they’re not. |
| It’s all tied together because the University is such a key component of the city; the University is a big draw for Tucson because of the academics and the research; the Union is a draw for the University. |
| Refer to 2b. |
| See the Org Chart. The Union Director reports directly to the Chancellor. Union Director is the visionary and has overall responsibilities. The Associate Director is the COO and is in charge of daily operations. Each of the Asst Directors has regular standings with both above individuals. The Leadership Team is composed of the Director, Assoc Director and the Assistant Directors and the WUD president. The Union COuncil(see 3b) makes policy decisions. The Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) is primarily students and they make programatic decisions. |
| See organizational chart. |
| This interviewee talked mostly about her section of the overall union org chart: see below. |
| Online. |
| Please see Organizational Charts attached to the report. Org chart of ASUCLA and for Student Union. |
| 3. Directors in the MU structure all work together, supportive, inclusive. They have a meeting once a week. They generally achieve consensus decisions, via Loren’s leadership, though he can occasionally override them |
| See org. chart |
| See org chart |
| The Director oversees four main areas, and each area has a Senior Associate Director responsible for the success of that area. The Senior Management Team meets weekly to discuss options, and everything goes through Dan Adams. Under them are several managers who meet regularly, and 80 supervisors who meet once a month. |
| Frank Cianciola is important--his student union experience makes it all work. Would be difficult to put student union and judicial affairs under same umbrella. The new union is owned by the provost, but the provost doesn't want to manage it. Managing that union for the provost might help get student fee or other funding. Some university funding, 20% of budget. 47% of food, beverage, meeting revenue comes through the ballroom. Larger rooms are more important. 75 weddings per year; can do $30K of business with a wedding, vs. $150 rent for a student dance. Finances vs. service. |
| Union reports above the Dean of Students, but that's personality-driven (because Frank used to manage the union). The Dean of Students position has been gutted. They do try to function as a team. |
| The Director, then four Associate Directors in charge of four main areas, Retail, Operations, Dining Services and teh Center for Student Involvement and Leadership (CSIL). |
| N/A |
| At the top level of center administration, the center is managed by the director, three associate directors and one senior associate director. The respondent was recently promoted to Assistant Director of Facilities and Operations. He has one supervisor reporting to him. (Respondent commented that he should have two supervisors reporting to him.) Respondent oversees, computer support, event services, night custodial services, the loading dock and capital inventory. Respondent believes that, structurally, center management "not very fat". He thinks the union has a very straightforward organizational chart with "clean" reporting lines. Management was reorganized to put things in a more logical order. He also believes the organizational structure is flexible and fluid. Management adjusts the structure according to need, capitalizing on available skills and expertise. In the area of communication, he comments that communication starts at the top. The director makes an effort to be visible and accessible via monthly "state of the union" meetings with staff and via monthly meetings with supervisors. Respondent adds that senior management doesn't get involved with day-to-day operations, they leave that to the appropriate people. In terms of what the center gives back to the campus or the community, he offers that the union gives the campus community a comfortable living place and provides diversion that keeps people (mainly students) on campus in a safe environment. The union provides a service to the campus community via its lounges, meeting rooms, and the ballroom. Campus departments get great facilities for their conferences at rates that are cheaper than what they can get off campus. |
| Center management structure consists of: The management team · a director · one senior associate director of finance · An associate director of a smaller union center (The Park Union) · 3 associate directors: dining services, center for student involvement, and building operations & maintenance. · A business manager · A Student Union Advisory Council consisting of 9 students, 3 faculty, 1 staff, 1 alum, 1 community member and a few ex-oficio staff. Council, meets monthly and makes recommendations to the senior management team. Council chairs the meeting and sets the agenda, the director is but a participant. Council has been known to initiate training, orientations, special incentives and recognition programs for employees. · A Director's Advisory Group consisting of 10 members: center managers and supervisors. This group deals with "state of the union" type of concerns · A Director's Forum that meets once per semester. This is "an ebb and flow", town hall style of situaton to which all 1,000 staff and students are invited. In reality, an average of 225 people usually attend but attendance rises when something is of great interest or concern. Agenda is developed in advance, 3X5 cards are distributed to audience for questions, questions are collected and addressed/answered. This venue is also used by the Director as a means to distribute information or to discuss budget etc. Communication and success are facilitated by: · Weekly senior management team meetings · Being in close proximity to each other · Heavy reliance on and use of technology, as well as bulletin boards by the timeclocks · A monthly newsletter that is distributed electronically and in hardcopy as an attachment to payroll checks. |
| U of AZ Center management team is very administratively focused. Decisions are, by and large, made by Center administrators. There is "student involvement in decisions at the grass root level". There is less involvement of students in the process. This is possibly a function of how things are run i.e., the revenue aspects of in the business side. There are 5 primary administrative areas: Directorship, Business, Finance & HR, Activities, Operations, Dining -- an assoc or assist director over each area. All administrators function as directors over their respective area (s) and altogether, they "function as a team over those areas but with accountability to the rest of senior team --which meets weekly. For example: The senior team might look at the budget and decide that the center has to come up with an extra half million dollars cause something unexpected is happening. All assistant directors are all asked to go back to their units/operations, figure out their portion, take a look at how they might address the need, and come back to the senior management team meeting with suggestions for how to address the need. Director then approves recommendations or not. Decisions are not made top down. Information starts at the top but channels down throughout the organization and operational level decisions are reported to the top. A huge and effective communication network is key. A lot of work is devoted to communication between the 600-700 student employees, the 200-300 full-time staff, managers and supervisors--all of whom are seen to be managing a piece of the larger operation. Regular meetings of the 60-70 supervisors. A Director's Advisory group consisting of a select group of 12 members appointed by the Director, serve a year term, meet weekly and are meant to be the "eyes and ears for the Director" with respect to their area. A student activities advisory board provides advice, feedback and input for and about the constituencies served by the union. A sophisticated process of building management that involves student managers who function with the same sort of authority as directors during the late shift when administrators are not on site. (Note: some areas of the union are open as late as 4:00 a.m. on Thursday - Saturday. For example, late Friday night inebriated students come to the union and create a disturbance. (Although U. of AZ is an alcohol free university, students can go off campus to local bars.) The student building manager is the first line of response in dealing with crisis. S/he mobilizes the security personnel on duty, can call campus police, calls upon Housekeeping staff who can serve as security monitors if someone needs to be removed. The student building manager writes an on-line report before leaving his shift. The report is automatically available to the respective assistant director by the next morning. The assistant director, in this case Dave Parker, reads the report, discusses and addresses the issue immediately through consultation with his cadre of supervisors. He might decide that more late hour or Friday night, in-house security is needed. He then takes that, overall, global issue to the senior management team, where it is discussed and explored by every senior team member. A resolution is identify and implemented. The hope is that the matter and possible/alternative resolutions will be discussed and explored at the supervisor's level, who then present them to their Director, who then filters it up to the senior team and or Director only if the resolution involves committing additional resources. Note: With few exceptions, such as the TV room, U. of AZ center doesn't require a student ID for entry into their facilities. In respondent's view, there are pros and cons to doing so. The con is that transients enter the building and all sorts of folks can use and abuse the building. The flip side is that students are not the sole users. Community people, community groups, also buy food, shop and use the center. Students have neither a higher level of access nor exclusive access. On the other hand, there are legal reasons and risk management reasons why one might not want transients or high school student going through the union facilities cause there's potential for trouble. But, by and large the U. of AZ Union doesn't have an issue of giving access only to students because they pay for the union, they don't. They pay for only a very small portion of it but they share the space with everyone else who uses it. On the contrary, U. of AZ union is in an environment of having to generate revenue, and to do so, it has to serve everybody. In this environment, closing it to some and not others is a philosophical quagmire. The other con is that card access security is very expensive. Securing just 1 door could cost $2-4K. The transient issue is always a concern but they manage it but with care and caution cause when a union is that open, it takes a risk. The transient issue is not the only thing to look out for, there's also vandalism and safety and security issues involving students. To the U. of AZ Union, the cost of dealing with the risk is still lower than the tremendous investment it will take to lock down the union. Respondent thinks that as the cost of the electronics, technology and hardware comes down, this kind of security will become the standard. Since the U. of AZ union is already fully hardwired, it's already designed to support that kind of technology. The transition will be relatively easy. Respondent doesn't think door security is likely to go wireless. (The University of AZ Union invested heavily in hardwiring because it would've had to do without computers for 5 years if it had waited for wireless technology. Cal may avoid this quandary depending on how many years into the future the renovation begins.) |
| Director, Senior Associate Directors - one for each of the four main areas; students and staff. |
| Things ultimately are passed through the Director of the Union. But they are not micro-managed; he won’t tell Operations how to manage their docks. They have weekly staff meetings and regular one-on-ones where they talk about things that address anything and everything. They have free conversations about what they are doing and from a marketing perspective. So he has an idea of what’s going on from the loading dock to the retail areas, and from a marketing perspective, if he doesn’t know how all that works he cannot do his job properly. Allows him the opportunity to be involved in all aspects. The Director understands that’s how it works best. |
| The Director oversees four main areas, and each area has a Senior Associate Director responsible for the success of that area. The Senior Management Team meets weekly to discuss options, and everything goes through Dan Adams. Under them are several managers who meet regularly, and 80 supervisors who meet once a month. |
| The organization works in spite of its organization. There is a strong informal sense of responsibility that facilitates interaction. He will be “flipping burgers” on his day off at Homecoming this weekend, not because it’s required, but they step up to help. Management gets credit for keeping that sense of family alive. |
| There are 2 Unions on campus. One is the central Memorial Union. The second, Union South, is closer to the football stadium and has more activities (bowling, ping pong, pool) and always hosts football Saturdays. The 2 unions run under the same organizational chart so that the people in charge of each area, cover that area for both buildings. There are almost 2 organizations working side by side. The Retail Ops side (Julie Vincent) and the Programs side (Susan DaBell). They play well together working to keep student workers and student program people together as they move and change from year to year. The building is fairly self contained with own Facilities, Marketing, Administration, Food/Retail operations, Social Education Director. This includes: Photo ID, HR, Payroll, IT support, STaff education, Graphics & printshop, Building Services, Central reservations, Conference Services, Catering, Deli's, Restraunts, Retail and Recreation, Travel Center, Mini Courses, Outdoor programming, Theater. They have their own electrician, painter and even an upholsterer. They feel that it is part of the success that these people take pride and ownership of the building seriously and do a great job because of it. |
| ASUCLA is an independant organization. Monthly agendas are set by the executive committee and the decisions are carried out by executive director. |
| See org chart - Ass.t Dir.s in Marketing, Admin., Facilities, Food & Retail, and Social Education all report directly to both the Associate Dir. (operations focus)and to the Dir. (strategic focus) |
| Food and Retail services merged 5 or 6 years ago – this has greatly improved communication and coordination of services. Previous director kept food separate from the rest of the union operations. Current Director seems committed to making Food & Retail services more visible and recognized within union management structure. |
| For central reservations: they make room reservations for all of the rooms in the union. They also make reservations for "non-instructional" space in academic units and events on the grounds (Quad etc). They use reservation software (RESS)developed by interviewees predesessor Jerry Mock. People request reservations based on the number of people for the event. They do not request specific rooms. The day before, the reservations dept assigns rooms based on availability. (IE: a group of 30 may end up in the ballroom if everything smaller is taken). This way the group can still meet. |
| Diverse group of services. |
| Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) is a collection of programming units run by students with staff/faculty advisors. There is Alternative Breaks, Arts, Community Services, Contemporary Issues, Distinguished series, Film, Global Connections, Hoofers (includes 8 outdoor programming areas), Music, Performing arts, Theater Arts. Union council selects officers of the directorate. The officers select the directors of each program area (auxiliary staff have no say in who they will work with that year). The selections are based on applications, recommendations & interviews with outgong and incomming officers and faculty. Each program area has a director who selects at least 1 asst director. They have volunteer committee members and the numbers for those vary. The President of WUD chairs the Union Council(the board that makes general policy decisions for the Union). |
| See the Chart. |
| 3a Separate unions tend to function with some independence, different market niches. May need to make a business decision individually, but also need to keep a global view in order to serve students. The three (four) unions are talking about coordinating scheduling and sales to cross-sell and provide solutions that individual units can’t offer alone---multiple rooms with various capacities etc. |
| Leadership is huge here -- service learning, multicultural, etc. Academic and non-curricular programs True union -- rec. center, art galleries/courses, concerts, lectures, campus events, services, meeting space, food, restrooms, etc. all components serve to build community Facilities Business RESEARCH MARKETING |
| See org. chart "One stop shop" (e.g., tix office has tix for anything in DC metro area as well as student events). With student event tix, the $ is deposited automatically into group's account(s) |
| Student union, book store, resturants, trademark & licensing, Support and overhead functions. |
| See org. chart |
| See org chart |
| This area handles the planning of all the events, arranges catering adn room reservations for departments or community groups who want to use the facility. |
| More interested in the co-curricular side, not programs. Student life, LGBT. |
| Accounting, paybles and receivables, payroll, budget reporting. |
| Four main areas; Operations, Dining, Retail Services and Leadership. |
| Their main role is directing and managing the marketing of the student unions. The marketing department helps the different areas, restaurants and operations market their services, and provides them with the tools to do that effectively. |
| This area handles the planning of all the events, arranges catering adn room reservations for departments or community groups who want to use the facility. |
| Refer to 2e. |
| The students have >50% majority on the Union Council. The Union Council is comprised of the Union Directorate President, 3 VP's; 1Wisconsin Union Directorate appointee, 4 appointees from the Associated Students of Madison(ASM), 2 Faculty/Academic Staff; 2 Alumni and 2 Union Staff. They look at Directorate issues and make policy decisions(IE: no smoking policy). There is a huge emphasis on Social Education, and the students run all of the programming through the Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD)with the help of advisors. Students feel ownership but advisors are helping (students in programming, building managers etc.)The advisors have to be the type of people who can let the students take credit for the work they do. |
| Board of Directors are consist of 4 undergard students, 4 grad students, 2 alumni, 1 faculty and 3 administrative staff including the Executive Director. |
| Staff run these divisions, although students are involved either as employees or volunteers on multiple levels. |
| More staff than students on Food and Retail management team, however, F&R staff work closely with students by sitting on student-run committees and there are many student employees working in F&R. Students are in involved in food sampling and decisions. |
| Less students in central reservations but many in building management and events services. Staff is primary in this dept. Events services and building mgr during reg bus hours. Student building mgrs after hours. |
| Students: programming is student-driven. We emply a large number of students in frontline jobs. They also run services (e.g., those provided by SGA). Staff: professional staff (40+). |
| Students primarily..staff as advisors and auxilliary staff for admin asst. DP: The advisors mostly have dual roles: IE advisor of Global connections is the Director of the Travel Center. Sometimes they advise more than 1 group. |
| Students are not on the organizational chart. |
| Both. Students are bulk of emp'ment force. Relationship with School of ed. ensures best practices and "cutting edge" theory into practice. Students involved in all aspects of governance (Union Advisory Bd.) |
| Both |
| 300 career staff and 1500 student employees. Student employees are not involved with decision making. |
| Both Students important so that staff "doesn't miss what students are seeing" and get into a "tunnel" |
| Both -- see above answers |
| Yes. All, including the student staff, are encouraged to provide input, and that input is taken into consideration. |
| BoD used to control union; now in an advisory capacity. Works better that way, fewer continuity issues with students, but still get voice heard. Maintenance workers are assigned on a rotational basis; unions pay for maintenance service, $500K/year. "Friends" group tends garden and does docent tours; mostly the original women from when the League was the women's union. Must develop them now--after 2020, no more giving will be available. |
| The Director's Advisory Group, several supervisors, 2 graduate students. There is also a student advisory group. In the past the members were selected, but now they select from applicants. This works well because they end up being energetic and proactive and always offer lots of great ideas. This group also includes some members of faculty and staff. |
| Director’s Advisory Group meets weekly - made up of Union employees and student employees, including a couple of grad students, a couple of undergrad students, and representatives of the four main areas, Operations, Dining, Retail Services and Leadership. Student Union Advisory Council - made up of the Senior Management Team, directors of the four areas, the business manager, and Tamara, a couple of faculty advisors, eight students from different departments on campus, a couple of classified (regular State employee) personnel, and a couple of appointed (year to year contract – like Tamara) personnel. Meet monthly and discuss policies. E.g., who rings the bell, when, and for what reason. ASUA and University Activities Board (UAB) are always represented (selected from applications.) |
| Two full-time staff who are graphic designers; a full-time employee (Steve Stout) web-site manager; a couple of students who are marketing assistants; sometimes they have students doing graphic design. Student marketing assistants and graphic designers are not paid. |
| Yes. All, including the student staff, are encouraged to provide input, and that input is taken into consideration. |
| n/a |
| Union Council makes policy decisions. Each of the Assistant Directors run their own services but work together on Leadership Team with the Director for cross departmental issues. WUD makes programatic decisions. |
| Board of Regents sets the policu and delegates the to the Chancellor and Chancellor deligates the authority to the board of dirctors. |
| The union overall is governed by the Union Council composed of the following memebers: 5 students from the Directorate (student programming org.) 4 members of ASM (student govt.) 2 faculty 2 union staff 2 alumni It is the intent of the Union Council to have a student majority. The Union council and the Union Director report directly to the Chancellor. |
| While ultimate decisions lie with the staff, students have a lot of clout and can rise fairly high in F&R administration, becoming restaurant managers, etc. |
| "That's a broad question". Made at level where greatest expertise and opportunity for delivery of decision is. Sometimes, higher-ups make them. Strategic decisions are collaborative between Advisory Review Board and 14 member Union management team. |
| Each programming team makes decisions for their own programming areas. RG: feels like she has freedom, authority to find speakers. Weekly meetings with advisor for guidance. DP: Alt breaks decisoions are mad in the committee and run by the advisor later. Committee meets 1x/week. Union council cannot vote/make decisions if there is <50% student majority. |
| LR: It's a "journey" right now. Greater need for more teamwork. Web site--each union looks separate, that's the way we behave. Inconsitency in policy application. Structure made it more difficult to work across building boundaries. Few years ago, each director managed own food--Frank centralized it. LR decided to keep Frank's changes, revenue grew $1M during 8 years. Unions have no common orientation program. Staff development is inconsistent. No common organizational value system. At least need to agree on values and mission. Need to allocate resources in a more sophisticated way--right now, it can depend on who is in the room the day the decisions are made. FT: No communication on menus, different prices. Culinary talent not shared. Splitting one position into director of catering, director of cash operations. "U, U, and U" committee--bring staff members together. People are willing to give feedback at meetings. Staff now hungry for communication. LR: Unions have separate logos. Looking to create common graphical elements. Don't know that they'll have this structure in a couple of years. Example: a list of pastry chefs to hire for catering didn't even include the two pastry chefs the unions have on staff. LR: Not everyone may come along with it. May move out as people are challenged. |
| Collabarative process. specially in opur organization, you need to have the desision makers from all areas and get cooperatioons and buy in from all parties involved. If the group can't decide, then I make the decision. I try to force them to make the decisions and if it is the wrong decision then they learn from their mistakes. |
| 3c "Depends" Students’ board are consulted; they ask the managers. They request info through the board—they also look at traffic in various business units, $$, to make decisions re new vendors. They seek out focus groups and solicit opinions from students and groups. |
| Some bubble up from the bottom Externally (i.e., Regents) Top down EMPOWERMENT of front line staff to make decisions (that's why people stay). |
| By Director and Assoc. Dirs. (3) Not always through chain of command (no fear -- helps us manage things) |
| Executive management team. More than $75K expenses has to be approved by the board of directors. |
| Regular meetings Continual review |
| Don't know |
| Brenda makes everyday decisions herself for her area. She has the authority to make value judgements because, which is good from a service standpoint, customers don’t want to be in a holding pattern until someone gets back to them. |
| "Board of Governors." Policy-making board. Faculty, staff, and students. Changed it to an advisory board by putting financial obligations in front of board. 15 people on board; board selects some, others are appointed. 4 students, 3 alum, 3 faculty, 5 staff. 3 independent boards for the different unions. In the future, some members from each group may form a new board to advise Loren. Consensus-based decision-making; not an activist organization. |
| The group meets once a month, have a round table discussion of issues. |
| As far as my organization, we went through our advisors (Pam & Mike) to have our concerns heard. |
| See answer to 3b. |
| There are weekly staff meetings and regular one-on-ones where they talk about things that address anything and everything. They have free conversations about what they are doing and from a marketing perspective. So he has an idea of what’s going on from the loading dock to the retail areas, and from a marketing perspective, if he doesn’t know how all that works he cannot do his job properly. Allows him the opportunity to be involved in all aspects. The Director understands that’s how it works best. |
| Brenda makes everyday decisions herself for her area. She has the authority to make value judgements because, which is good from a service standpoint, customers don’t want to be in a holding pattern until someone gets back to them. |
| n/a |
| Work well together with policy decisions etc. |
| By Executive Director and based on the Board of Directors agenda. |
| A recent re-org has flatten out the hierarchy - all major divisions now report to assistant directors, who report directly with Assoc. Dir. and the Dir. |
| Open discussion encouraged – new since new Union Director came on board 2 years ago. |
| The RESS system helps to communicate between building services and catering. Operational reports are run telling them what needs to be set up at which location and what time. RESS also prints out TITU (today in the Union) for posting - this tells people where their event/meeting is. The team has weekly meetings including central res, program staff, building services for both buildings, mini-courses and catering. |
| I pull together management team. broad team every 2 weeks. Assoc. Directors (Ops/Programming, Facilities and Community Svc.) meet weekly. |
| The marketing and graphics dept in the Union is accessible to each WUD group free of charge. They can help design programs, get $ etc. |
| It is a teamwork. The management structure is 2 level middle management and executive management. Every manager is required to have 3-4 goals and achive their goals and they will get bonus based on their achievements. There is another bonus system which is based on nomination. The goal system works better and promotes team work, because in order for the team to get their bonuses they need to meet their goals. |
| See below |
| Collaboration b/t units and people across campus Need everybody's eyes and ears |
| Executive management team have weekly staff meetings. Team work with other divisions. |
| Concensus building |
| Staff and student empees all are given a lot of responsibility All are helpful and nice Learning/teaching tool for staff to teach student empees to run info desk, campus programs ofc., etc. |
| Each Director has a fair amount of autonomy and are not micromanaged. When managers have questions or concerns, they start discussions within their specific area and channel up. There is a lot of support. |
| Occasional meetings. Bob brings issues. |
| Lots of discussion and input from all the members. |
| See answer to 3b. |
| They meet weekly. There is a lot of interaction where they bounce ideas and back and forth. Nick makes the decisions based on his knowledge and expertise. He sets the parameters and his expectations up front. |
| Each Director has a fair amount of autonomy and are not micromanaged. When managers have questions or concerns, they start discussions within their specific area and channel up. There is a lot of support. |
| Management tries to keep the staff motivated – having more management meetings where the Director pulls all the career staff together and they talk about what’s going on. They try career games and Fish seminars, which is good. But it is more important to him that they were interested in presenting these options than whether he learned any more about customer service. He got more out of that than the actual Fish philosophy. |
| The bottom line is that they are all working together for a common vision. Social Education is a huge drive for all staff. Very depoliticized with a long tradition and history that social education for the students is the key - with advisors helping guide (not acting as puppeteers). The student government is separate. |
| N/A |
| The nonhierarchical structure makes it possible for anyone to talk to anyone else and to foster a sense of shared governance. Feels this is important in order to fight silo mentality. |
| Leadership team has a high level of trust. Most decisions mutually agreed upon – people feel heard. Likes the fact that now (since re-org) all divisions/assistant directors have equal access to Director and the Associate Director. They rely upon Union Director for visionary, long-term thinking and go to the Assoc. Director to deal with day to day operations issues. |
| Computer system helps alot. Weekly meetings work out other kinks. |
| Sharing of info across units, but decisins made in units. facilites (want a max./high usage of meeting rooms) programming (plan activities to fill the rooms). |
| MS: Occasionally feels like a "puppet" because of food rules and regulations but generally feels like a partner with advisors. (If you reserve space at the union, you cannot bring in your own catering, you have to cater with Union catering: partly how they make money). |
| Student governemnt group have continuity of their staff and each one of those groups are represented by their university programatic adviser who we wrok closely with them. Daily Bruin is another way of communications. We advertize in Daily Bruin and communicate with the students through them. |
| Gathering in the coffee house or study lounge |
| "Management by walking around" electronic communication = "terrific" meetings/retreats reward/reinforce good behavior |
| Trusting people empowers them |
| Board of dirctors and executive management. |
| Open door policy -- decisions are always subject to discussion with empees and supervisors Although disagreements are common, they are not viewed as insubordination |
| Always available or fast response Flexible (in a positive way) Nice/helpful Others on campus refer ppl to union |
| Brenda meets with her staff once a week. Each Director has a senior staff with whom he meets regularly. So the communication flows continuously through all the channels. They also have one-on-ones regularly. They use the internal e-mail system (GroupWise) to keep all their employees informed of new information. |
| Sometimes there is not enough personal interaction. They rely too heavily on e-mails, inter office email and telephone conversations. Technology has driven them forward but personal interaction has suffered. They are all busy with meetings and communication breaks down. |
| There are listserves for the different boards whereby they circulate agendas and minutes. They also have lots of informal lunch meetings. |
| There is a lot of creative leeway. No idea is a bad idea. There is discussion (like with the handout -- the Renter’s Guide produced in-house but they hired someone to sell the ads, so the problem is that now they will be in direct competition with this publisher; but they know they have a better product.) He meets with his graphic designers and asks for feedback from all about what they think, who wants to do what, how to proceed, and he’ll guide them where he wants them to go. They have state of the art tools and resources to work with. |
| Brenda meets with her staff once a week. Each Director has a senior staff with whom he meets regularly. So the communication flows continuously through all the channels. They also have one-on-ones regularly. They use the internal e-mail system (GroupWise) to keep all their employees informed of new information. |
| The management one level up meets once a month. He and his boss interact several times a day and meet over lunch to discuss things-creates strong informal structure. They absorbed the Programming Committee. Before CSIL became what it is now, it was Department of Food and Programs (DFP) reporting to the Dean of Students-not part of the Union, and before that it the Union had its own programming committee. That operation had a more formalized way of communication through e-mail and meetings and less one-on-one conversation. But he values face to face rather than e-mail. They finally realize the Union structure is different and works better. |
| Janie Johnson's department handles central reservations following specific guidelines. There is some dynamic tensions between scheduling conferences, weddings etc. that help pay salaries and free student use. The central reservations dept also schedules space in non academic rooms for meetings throughout campus. Unnion South has some identity issues (stepchild to the central Memorial Union). They work on building community in different ways. |
| N/A |
| Policies are in place regarding who uses the union when and for what. That said, it can be difficult to balance student meetings and programs with revenue generating activities such as private parties and conferences which they need in order to remain self-supporting. They do try to schedule more non-campus related events in the summer when there's less student demand. |
| Not relevant to this interviewee. |
| For central reservations:Only union members can reserve union space. There are procedures and policy about who can get the space and what the heirarchy is(see reservation info in appendix). Space policy heirarchy of University/Depts/Stud/fac/staff/govt agencies. This is highly successful in that people understand the policy so there is little conflict. There is a general understanding that it is a University Union for all of campus - this helps to decrease the clammoring about space. Student groups are guarenteed 1 large space per month. Directorate students get use of available rooms as needed. |
| Union Advisory Board = key ingredient (they are representatives of the constituency you are supposed to be serving)(. RESEARCH UNIT -- does assessments to see what's on horizon (reports to Assoc. Director of Activites/Programs). Also performs evaluations after events to see how we did. |
| Central Reservations rules and procedures. Generally works good for directorate students who can book space up to 3 years in advance for events, meetings. Student groups would probably say less available. RG: Sometimes a problem if you have an event in the next 2-3 weeks, there is not always time to get a big enough room and they get pushed out onto campus which does not get as big of draws. MS: Limited space and tight meeting space. Union council sub-committee dictates policy changes to space allocation. |
| It is not easy and we do not have a physical plan to serve this and we don't have a big space and we half of the space we should for the population we serve. We have limited number of inventory. There are 3 ways to parcel out our property: 85% is student related, 9% are University related, 5% is business related from outside and this is money making, so they get priority. We get limited access to student government. The rest is first come first serve. There is a lottery system for meeting rooms. |
| 3f "Will manage the campus union to its maximum potential." They seek out opinions, but make it clear that things students want must be funded. Not everyone agrees with each political viewpoint and all students must be taken into account. They make it clear the union is there to serve everyone. They write those sensitivities into RFP’s to vendors. Successful businesses are ones who have a brand identification but run locally—corporate management of CU entities hasn’t worked well. Franchises are best model for vendors. |
| Intentionality about space -- diff. space for diff. people. Multiple seating areas for smaller groups Niches and distinctive spaces "where you can find yourself" Independent offices for student groups |
| Consult w/ off campus folks for best mgmnt practices |
| through operations function division which oversees the public spaces and venues. They report to the student union director (Jerry mann) and he reports to the Executive Director (Patricia Eastman). |
| "Very, very . . . " Sometimes we do, and sometimes not Many demands, so we refer to priorities/polices (student groups always 1st priority). |
| They do an excellent job -- flexible, and space is adequate for multiple users, groups and services They are mindful of student groups and do a great deal of advising, esp. w/ changes in student leadership In summer, conferences use space They mange to let the people who need space use it, and the union is used a lot. |
| They work at trying the meet the needs of all the users. They never just say no if some request is outside of their normal services. They work with the customer and adjust procedures, if feasible, to satisfy that request. |
| Would be good to coordinate scheduling of facilities; if ballroom in League is busy, refer to other ballroom instead of saying "no." Key is staff, get them to buy into philosophy. Bob leads, but staff must implement. |
| Main union can't support multi-ethnic groups very well. People want a "safe" space--safe to say and be whatever they want. There has to be an organic feel about it. |
| Through communication with the staff. They use GroupWise internally, but not everyone has access to that. So they rely on the supervisors to impart information. Sometimes that is not effective. For very important information they attach notices to employees paychecks and hope they read it. They also use bulletin boards. But sometimes it's hard to reach so many people. Student managers handle after hours issues. |
| Advisory Council plays into that because the members represent the population. Director communicates regularly with the campus community (Deans and departments) and the Tucson community. He facilitates that because of his personal informal style. He listens to ideas and suggestions and brings them back to the groups. The Directors meet every month. |
| As far as marketing is concerned, no one area has more importance than another. Louie’s is Union run to be competitive to Panda Express, which has lots of marketing dollars for their national chain. More marketing attention, or staff or resources, or whatever is necessary, is given to any service that is not doing so well. |
| They work at trying the meet the needs of all the users. They never just say no if some request is outside of their normal services. They work with the customer and adjust procedures, if feasible, to satisfy that request. |
| n/a |
| Rules are set out. Common vision. |
| N/A |
| See 2d - basically the ability to run independently |
| The newly re-organized union allows for better communication and coordination between units. In addition, many union policies and procedures are currently under review as a result of the re-org. process. She also discussed the importance of the MUBA ( Memorial Union Building Association – alumnae group devoted to fundraising specifically for the union). They provide valuable support and financial resources. |
| Organized. They have worked as a staff together to look at consistancy of procedures. |
| PEOPLE -- they believe in what they do. |
| MR: The power that the students have in saying what to do. Students interact with other students on campus to know what the general trends/likings are. Good to have advisors to check rein and educate about the rules. Students have lots of opportunity and advisors can make sure nothing major is going wrong. |
| Disneyland Philosophy (which is if you walk for 9 feet and see anything on the ground, no matter whoi you are, you should pick it up). |
| 4 Lots of leasehold tenants. Wendy’s etc., provides revenue, services, with consultation. |
| Enables people to be in rel'ships w/ each other and still retain their own sense of space |
| TRUST -- people trust each other at all levels |
| Focus on students -- everything flows from this point. |
| When finished w/ renovations, space itself will be even more welcoming New restaurant (Adele's) is upscale, so faculty and staff don't have to go off campus for this service need. Place is beautiful -- they have good food and Pres. Mote even eats there. |
| They serve the campus community first before outside groups—everyone understands they get first priority. Her area makes certain the Union is available for conferences, workshops, etc., |
| Union is more "service station" than living room. Would like to be more of a living room, but have to do more services/businesses to pay bills. The building is gracious, people want to be welcomed. Welcoming comes from the staff. It humanizes the impersonality of the university. |
| Needs to be visible, lively. After students get comfortable, they'll be more willing to push their boundaries. |
| There is a great diversity of programs offered through CSIL. The center provides alcohol free activities in the Cellar where students can go until late. |
| Food services, store. having every thing students need in one place. |
| The center's budget environment is tough. In an auxiliary operation environment, revenues are not a given, you have to earn them. In that reality, the center has to figure out how its expected revenues, try to anticipate demand, and figure out how to go forward with what it wants to do. Also, at U. of AZ, auxiliary units have it tougher than other units because they have to absorb the same budget cuts as everyone else even though they get not state funding or campus support. The center is subject to campus mandates along with everyone else and these usually have a disproportionate effect on the auxiliary units. For example, if the campus decides to raise the campus minimum wage, everyone has to is subject to it but only the non-auxiliary, state funded units get a funding differential to cover the new minimum wage. The auxiliary units have to fund the increased cost of wages from their own revenues. The union is also subject to the same budget reductions as everyone else, even though it gets no campus or state funding. With respect to in-house support staff and expertise, respondent comments that most schools are not set up to take care of big entities like student unions. Unions have to have their own support staff, especially in an auxiliary student union environment. If the oven is down, it is very likely that the campus facilities services will take a week to respond. This is why the U. of AZ union has in-house facilities support staff. The U. of AZ takes the same view with network services. It is one of maybe 10 campus buildings that "have the ability to go under the wiring closets and make changes or trace problems immediately". "If a cash register is down, I can't wait for the 3-4 hours it would take a Telecom guy to come and tell me what is wrong. I don't have that much time, that is money in the door." "In deciding what to have in-house, look at how you're structured and who does what, there may not be a potential lost revenue in every instance." Night custodial service is another support service that is critical at the U. of AZ union. The union went through 16 cleaning companies before deciding to institute in-house custodial service. According to the respondent, In contracting out, often, what should be an 11-man crew will be a 5-man crew and the result is that areas are missed. They'll do a fine job in some areas but there will be areas that get dirtier and dirtier. Contracting our may appear cost effective on the surface but costs more in the long-run and in ways that don't seem immediately apparent. "Determine your center's core essentials." |
| · Center facilities meet & support campus priorities and mission. Meeting rooms provide a place for all members of the campus community to meet and work, as well as food lodging, entertainment, and a variety of needed services. · The bookstore supports the academic mission · The Center operates during late hours (Sun-Wed til 2:00 a.m; Thurs-Sat til 4;00 a.m.) Shuttle services provide safe later hour transport. Facilities are well utilized during late hours, it is not unusual to see 300-400 people in the games and snacks area of the facilities between 3-4 am on Friday and Saturday. · Center "falls directly in line with rest of campus in terms of human resources" · Budgeting process is the same only in that the center must submit its budget for review. The unique distinction is that the largest share of the center budget is not an appropriation from the campus and hence, end-of-year balance stays with the center rather than reverting to the campus. The center director has complete control of the center budget. · The center has it's own payroll office but payroll rolls up the campus payroll office. Center does its own invoicing and mailing. |
| The U. of AZ union structure allows for "fluidity" about what they can do and a flexibility to look and project into the future as one would in a business environment. Also, they enjoy a confidence that they won't be stopped short or inhibited by funding or State fund/dollar regulations. In respondent's view, this allows for maximum creativity and that is a real bonus. The cost or con is that one has to bring students along because they neither automatically nor necessarily have a vested interest. When they know they pay a fee, they care. Whereas, when they "just buy a burger" and can't wee that the dollars go back into the center, "it's not that big a deal to them". Respondent emphasized that their structure works because they have flexibility and the ability to hire good people with the expertise the center needs. The U. of AZ center cleans its own space, runs its won food service, runs and maintains its own technology and network, although they do have a relationship with the campus IT folks. Respondent believes that "if you can run it yourself, most of the time, you can do it better --if you have the expertise or can get it". In contrast to the U. of Wyoming, "Tucson is a place where one can get the expertise to run most things on your own". By contrast, an insulated place, like the Univ. of Wyoming, with a small operation and not a lot of dollars or flexibility, and which didn't have a lot of money to improve it's food areas, brought in a food contractor (Aeromart). A contractor has the investment capital to make up front investments but the contractor has to hire a manager who wants to work for it as a food service manager, who is willing to live in Laramie, Wyoming and who is willing to run a very small food operation. It's not very appealing and you can't get the best food manager. Sam is true if you run it yourself. It's hard to find someone who can run a complex dining operation. In Tucson, and at the U. of AZ center in particular, David Galbraith, the Dining Services Director, and the people who work for him at the highest levels, are some of the best in the country. Galbraith ran the entire U. of Washington dining operation before coming to U. of AZ. He's a chef as are the people he hires at the highest level. The same is true for Activities unit personnel. The same entry level jobs that would draw 3-10 applicants in Laramie, draw staff people with 5 years of full time experience because they want to work at the union at U. of AZ. People tell them its great or they've seen the union and are willing to take a lateral position to work here. Or, they love Tucson. All sorts of reasons draw them. |
| Union management makes certain the Union provides sufficient and the right kind of services to meet their needs; quiet meeting rooms, study lounges, computer labs. They stay open late enough to provide safe space for them. They offer an alternative to the bar atmosphere; encourage them to stay in the collegiate environment; students can hang out and relax with their friends. |
| Location, location, location! Everything that the student needs is in one building right in the center of the campus. Career Services component was brought closer so it would be part of the Union environment and their sucess has increased tremendously. |
| They serve the campus community first before outside groups—everyone understands they get first priority. Her area makes certain the Union is available for conferences, workshops, etc., |
| It is vitally important to their mission to be able to handle things (like maintenance); it's crucial to their success. They need do these things themselves because of the time factor when maintenance is necessary. |
| See handout on Strategic Directions for a New Century. The mission statement is: The Wisconsin Union unites the university's social and academic lives, fostering the personal growth and relationships that are at the heart of a great education. The Vision statement is: The Wisconsin Union will be the leader in building our campus community , through commitment to social interaction, civic engagement and life-long learning. These clearly support the above stated mission of the campus. |
| N/A |
| See 2g |
| She feels that the union is viewed as the living room of campus. Also feels that the union is integral to campus goal of providing students with out-of-classroom learning experience. Students participating in the running of the union gain important organization and leadership skills. |
| It does. |
| See 2g. |
| RG: Social Education...planning events, forming debates and filling rooms. MS: Laboratory for applying classroom ideas. Transferrable skills. MR: Helps students relax, live have fun and learn new things. |
| LR: Building conditions are outstanding; good staff in place. It's the "front door" of campus--the first thing people see. UofM thinks highly of itself, union should reflect that. Programming--social outlets for students. Affirmative action lecture. Meeting spaces, places for people to congregate, debate. Not yet as educationally relevant as we need to be. Employ students, but don't make their experience specifically "learning." FT: Use students as resources, business, architecture students. Why not have internships? LR: Palmer Commons, new building, didn't want to run it, university insisted that union team was the best for the job. Main union building was a pigsty in the 70s; Frank and his team have made it something for the campus. Maximizing business opportunities. Visible in the Big-10, other schools look up to union. |
| Uniqness and dedicated staff. |
| 4a Student Affairs goals are aligned with those of the University, Michigan Union goals are aligned with those of Student Affairs. Mission statement (they have 4 main aspects to this)is critical, because once the mission is clear management is free to explore various ways to accomplish the mission—including multiple means to achieve the mission. Student unions are all an integral part of the campus mission—both as facilities for events and as program inspiring/sponsoring/instigating/initiating entity. |
| 4a Provide out-of-class experiences, relationships, networking opportunity to build lifelong ties to the community. |
| Creates campus community, diversity, mentoring, advising, entrepreneurship, academic support, institutional loyalty, etc. ANNUAL REPORT Auotmate everything (create efficiencies) further rel'ship with city of College Park |
| Makes an env't where students can grow, academically and otherwise and "get the most out of their UMD experience" |
| Through offering different programs and incentives. This is kind of like a lab for the university to try new inititives and if it works then it becomes university's function. |
| See 2 g. What we provide reflects upon UMD -- "we won't provide space unless it is in perfect condition" |
| Central gathering place, and its nature supports the goals of the campus. Legislative hearing sare held in union, as are Governor's commission mtgs. Varied uses for university and external community. PARKING (PAY FOR USE) IS RIGHT NEXT DOOR!!! |
| The Union was built to serve the campus community, its needs and goals, and they communicate that through their website. |
| They seek to support the center’s success by offering programs that meet the students needs. |
| It aids the students’ progression from lower to higher level thinking through interactions and conversation. Indirectly supports their academic and social growth. |
| They sell the benefits of the union to the campus. The campus has needs. The Union provides solutions to those needs. The most obvious is that there is no dining in residence halls so they provide all the food to the campus population. Memorial Center and Park Student Union provide the two primary dining options. They also provide several programs through The Center for Student Involvement and Leadership (CSIL.) |
| The Union was built to serve the campus community, its needs and goals, and they communicate that through their website. |
| One of Dr. Likins (UA President) directives is to educate the community that the University is part of the community. They are a community center – for the University, faculty, and staff. For example, the basketball coach brings visitors around to meet with everyone there and see the Union. They show off the food services. |
| Yes. Acts independantly although uses some university monies from reg fees. HR has to follow general campus guidelines, but acts independantly. Budgeting process has to be seen by the Chancellor, but they have been independant and fiscally sound for a long time . |
| Budget is being done by finance committee with the help of the director of finance. there has been some financial problems. |
| Similar Hr policies and guidelines. Seperate budgeting process. |
| Same HR process. All union divisions responsible for their own budgets. Divisions are encouraged to experiment or stretch with new ideas. |
| Budgeting: not handed down from above. Each unit is responsible for goals, objectives and budget. They present it to the leadership team. |
| No different from other similar units supported by fees and internal revenue generation. Campus HR/procurement systems. |
| Budgeting: Each program director in WUD forms their own budget for the year. The Directorate has to approve it and then it goes to Union Council. MR: Moving to on-line budgeting in the near future. Advisors help more with finances. |
| ASUCLA has a finance committee and they are very independent from the campus. |
| N/A |
| 4b Separate but ties in—like a UC department. |
| HR-- institutional Budgeting -- see above |
| HR -- UMD Budgeting -- each unit resp. for own budget in union |
| Separate budget process. ASUCLA has its own HR process and all UCLA departments are decentralized and ASUCLA is not an exception. |
| Own budget (described above) HR - UMD |
| Don't know |
| Similar to the rest of the campus in that they do budgets twice a year. Each area meets internally with the Senior Management Team in January (which is the main budgeting time) and presents their budget for the next fiscal year. After July 1, they meet again for budget reviews, and they see how they’ve done and amend the budget as necessary. |
| They go through the same budgeting process as the rest of the campus in January. The department managers write their own budgets and present the budgets to their superiors. They try to make the numbers work, but every department has huge dreams. The Union receives no State funds. Managers can spend the way the want as long as they fall within the bottom line. Two people from payroll and a Human Resources Committee oversee the evaluation process. They now use peer evaluations (360). They have more authority than other departments on campus because they are so large, but still have to pass many things through the campus Human Resources department. |
| HR piece is not completely separate. They have the HR Committee with members from the four main areas. Works with HR department to offer They offer monthly HR courses for supervisors that deal with sexual harrassment, handling difficult employees, evaluations. Their HR piece is separate from the campus, they have their own yearly performance appraisal system that includes 360 peer evaluations. For students they use a scaled down version of that system. Area managers create their own budgets once a year and present them to the Senior Management Group. Eg, The committees that comprise the UAB that run diversity programs and concerts have small budgets that they (the students) are in charge of with a coordinator that oversees it. The coordinator gives as much control of that budget to the student as they deem fit. |
| Because the Union is funded by revenue, they handle their own budget and they are not micro-managed by the University's administration. |
| Similar to the rest of the campus in that they do budgets twice a year. Each area meets internally with the Senior Management Team in January (which is the main budgeting time) and presents their budget for the next fiscal year. After July 1, they meet again for budget reviews, and they see how they’ve done and amend the budget as necessary. |
| n/a |
| yes. The major departments have administrative staff. They help the students of the WUD to get their work done. |
| There are and they report to the Executive Director of ASUCLA. |
| Yes. |
| Yes. |
| Yes. See above. |
| Yes. |
| Advisors are dedicated to specific program areas. Auxilliary staff (AA's) help day to day things. |
| Under the executive Director, there are HR, Acctg., Maintenance and custodial services. |
| N/A |
| Yes |
| Yes 45 FTE 18 grad students 200+ undergrads (360K sq. ft., 15-18K persons/day and 25K when it rains) |
| about 25 dedicated staff. |
| Yes. See 3b. |
| yes |
| Yes. |
| Lots. See org chart. |
| Yes. |
| Yes. |
| Yes. Refer to 3a. |
| Yes. |
| Have their own trades-people, technical support staff. Do their own cleaning. There was a large push on campus the privatize the cleaning services (the dawn of the dead crew-night cleaning). Went back to doing it in-house because it was more efficient. Catering department does several million $/year. Do a lot of catering on campus and in the Union itself. There is Redington catering; and Redington restaurant was the closest thing they had to a faculty club. It offers the all you can eat buffet and salad bar in a more upscale dining setting. The have their own carpenters, maintenance services, refrigeration mechanics. Only outside contracting is elevator mechanics (not very good). |
| In general, the departmental staff works 8-5. There are trained student managers that are primary contacts after hours. Program advisors frequently work non 8-5 hours to be available during the time when the students meet. There is flexibility in their schedules so they may work 12-8 if needed. Most of the concessions are open until 12AM. There are "adult" employees in the Rathskeller(pub). There is a second shift of set-up/maintainance crew in the PM to help set-up for programs. There are student building managers are trained to deal with issues that may arise and that close the building. There are night custodians that do final sweeps of the building. |
| N/A |
| Service staff, yes. Admin staff, depends upon the activity. The union is open late hours (midnight? doublecheck hours) |
| Yes. |
| In general the student building managers cover non 8-5 hours and are well trained. However, for major events, Event mgrs and building mgrs staff the union as well. Catering staff are regularly at events. |
| Open to midnight or 1 AM ususally, so night/weekend mgr and crew on duty. Also, program staff are around for night/weekend events. |
| Primarily program staff 8-5 but 1-2 nights per week they stay late to meet with students. Flexible hours so they may work 12-8 whan needed. |
| The center is open until 11:00pm and on a need basis staff work beyond 8-5 hours. |
| Don't think so. except for students who work at the center food services. |
| 4d 7 am 2 am—student managers after 5 and on weekends. The computer center is open 24 hours, computer store is a university department. |
| Somnetimes -- depends on context |
| Yes. INFO DESK open when union is |
| They are available on need basis to work after hours. |
| Depends. 3 shifts in facilities, so "staff" are around 24/7 Exempt empees -- avail. any time. I am here 40+ hrs a week Non-exempt -- as needed (e.g., Homecoming) |
| Yes, on different shifts Bldg. open to midnight or later We've had events for the President's office in late night and early AM hrs and staff is always available (and not just b/c we are the Presient's ofc.) We have also requested specific staff for specific events w/ no problem. |
| If a customer needs some services outside of regular hours, they do everything they can to accommodate special arranagements. So they are often there late. They operate with a can-do attitude. |
| 7AM-11PM. Open later for certain events. |
| Student managers handle issues that arise after 5 in their Business Office. There is a security guard who oversees late night activities in the Cellar Restaurant (basement). The students can access certain services late because they require card access. |
| Student center was open until 11:00pm and some study lounges were open 24 hours during final exams. |
| The center stays open late, and the underground Cellar area 'til 4 AM. |
| Yes. Many services are available late into the evening and even early morning. At the Cellar Restaurant, you can get a burger at 2AM for a reasonable price. |
| If a customer needs some services outside of regular hours, they do everything they can to accommodate special arranagements. So they are often there late. They operate with a can-do attitude. |
| Yes. |
| 1. Independant nature of the union from campus. Staff education and training helps get it together. They are allowed to do other things like mediation, job coaching and training. 2. Wisconsin Union support of union wide training. OSHA, food safety, union 101 orientation for all new employees. 3. Students have real power on management team. 4. High percent of advisors for the student groups. Advisors know how to "advise" and not manipulate. 5. There are committees or work groups that are formed that have a charge with a start and end. These groups have "diagonal" members- from different layers of the organization and including students, academic staff(what UCB considers staff), classified staff (unionized staff including food service, maintainence). It cuts through the layers in a "diagonal slice". 6. Outdoor rec club. 7. They make learning learner centered (Jane Vella's book: Learning to listen, learning to teach). Programs are designed from the base that Porter Butts envisioned: " the people do it". |
| N/A |
| Having just unde |