Successful Student Unions: Essential Qualities and Best Management Practices

Findings: The Top Five Student Unions

Methodology: Determining the Top Five in the Country

The project team determined the characteristics a university would need to be considered a “peer” institution. These included:

• Academically distinguished/top research institution
• 20-40,000 student population
• Urban or semi-urban
• Public university
• Diverse student population

The team used the National Research Council’s (NRC) 1995 report, “Research-Doctorate Programs in the US,” to determine academically distinguished peer institutions (See Appendix 2). The team then narrowed the field by removing private, non-urban or small universities. It acquired the Council on Academic Standards in Higher Education (CASHE) list of 28 criteria for a top student union (See Appendix 2) and compiled seven best management practices:

• High level of participation from students, faculty, and staff
• Effective infrastructure, use of and access to technology
• Responsiveness to students, faculty, staff, and community
• Effective communication and/or decision-making
• Sustainable funding model
• Responsiveness to change
• Variety of services offered

Using the data from the NRC report and additional information from campus resources, a list of 10 universities was created (See Appendix 2). The team gave the above criteria and its top 10 list to Marsha Herman-Betzen, Executive Director, Association of College Unions International (ACUI). Based upon data collected from ACUI, she felt several of the 10 best matched the team’s criteria. A comparison spreadsheet was then created based on the CASHE and peer standards and ACUI recommendations (See Appendix 8). Five universities emerged as clear leaders:

• University of Arizona (Tuscon)
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Maryland (College Park)
• University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
• University of Wisconsin—Madison

Survey Development

The team received training in the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology for interviewing and data analysis. Since the team felt that pure AI questions would not render enough data answers (i.e., organizational and budgetary), a survey was developed using a hybrid of AI questioning techniques and data collection questions. See Appendix 4 for the “Top Five” survey.

Interviews

The team brainstormed the job titles that it thought would provide the most thorough picture of each university’s union management structure and practices. Categories included: director, the person to whom the director reports, facilities, food services, catering, retail, budget/finance, reservations, marketing, activities director and students either involved in activities, student government or at large. Team members traveled to each university (either individually or in pairs) and conducted interviews with individuals from the above categories (See Appendix 3 for a listing of individuals interviewed and their titles).

Data Collection and Consolidation

Interview data was entered into a database online. This made individual university data available for all team members to review and analyze. Using AI techniques the team identified themes and categorized them. The analysis of these data makes up the body of the report that follows.

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