Student Affairs Best Practices

1
Student Affairs Best Practices

• My Cross-country Tour
• What I saw, what I learned, and what we can apply

2
Best Practices (bp)

• Processes and activities that have been shown in
  practice to be the most effective
• The winning strategies, approaches, and
  processes that produce superior performance in an
  organization. A best practice is a by-product of
  a successful end-result

3
What I Saw

• Organizational Structures every one is unique
• One Stop Services every one is different, based
  on politics, silos,characteristics and
  personalities of people involved, top-level
  support, time given to launch, and commitment

4
University of Cincinnati

• The crème de la crème model
• 16-20 staff members 97 of students questions
  answered (bp)
• Staff trained 4-6 months (bp)
• Staff at a high management level
• A new building set up for student services One
  Stop Service has 90 of the space on one floor
• Staff rotate through front in-person work,
  back-end phones and e-mail staff have own pod
  and own back-end cubicle

5
University of Guelph

• All Student Services on one floor of one building
• Undergraduate Program Services all in close
  proximity
• Student Client Services wickets provide
  registrarial, financial aid info, ID cards
• Call Centre is separate, but right behind front
  counter
• Staff rotate through in-person counter work,
  phones (dont have own space)
• More services integrated online (bp)

6
Centennial College

• One Stop Services does registrarial services, fee
  payments, ID cards
• The Call Centre is proactive (invites prospective
  students to events), provides prospective student
  function and current student information
• Their intranet, used as primary communication
  tool, is fantastic (bp)
• Different staff in One Stop Service and Call
  Centre physically and somewhat organizationally
  separate

7
York University

• Main entrance area is very inviting, open, know
  youll get help there
• The Student Client Service representatives have
  very private advising space (bp)
• Call Centre is separate staff rotate through
  in-person and call centre work have personal
  rolling cabinets

8
University of Saskatchewan

• Student Central 6 high-level staff
• Trained for 3 months (original crew)
• Provide registrarial guidance, student loans,
  emergency loans, fee appeals (more breadth and
  depth)
• Do in-person, calls, mail, e-mail, text messaging
  - own scheduling (bp)
• Co-managed by 2 Assistant Registrars (Records and
  Student Financial Aid)
• Most integrated back-end/devoid of back-end silos
  (bp)

9
Simon Fraser University

• Fabulous building, 3 floors of student services
• General Enquiries is the main desk answers
  registrarial questions, takes fee payments, does
  ID cards
• Separate desk (in same area) for Financial and
  Academic Advising withdrawals recruitment
  Admissions
• Separate Call Centre, set up for another
  purpose

10
University of British Columbia

• Welcome Centre (Recruitment and Admissions)
  Student Information Resource Services
  (registrarial, fee payments) Student Financial
  Aid counter Housing counters
• Direction clear followed (bp)
• Spectacular staff retention model (bp)
• Measurement - excellent (bp)
• Tools - very good

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What I learned

• Each institution visited had a best practice
  vis-à-vis One Stop Services almost every
  institution had big gap
• Some institutions seem ready to go to their
  second iteration
• I believe U of C could leap to the second stage -
  now
• There are critical factors for success

12
Realities

• Needed to do better job of training and
  communication to and with front-end staff (opened
  the service, now trying to put back-end in place)
• Careful not to lay off staff (attrition happened)
• The most confident service areas had policies and
  procedures in place, encouraged staff to bring
  forward broken policies (and had someone in place
  to fix them)

13
Realities

• Noticed lack of clear goals, outcomes, and
  measures lack of metrics
• The higher the level/capabilities of the staff,
  more time given to read, get updated on
  information more breadth and depth of
  information provided
• Back-end silos still existed in some cases
  front-end service was just another officeanother
  layer for students

14
Realities

• Some offices built invisible (but clearly felt)
  walls around their information centralizing
  student service meant nothing to them
• Only UBC and UofS have integrated
  admissions/recruitment into front-end service
  (York tried)
• The greatest difference in information provided
  was around Financial Aid
• Signage (presenting new name) is important so is
  deleting back-end office names

15
What we can apply

• Everything! U of C can be LEADER
• Combine best practices
• Integrate broader range of services
• Get rid of back-end silos
• Hire properly trained, decision-making staff add
  additional services when ready

16
What we can apply, continued

• Take the time to put in place policies and
  procedures
• Need goals, outcomes, measures plan for metrics
• Invest in communication plan (internal and
  external) and tools
• Online services upgraded and further integrated

17
Thank you!

• Questions?