Student Services to Undergo Restructuring

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by Chelsey Gensel in The Utah Statesman, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010

 

The Access Center, the result of upcoming restructuring in the division of Student Services [at Utah State University], will begin the hiring and rehiring process as early as this week, pending any “showstopping concerns,” the vice president of Student Services, James Morales, said at the ASUSU Executive Council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 9.

 

The process will first involve detailing the transition of duties in each job position being moved or created by the changes, Morales said.

 

Services for multicultural; gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender allies (GLBTA); re-entry and veteran students, as well as educational outreach and GEAR UP, will all be part of the Access Center. Under Morales, the Access Center will have a director with two staff assistants in charge of budget and daily operations, respectively. There will also be an associate director. Each service area will have a program coordinator, and Multicultural Student Services will have two, because it represents the largest body of students served in any of the six areas, Morales said.

 

With the new structure, the program coordinators are expected to be an expert in their service area, but they should all be able to assist students in any of the service areas. Morales has met with students in the affected service areas. He said many of the concerns he heard while considering the restructure were that students would lose a personal connection within the service area, but many changed their minds and decided to support the change after talking with him.

 

“It will be much more of a team collaboration,” he said. “Everyone will still be able to really connect with everyone working together instead of in those individual silos for each service area.”

 

In addition to the basic knowledge of the Access Center’s services, each program coordinator will have what Morales called a “backup,” who will not be as expert as the coordinator, but will still have enough knowledge to help a student in that area.

 

The Access Center will employ 11 people full time, the same number of full-time employees currently employed by those student services, and Morales said many of the staff for the Access Center will be those who currently work within student services.

 

Each program coordinator will have a student intern, as well. Morales said there are some internships currently within student services, but the majority created will be new internship positions.

 

“You will see some familiar faces,” he said.

 

Students may also see a familiar location become the home for the Access Center. Morales said the center is considering the current locations of the Financial Aid Office and the Statesman office, both of whom are amenable to relocating.

 

“There will definitely be some jockeying for space and juggling going on,” he said.

 

To start up the Access Center, $25,000 has been approved and additional funds are being considered.

 

“My promise to everyone has been that I don’t want to drag out this process,” Morales said.

 

The bulk of the process has occurred in the past month, he said, and he hopes to finish the restructure as soon as possible.

 

“The purpose is to leverage the skills and energy we have to better support students in these areas. I like to use the word ‘synergy,’ because what it means is a lot of components coming together that work better than they would by themselves,” he said.

 

Also at the Executive Council meeting, ASUSU Service Vice President David Knighton said that although the USU Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC), an extension of the Cache Valley food pantry, has been open since the beginning of the month, no one has yet sought its services. SNAC is available to provide food items to students in need and is open Mondays from 3 to 6 p.m. at the USU trailer park, space 106.

 

“It’s there to help students out when they are in a tough situation,” Knighton said.

 

Information about SNAC and an application for assistance can be found on the university Web site under the Val R. Christensen Service Center.

 

In other service updates, USU’s Hope for Haiti Dare to Care campaign plans to have jars available for donations by Thursday [Feb. 11, 2010]. The booth will be in front of The Hub, said Tasha Jorgensen, student volunteer for the campaign. Each jar will be associated with a particular dare and the amount of money needed for it to be performed.

 

ASUSU also discussed “image” concerns during its meeting. Executive Vice President Spencer Lee cautioned council members about Facebook groups that are “anti-” something, such as one currently circulating called “Students Against Senator Chris Buttars.” Lee suggested that council members should discourage such groups, even those with whose sentiments they agree.

 

“It doesn’t look good,” he said. “That negative approach to things is not going to be of any help.”

 

The council also discussed its role in upcoming ASUSU elections as current candidates. Though many members have friends running in elections and are willing to answer candidates’ and other students’ questions, they unofficially planned not to take an active role in any one campaign and use their common sense in choosing how to support a candidate or to remain neutral.

 

Student Advocate Tyler Haws suggested that students voice any concerns they have about any campus issue using the link in the bottom left-hand corner of the ASUSU Web site. Students can also take concerns or information to ASUSU’s Executive Council meetings and address the council during the public forum portion of its meeting. The meetings are held every Tuesday at 5 p.m.