Resources

Improvements in and enhanced resources for student services demonstrate the institution’s commitment to improve student life. There has been significant restructuring and a commitment to new positions and facilities.

Administrative Structure - Student Services

Student services is defined as any office (other than academic departments) that provides direct service to students or interacts with students on a frequent basis. Until 1992, all student services, from admissions to international students to counseling, reported to a Vice President for Student Services. Administrative restructuring (see Chapter 1, Response to Concern 8) eliminated this position, and all student service units now ultimately report to the Executive Vice President and Provost through a decentralized system. Some student services were discussed in Chapters 3 (Registrar) and 4. In this chapter we focus on six student service units:

1. Student Affairs (including Counseling Services),
2. Career Center (Enrollment Management),
3. Educational Opportunity,
4. Residential Services (including Residence Life),
5. Retail Operations, and
6. Athletics.

Despite numerous changes in administrative structure since 1988 [6.2B3], student services remains loosely coordinated. Evaluation of student services during the self-study process led many departments to conclude that student services was understaffed and to argue for continued restructuring. Better coordination through centralizing operations of student services may generate more efficient and effective service delivery by strengthening the links between student service units. Michigan Tech has demonstrated progress in addressing understaffing in some units with the addition of new positions.

Student Affairs was reorganized in 1994 to assign responsibilities along functional lines (academic standards, discipline, Greek life, student organizations, ADA-related issues, student leadership development, and personal and academic counseling) for service efficiency among the seven professional staff. Three professionally qualified counselors staff Counseling Services. Since 1988, three new positions (Associate Dean, Director of New Student Orientation and First Year Programs, and Associate Director of Residence Life) were added and hired through national searches, and the Dean of Students was promoted to Vice Provost for Student Affairs. In Spring 1997, the Associate Director of Residence Life was transferred to Residential Services; the appropriateness of this transfer is a matter of some concern because this position manages student life programming rather than traditional residential operations.

Educational Opportunity has grown since 1988 through reorganization and the addition of 7 staff (3 in programming for underrepresented students) bringing the total to 15 staff in 4 divisions—Precollege Programs, Outreach and Multiethnic Programs, Conferences and Institutes, and Summer Session. Educational Opportunity relies heavily on student personnel; it employs 15–25 students on a seasonal basis. New positions since 1988 include Coordinators of Outreach and Multiethnic Programs, Native American Outreach, and the English as a Second Language (ESL) Adventure Program, as well as an Assistant Director of Special Academic Programs.

Residential Services, which includes Residence Life, Residence Halls, Dining Services, and University Apartments and Retail Operations, which includes the MUB (Memorial Student Union), Student Bookstore, SDC (Student Development Complex), and other athletic facilities emerged from reorganization of the former Auxiliary Enterprises Department in 1995/96. They are decentralized, functional, flexible, and student-driven operations. Both units rely heavily on student personnel: Retail Operations employs 90 full-time staff and 200 students, and Residential Services employs 110 full-time staff and 374 students. The residence hall staff is now available on a 24-hour basis, and an Associate Director of Residence Life was hired in 1995 to coordinate the development of an educational residence hall living program. Although there is limited University sponsorship of social and educational programs in the residence halls due to limited staffing, selection and training process for Residence Assistants has been initiated as well as programming models typical in other residence life programs. Dining service is now centralized under an Associate Director to improve service across campus.

Athletics has added 8 staff since 1988 for a total of 25 staff. Many staff are also Physical Education faculty. Sixteen staff members coach hockey, men and women's basketball, football, women's volleyball, Nordic skiing, track and field, and tennis. Swimming and indoor track have been eliminated as part of the athletic program since 1988 due to our location and cost.

In the last twenty years, student services has become a professional career path. Middle- and upper-management staff have advanced academic degrees in student personnel administration, higher education administration and student development and counseling. The long tenure at Michigan Tech of many of our student service professional staff, and the difficulty of obtaining new professional qualifications because of our remote location, has led many staff to develop professional skills on the job. However, since 1994, national searches have filled key student services positions with personnel with professional qualifications in the field.

Administrative Structure - Student Life

Student life is active at Michigan Tech throughout the year. Student organizations initiate most student activities outside the classroom (professional student clubs were discussed in Chapter 3). All student organizations are registered with the Office of Student Affairs and have a faculty (66%) or staff adviser. Each year, over 150 student organizations [1.2C] sponsor events ranging from social activities (35%), community service projects (25%), leadership programs (20%), and substance abuse awareness/relationship awareness activities (10%) [6.2B3]. Although the majority of programs focus on social and recreational aspects of student life, which are important to student development and reduce stress, programs on substance abuse awareness, stress management, time management, and study skills provide timely information for student development.

University Cultural Enrichment coordinates and administers the activities of the three major campus programming boards: MTU Student Entertainment Board, the Memorial Union Board, and the Committee for Campus Enrichment, an appointed nine member faculty advisory committee appointment by the Provost. These boards are responsible for providing a broad spectrum of events that stimulate the cultural and intellectual life at Michigan Tech. Activities included national and international theatre and dance touring companies, orchestras and other musical ensembles, performing artists from a variety of disciplines, and lectures by leading figures in politics, technology, science and the humanities. All events are open to the public. University Cultural Enrichment publishes an annual calendar detailing all performances and public lectures on campus.

Students participate in shared governance through Undergraduate Student Government (USG). Special interest political groups are also active on campus. Many departments assist in the development and implementation of student-sponsored programs through the work of faculty and staff advisers, or, in the case of Winter Carnival, through Facilities Management’s countless personnel hours devoted to snow removal and delivery for the construction of snow statues.

Nonetheless, there are some weaknesses with respect to student activities. There is

1. no comprehensive coordination of student events,
2. no tracking of activities and projects over time to determine the value of programming and its impact on student development, and
3. advising of student organizations is not always effective.

Attendance at workshops for advisers has been low, and it is often difficult to find faculty and staff advisers who have sufficient time to devote to effective advising. Structured opportunities for students to socialize among their peers and with faculty and staff, such as K-Day, are limited. New campus traditions where students, faculty, and staff can come together would enrich our campus community.

Financial Resources

Expenditures in student services have fluctuated since 1988, in large part because of several administrative restructurings, most notably the elimination of the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. However, the delivery of student services has received additional investments over the past several years, including the creation of the positions described in "Administrative Structure."

As at most public institutions, student organization activities are funded primarily through a student activity fee, student fundraising, or University allocation to specific programs. The student activity fee was established in 1990 at $30/student/year, and has not been increased. In 1996, student activity fees totaled approximately $83,000. USG administers funds from student fees and makes decisions about allocations. More student groups are soliciting support from USG, which suggests it is time for USG to conduct a comprehensive examination of the distribution and impact of the student activity fee as it relates to use, delivery, and quality of activities sponsored by student groups. In addition to fees, the Offices of the President, Provost, Student Affairs, Educational Opportunity, and University Cultural Enrichment have sponsored numerous student activities, such as the BSA (Black Student Association) Retreat and Wild Orientation Way. A generous grant from the Van Evera Foundation has provided funding for a well-attended annual Distinguished Lecture series. Improved University allocations for student activities should be pursued through the strategic planning process.

Physical Resources

Numerous enhancements to physical facilities have improved student services since 1988. These activities include

• a remodeled and expanded MUB (see Chapter 11), including a significantly larger bookstore;
• a significant increase in access to computing facilities (see Chapter 10);
• a new 12,000 sq. foot Career Center (The Meese Center);
• a health service clinic at Sharon Center in Houghton with upgraded student health services (plans are being developed for a campus health center);
• a Counseling Services facility now centrally located in the Hamar House, which increases privacy of service delivery;
• new weight room equipment and a climbing wall in the SDC;
• the relocation of Public Safety to Wadsworth Hall, a larger and more central location;
• the offices for Student Affairs were enlarged and remodeled; and
• the relocation of Educational Opportunity to larger, remodeled offices.

University sponsored athletic facilities such as the golf course, ski hill, and bowling lanes, and the intramural program also contribute to student life, as does the healthy environment of the Keweenaw peninsula, which invites all types of outdoor experiences for students.

However, space for student activities of all sorts is limited. Despite its 1989 remodeling, the MUB is still inadequate to accommodate our campus population and to serve as a student center for cultural, social, and retail opportunities [2.6H5]. We have provided more study space in the residence halls and Library, but installation of new student organization offices in the MUB decreased meeting room space. Social space remains limited, particularly for commuting students. Lack of study and social space is particularly problematic given the physical climate of long, cold winters. The lack of coordination among student organizations results in organizations scheduling against each other for limited space to conduct major events in the MUB, SDC, and ROTC building. On a positive note, the addition of a Performing Arts Center will provide new space for cultural programming and also social space for some student performing-arts organizations. Ground breaking for the long anticipated Performing Arts and Education Center is scheduled for May 1998 with completion expected in December 1999. The Center will house a 1,200 seat theatre/concert hall with a fully equipped stage and will have a major impact on the cultural life of Michigan Tech and the surrounding communities. Some programming endowments are in place.

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