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University frustrations extend beyond academics

From Student Activities to Career Services, Residential Living to Fraternity and Sorority Life, the division that encompasses these departments plays a significant role in students’ college experiences, according to its leader, Vice President for Student Affairs Nathan Thomas.

“We’re part of what brings the campus to life and really provides a sense of community and a sense of home and those valuable resources that students need to excel inside the classroom, outside the classroom and when they leave here,” Thomas said. “The other big component of Student Affairs is the retention piece, the transition piece and the acclimation to campus. [We are] providing them the resources – the reasons – to stay…and then preparing them to leave and go into the job market through the Career Center.”

Last month’s presidential search forums revealed frustrations with university procedures and decisions. While many of these comments focused on resource availability and employee compensation within academic departments, a limited number of Student Affairs staff members expressed similar concerns.

However, both current and former Student Affairs staff members later shared with The Scout they have faced similar difficulties to those mentioned by faculty.

RESOURCE CONCERNS
“There was a lot of pressure to provide top quality services and opportunities to students without the budget to execute it,” former Director of Wellness Melissa Sage-Bollenbach said about how she saw Student Affairs evolve during her 15-year tenure with Bradley. “This was a great source of frustration for me, and low morale was definitely a consequence.”

Sage-Bollenbach, who left Bradley in December 2012, led the Wellness Program in securing external grants to help fund the implementation of new programs and student organizations including Late Night BU, Get Fit Stay Fit, HEAT (Help, Empower and Teach) and SONOR.

Last fall’s budget cuts may have added extra obstacles for initiatives such as these. Thomas said the cuts may have altered how some services are delivered, but he stressed that the experience of students has not been affected.

“As an administrator, there are really, really, really tough decisions that we have to make, and they’re gut-wrenching decisions,” he said. “They’re not decisions that are easy…It’s not like we want to cut budget, but we know we have to do it for the betterment of the institution. And so it becomes the right thing to do, and it’s important to then lead our way through that as a division and set the example.”

STAFFING LIMITATIONS
Departments with limited staff members may also face issues with launching new programs, according to Jessica Chandler, the Director of the Lewis J. Burger Center for Student Leadership and Public Service.

“If I want to accomplish just the things that are currently happening, it’s tough, but I get it done; late nights and weekends usually account for getting it all done,” Chandler, the only full-time employee in her department, said. “I rely heavily on students who are a part of the center. However, if I want to grow any of the current programs, add new programs or do more with my department, I don’t think I necessarily have enough manpower.”

Lyndsey Hawkins, who was appointed Interim Director of Wellness when Sage-Bollenbach left, said the elimination of an Assistant Director position in her office has caused a few shifts in responsibilities.

“Programs have had to be cut,” Hawkins said. “My graduate assistant has had to play a more hands-on role with certain programs. My administrative support has taken on more responsibility. But, there are times when I know I drop the ball on things. I just try to do the best with what I have. Do I think our office fulfills the needs of campus? No.”

Thomas agreed that areas with a limited number of staff members may face additional difficulties, but he said he is confident in the abilities of staff members.

“There’s no doubt that we’re lean,” he said. “I think that’s something that at this point, I take a little bit of pride in; that operationally, we don’t have a deep bench, but we have a very talented group that’s doing what they’re doing. Some of the decisions that have been made about [the] budget have been to not replace people so that we didn’t have to cut deeper into programmatic budgets; and those are very strategic decisions.”

As the responsibilities of eliminated positions shifted to other employees, however, Thomas confirmed that those receiving these extra duties have not received additional compensation.

COMPENSATION STAGNATION
Compensation does present issues within Student Affairs, as some working in the division said they have a hard time making ends meet with their salaries, sometimes causing them to seek additional employment.

“I’m averaging about 20 to 25 hours per week at my part-time job,” Assistant Director of Orientation and Advisement Gregory Haines said. “How it effects my work at Bradley is with those extracurricular things that I would love to be involved with and that I need to help out my colleagues with…I can’t attend those events right now, regrettably. I have been asked by at least two or three student organizations to serve as an advisor to them…It’s something that I feel that I’m good at, that I can bring to the table [and] that is fulfilling for me, but my availability for that is affected by my part-time work.”

According to Sage-Bollenbach, the university’s multi-year struggle with enrollment numbers has impacted employee compensation for several years.

“With the university not making enrollment numbers and the excessive spending occurring in high administrative positions, programming and staff salaries began to feel the realities of the university budget constraints,” she said. “It was difficult to feel valued when your budget was being cut and you were given little, if any, raise.”

Hawkins, who has been in the Interim Director position for more than two years, said she has felt unstable at times about her future with the department, and although she was offered a permanent position, she could not accept it.

“I was doing my old job plus this somewhat promotion [from Assistant Director to Interim Director] with no additional pay, and this uncertainty hanging over my head,” Hawkins said. “This school year has been somewhat different. I was told the Assistant Director position was being eliminated when they offered me the permanent Director of Wellness position. However, no additional compensation was offered, so I did not sign the new contract…I spoke with the former Director of Wellness and found out her salary at the time she left. It was within a few hundred dollars of what I was currently making, but her position was only 3/4 time – or about 30 hours a week.”

ISSUES SEEN NATIONWIDE
All of these issues may not be unique to Bradley, however, according to Thomas.

“There’s not a ton of differences across the country,” he said. “Budgets at universities, most particularly budgets within Student Affairs, are being cut. Oftentimes, they’re the first to be cut. That was not the case here; it was a uniform [cut] across a number of areas. When I go to higher [education] conferences or things with colleagues, one of the things we’re talking about is the financial viability of what we’re trying to do and how we do that.”

The root of the problems at Bradley, specifically, do not stem from leaders within the division, according to Chandler, who commented on Bradley’s attempts to meet the needs of Student Affairs employees.

“If it is anything financial or work-life balance, I’d say we have a long way to go,” she said. “If it is having a flexible Vice President who listens and will do his best to advocate for you and your area, then we’re doing the best we can.”

Haines echoed this, extending it to mid-level leaders as well.

“Nothing beats the support we get from Nathan Thomas,” Haines said. “My direct supervisor has been generous in setting aside funds from an already drastically reduced budget to help me accomplish some of the things I want to do with our veterans and our transfer students.”

Overall, Sage-Bollenbach said it is important to remember the employees when considering university operations.

“I understand that buildings need to meet needs and athletic programs generate revenue, but students come to Bradley and stay at Bradley because of how they are treated by the people who make Bradley, Bradley,” she said. “Somewhere along the line, we lost sight of that.”

MAKING AN IMPACT
In the April 17 issue, The Scout ran an article about the university’s budget surplus that will be used to grant nearly all full time employees a one time, one percent additional wage payment, which Student Affairs staff members said may not make a substantial difference but is still appreciated.

“I’m certainly not going to complain about the university sending a little extra money my way,” Haines said. “I certainly feel like I’ve earned my salary…I also think everybody on this campus who’s getting that bump has worked for that.”

Despite issues with resource availability and compensation, Student Affairs staff members across the division said they are fortunate for the intangible aspects of their jobs.

“Hands down, the students [are the best part],” Chandler said. “Even on the bad days, they make it all worth it. I also love the people I get to work with. I’ve met some wonderful folks who are more than just colleagues and will be lifelong friends.”

Beyond the relationships developed while working in Student Affairs, Haines said he sees his job as an opportunity to make a positive impact.

“There’s not a day that I leave this place where I don’t feel like I’ve done good,” Haines said. “I do it because when I was a college student, I was kind of a lost college student for the first year, and that’s why I love orientation programs. I love serving students who come in with very different experiences like transfer students and veterans. I want everybody to feel like they have a place, and Bradley is a place for everyone; I want to help people find that.”

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