Transcript Tell Us What You Want

Tell Us What You Want
Lessons in Student Centered Service Design
Information Services & Resources (ISR)
Bucknell University
What do you do?




How many of you have included students on a planning
group?
How many have included students on a project team?
How many of you have a “great relationship” with your
school’s student life staff?
Do you meet regularly with other student focused staff
on your campus?
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Background


About Bucknell and ISR
Changes and challenges become opportunities



Research Services “work redesign” (Spring 2004)
Technology support focused on faculty and staff
A new Strategic Plan provides some guidance

Bucknell Strategic Initiative for Student Centeredness
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Bucknell University



Bucknell University, located in Lewisburg, PA, is a highly
selective, private, nonsectarian, co-educational
university founded in 1846.
450-acre campus includes more than 100 facilities
Approximately 3350 students, 300 faculty and 700 staff
members
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Information Services & Resources
(ISR)



Information Services & Resources (ISR), formed in
1997, is the merged library and technology
service organization
90 staff located in two buildings
Wealth of services







Network
Library
Computing support
Administrative computing
Telecommunications
Media services
Instructional Technology
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
“In the middle of every difficulty lies
opportunity.” Albert Einstein

Challenges and changes internally



Librarians challenged by changing work, changing student
needs, difficulty reaching students, etc.
Technology support traditionally organized to support faculty and
staff.
Spring 2004 work redesign of Research Services
identifies “student outreach” as a significant area of their
work (and they identify Lisa as a member).
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Making ISR more student centered




“Bucknell’s goal as a student-centered
institution is to provide students with an
environment within which learning fills all
the dimensions of university life.”
"Bucknell’s residential life and co-curricular
program will fully support its academic
program," and will provide an "integrated
environment for student learning and
growth.“ (The Plan, Bucknell University)
Requires new levels of collaboration and
coordination between academic affairs,
student life and students.
We knew we needed to focus attention on
services provided to students.
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Understanding our students



ISR Assessment Team
Merged Information Services Organizations (MISO)
Survey
LibQual+




Longitudinal study
Focus groups
Student Research Project
Usability studies for our products
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Getting Started Focusing on Students

Creation of Student Outreach Group (SOG) –
September, 2004



Made up of ISR staff from key student services
Meet regularly to plan events, communication, and more
Creation of Student Advisory Group (SAG) – January,
2005



Group meets monthly over lunch
Students given a task before each meeting
Assistant Director of Res Life attends
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Student Outreach Group






Centralize student advocacy efforts
Create formal ties with students
More effective communication
Channel student input
Design better services from the students’ perspective
Taking advantage of “networking opportunities” with
students


SOG staff members are “known faces” on campus
ISR is thought of as a student-centered organization
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Creating SAG


Developed a charge
Recruiting students

General call for volunteers and staff
recommendations
 Representation from all class years

Monthly meetings





Students give us feedback on our services
Help us set priorities and suggest new
services
Perform tasks for us, such as interviewing
their peers
Beta test new services/systems
Phil Marquis ’07 student advisory board
member
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Activities of SAG meetings/students



Plus/delta exercise (Results)
Prioritization of ISR services
Photographs of the building with annotations

Things in library they felt needed improvement
 Example 1 | Example 2 | Example 3


Feedback on first year mailings
Communication preferences


Collaborative study environment


How students prefer to receive communication
from ISR
Students redesigned a work area
Library presence in myBucknell portal
(myLibrary)

Input into useful library services for portal
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Outcomes of SAG





ISRBuddy (IM Service) created because of SAG
feedback
Design of collaborative work area on Level 2
Improving BUTV
Expanded equipment desk
inventory
Streamlined communications
with first year students
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Resulting Partnership/Outcomes






Campus Wide Student Outreach Group
Build relationships within Student Life
staff
Working relationship with Student
Government
Staff involvement with student
organizations
Our student employees (200+ students)
Partnering with Environmental Center
and Environmental Club on campaign
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
An Example: Orientation (the biggest coup)





RA Training
Graduate Student welcome
Hall mentoring
Abroad students
“Faces and Places” – ISR
has the biggest presence in
this event
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Lessons learned



Don’t assume you know what students
want or care about
Informal information gathering is
invaluable
Working with the Student Advisory
Group




We need to do better at timely follow-up.
Attendance is a problem, especially at
semester crunch times.
Recruitment is difficult. We often have too
many student employees on the group
Number of staff vs. students at meetings
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Future projects





Panel discussions
Testing and feedback about systems (redesign/rethinking of library catalog)
Digital music
Technology Fair at the Bookstore
Print Wisely Campaign
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Make and take:



Student outreach doesn’t have to be
a huge process
Let’s take a few minutes and think
about immediate steps you can take
on your campus.
Turn to your neighbor, introduce
yourself, discuss these with each
other.

What projects or services could
benefit from student input on your
campus?
 What are you currently doing to
engage students? What more could
you do?
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Do you know….




Who is your campus’ student government
president? (Do you know what they look
like?)
Who is the Director of Residential Life?
Do you know the name(s) of the
student(s)working your circulation or help
desk at night?
Who on your campus is in charge of
planning orientation activities?
If you don’t know these answers,
consider forming a student outreach team.
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr
Building a community of student outreach





Interested in a higher education student outreach blog?
Ideas for building a community?
Questions?
Presentation & materials online at
http://www.bucknell.edu/Educause2006.xml
Email us:




[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
http://www.bucknell.edu/isr