Asucd Long-Range Plan

ASUCD LONG-RANGE PLAN HAUS (Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students)

I. PURPOSE & HISTORY

In the past, ASUCD’s HAUS was known exclusively for the event, Housing Day. In 2014, Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students was created to help students find housing and resolve housing related issues year round.

HAUS strives to educate students about various housing options in Davis and surrounding areas. HAUS answers student’s questions about leases and is a resource for students to start their search for housing.

HAUS is in charge of Housing Day, a day in which managers showcase and market their apartment complexes. Furthermore, HAUS hands out information about various apartment complexes partnered with HAUS to students through tabling. HAUS acts as the liaison between students and apartment complex managers in Davis by sharing information from housing complexes on HAUS’ social media accounts, through events and peer advising. HAUS also aids apartment complex managers by promoting their complex through various raffles and promotional giveaways.

II. PERSONNEL

PAID POSITIONS:

ASUCD HAUS Unit Director: The ASUCD Unit Director oversees all internal operations of Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students, which includes but is not limited to, handling staff recruitment, managing volunteers, delegating responsibilities to staff members, training and scheduling. Additionally, the Unit Director handles publicity for the unit, the financial managements and acts as the liaison between UC Davis students and Davis community apartment complex managers, UCD Student Housing and other UC Davis organizations on campus. Furthermore, the Unit Director is in charge of leading meetings including but not limited to all HAUS staff members, apartment complex managers, meetings with ASUCD officials, ASUCD business managers etc.

ASUCD HAUS Assistant Unit Director: Assists the ASUCD Unit Director with tasks outlined above.

UNPAID/VOLUNTEER POSITIONS:

Peer Advisors (4): Peer advisors are responsible to communicate with students through publicly held office hours (at least 2 hours per session), they must respond to student’s emails in a timely manner, must be up to date in problems and issues communities face in the Davis community (AB-540 Undocumented Students, International House, LGBTQIA Center, Transfer Students etc.), they must hold at least one workshop a quarter relating to student housing needs. Additionally, they must attend all meetings issued by the Unit Director and are required to work on Housing Day. They are also required to undergo diversity training at the beginning of their term.

Social Media Manager (1): Must manage HAUS’ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social media websites. They must update each social media site at least once per week with content. Moreover, they are responsible for making any Facebook events and promoting any prize giveaways. They are in charge of recruiting volunteers online as well as posting HAUS and Housing Day content to UC Davis related Facebook pages.

Event Planners (4-5): Event planners are responsible for the planning and execution of the annually held Housing Day event alongside the Unit Director and Assistant Unit Director. They enforce that Housing Day is adequately marketed to UC Davis students via chalking, tabling, flyering, advertisements through Unitrans and the ASUCD Coffee House, announcements in classes etc. Furthermore, they are in charge of assisting the Unit Director with mailing any material to apartment complexes (Housing Day invitations, registration forms, parking permits etc.), they are in charge of sorting food orders given by apartment complex managers, parking permits and loading permits for apartment complexes. They are required to attend Housing Day and are the main source of customer service for apartment complex managers aside from the Unit Director and Assistant Unit Director during this day. Furthermore, it is the Event Planners duty to manage any Housing Day volunteers and provide clear directions of what volunteers must do. Event planners are also responsible for having office hours twice a week for at least an hour from October until the Housing Day event held in January unless otherwise specified. After Housing Day, Event Planners must make a survey and hold a meeting for apartment complex managers to gain feedback about the overall event. They must then make a report and record for next year’s Housing Day staff with the Unit Director, Assistant Unit Director and the ASUCD Business Managers.

External Outreach (2): Communicates with apartment complexes in Davis and the surrounding areas. They are to communicate with them via email and phone about any promotional advertisements, issues or problems they may have. The External Outreach Director acts as a liaison between apartment complexes and ASUCD.

Housing Day Volunteers: Assist with Housing Day which is held every January, they work in 2 hour shifts, they provide customer service to the apartment complex managers, help with— set-up, loading of apartment complexes, parking, food delivery to apartment complex managers and representatives advertising during the event and help with cleanup. They report back to Event Planners, Assistant Unit Director or Unit Director for any instructions.

Future Plans: 1. Have a space for peer advisors to officially meet with students; each peer advisor must be available at least twice a week for walk-in advising. 2. All peer advisors must have diversity training. 3. Have Unit Directors introduce HAUS during freshman orientation and transfer orientation as a resource for students. 4. External Outreach must build relations with UC Davis Student Housing to better provide students with information regarding housing options.

Future Plans: 1. Cutting the Social Media Manager position and instead creating a Marketing Agent position. The Marketing Agent would maintain the same duties as the Social Media Manager, however, the Marketing Agent would take lead in marketing any HAUS related events in other forms such as creating videos or leading the HAUS staff in tabling, flyering, chalking etc.

III. OPERATIONS

Donations:

Promotional giveaways and prizes are accepted from apartment complexes from Davis and surrounding areas, which are to be given away at tabling events. They are received in the ASUCD SSO office and then examined by the Unit Director before they are given out. Any person, company, unit or complex may donate items to HAUS.

During Housing Day complexes are allowed to give away promotional prizes and food. However, all food handed out at the event must be store bought.

Future Plans:

1. Creating a list of times in the beginning of the year in which items from apartment complexes are desired by HAUS and sending out this list in advance, in order for HAUS to better build relations with apartment complex managers. Giveaways also provide students to actively be engaged with HAUS.

IV. FINANCE

For the 2014-2015 academic year, ASUCD’s HAUS had a subsidized amount of $7,419. HAUS operations costs come from: 1) General Assistance/Benefits 2) Administrative/Programmatic. In the 2015-2016 school the amount will decrease to $7,091.

1. Personnel: HAUS (Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students) employs two (2) student employees totaling $2,206 annually. a. ASUCD Unit Director b. Assistant ASUCD Unit Director

VI. EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Apartment Complex Managers: HAUS is currently working on building better relations with apartment complex managers. During the 2014-2015 school year, housing complexes were not well informed of Housing Day. It is the responsibility of the Unit Director, Event Planners and External Outreach Director to keep the mangers well informed.

Future Plans: 1. Recruiting storage rental companies to attend Housing Day. This would allow ASUCD to increase our income during Housing Day. 2. Establish better relationships with apartment complex managers in areas surrounding Davis. In past years, there has been a lack of apartment complexes in towns and cities such as, Sacramento, Dixon and Woodland.

VII. INTERNAL RELATIONS

Aggie Reuse: HAUS is currently creating relations with Aggie Reuse to promote their brand through promotional giveaway via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. In exchange, HAUS will provide a table free of charge for Aggie Reuse in exchange for passing out flyers at their store.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual Resource Center: HAUS is working with the LGBTQIA community in the SCC to ensure that peer advisors are educated in any problems or prejudices that the LGBTQIA community faces in the Davis community when it comes to finding living accommodations. HAUS plans on gaining information from this community to better provide information to particular students to make HAUS more inclusive. Moreover, in exchange for passing out flyers at the LGBTQIA office, HAUS will provide a table free of charge for the LGBTQIA Center at Housing Day.

Student Recruitment and Retention Center: HAUS has built a relationship with the student director of the RROC board to better advertise for Housing Day. In exchange, HAUS will give the Student Recruitment and Retention Center a table at Housing Day free of charge. The Student Recruitment and Retention Center will use this as a time to advertise for heir Housing Day that targets low-income students.

AB-540 Undocumented Students: HAUS is currently attempting to build relations with the AB-540 Undocumented Students Center to gather better information of how to help undocumented students. HAUS then hopes to provide better information to these particular students to make HAUS all-inclusive. In exchange for passing out flyers at the AB-540 office in the SCC, HAUS will provide a table free of charge to the AB-540 office at Housing Day.

ASUCD Pantry: In exchange for passing out flyers at the pantry, HAUS will provide the pantry a table free of charge at Housing Day. Cross Cultural Student Center: HAUS is currently trying to build relations with Cross Cultural Student Center to gather better information of how to help this community with any problems they face regarding housing. HAUS then hopes to provide information to these particular students. In exchange for passing out Housing Day flyers at the Cross Cultural Center, HAUS will provide a table free of charge to the Cross Cultural Center free of charge at Housing Day.

International House Davis: HAUS is currently in the midst of building relations with the International House to gather information of how to better help this community with any problems they face regarding housing. HAUS then hopes to provide information to these particular students. In exchange for passing out Housing Day flyers at the International House, HAUS will provide a table free of charge to the International House free of charge at Housing Day.

ASUCD Coffee House: HAUS uses the ASUCD Coffee House for all catering needs.

Entertainment Council: HAUS uses the Entertainment Council to provide live music and/or any entertainment needs for Housing Day. Furthermore, the performers gather to play at Housing Day should be local bands and student groups from Davis in order to meet budget requirements.

Future Plans: 1. Peer Advisors will team up with members from the LGBTQIA, AB-540 Undocumented Students Center, Student Recruitment and Retention Center to provide a workshop open to UC Davis students regarding housing options. 2. Training peer advisors in helping and working with transfer students. Creating a workshop to specifically help transfer students with their housing selections. 3. In the month of June, each newly hired Unit Director must work with Unitrans to ensure advertisements for Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students will be presented on the Unitrans buses the following year. This will also include a banner heading on the front of the bus.

VIII. ONE-YEAR GOALS

A major problem HAUS faces is the turnover of Unit Directors. There is not a lot of information conveyed to make the process smoother the Unit Director will personally train the incoming Unit Director in the spring before the Unit Director times out. Furthermore, each Unit Director is responsible for handing out down a list or agenda of how the unit was handled the year(s) prior. There is a HAUS manual that will be passed down from Unit Director to Unit Director, which will contain a time line of the hiring process, Housing Day process, contact information etc. Additionally, each Unit Director is responsible for updating information and contact information on Gmail/Google docs for the next Unit Director.

HAUS must also build better relations with apartment complexes through Housing Day and other promotional events to better improve HAUS’ current reputation with apartment complex managers. The HAUS staff must better advertise for Housing Day, work with complexes on more small-scale events to promote their complexes as well as be in better communication with these complexes. Relations need to be maintained in order for HAUS to succeed.

By the 2015-2016 school year, HAUS must also discuss with the administrators of the CHL (Community Housing Listing) on whether or not these two units should be combined into one. If CHL and HAUS are combined HAUS will create premium pages for CHL that will feature the complexes that are going to be participating in the Housing Day event. In exchange for these premium pages, the apartment complex will pay HAUS a fee for this advertisement. Furthermore, if HAUS gains control of CHL, it will be HAUS’ job to make the website more user friendly for students as well as get the word out for this website as a tool for finding housing.

In coming years, HAUS will be located in the Memorial Union and have its own office after renovations are completed. At this time, the peer advisor program will need to become a much bigger part of HAUS’ main focus. Until then, HAUS is striving to build better relationship with students, apartment complex managers as well as campus community organizations.