Following student leaders’ concerns about the Student Activities Office in spring 2014, SAO launched improvements for event planning via e-mail on Aug. 25, said Coordinator of Programs Taylor Sevigny.
“In an effort to eliminate that BU bounce, we wanted to create an experience that was more customer-centric for students,” Sevigny said.
The “BU bounce” refers to the issue of student organization leaders getting bounced back and forth as they try to plan events, only to land back at square one. Sevigny said SAO has tried to alleviate most of these problems with a “one-stop shop” for student group event planning.
“We’re not going to tell you what you need, and say, ‘Okay, go do it.’ We’re going to do it with you on the spot,” Sevigny said.
Gone are the days of dealing with caterers, classroom technology services, facilities and student production services on your own. Now, SAO will work with students to complete these necessary tasks and follow up with these groups on his or her behalf.
With SAO’s updated planning services, students in need of help at any stage of the event planning process can walk into the redesigned office at 1 University Rd. with nothing more than an idea. An employee is there to greet students as soon as they walk in.
As soon as a consultant is available — wait time varies depending on how busy the office is — students are directed to a table to work out event logistics. Before, office employees were expected to juggle office logistics as well as student consulting. However, a refigured office structure has separated those tasks, leaving some employees to handle the front office and others to focus solely on helping out student leaders.
Though event planning is walk-in only right now, Sevigny said SAO is working to set up an appointment system.
SAO has also tried to make the process easier for students by providing online packages for common events, such as film screenings, concerts, lectures and off-campus trips. They also created a list of approved vendors who offer special BU rates and are offering free digital signage in George Sherman Union and on computers across campus.
One of the biggest headaches for student organizations in the past has been getting access to classroom technology. SAO now makes sure students have access to basic technology such as projectors, as long as they have the room reserved. Instructions for using classroom technology is also available on the SAO website.
Since enacting these changes, Sevigny said not everything has been as smooth as SAO would like it to be.
“We’re still working out a lot of kinks with this process in general,” she said. “This is new for everyone, and we’re doing our best to accommodate students when there is a kink.”
The disjointed process of reserving classrooms on campus for student group use is one issue that has come up several times this year already. Because SAO just oversees programs such the reservations office, communication problems still arise.
“In general, it’s not very fun dealing with SAO,” said College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Kyle Mann. While he was trying to reserve a room in Metcalf Science Center for an upcoming club meeting with Global App Initiative, Mann said SAO neglected to mention there would be a custodial fee for using the room on a weekend until after he had already booked the room.
Despite these issues, there has been positive feedback regarding the consultants and their focus on students’ needs.
“In person, SAO is extremely helpful,” said Ryan Lader, a sophomore in the College of Engineering planning Greek fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha’s annual philanthropy event. “If I don’t know how to fill out a certain form, I can just come in and have them walk me through it.”
The goal, Sevigny said, is to have students meet with SAO only once and to have all needs met in that one visit.
“We don’t expect you to know everything,” she said. “We’re the experts here.”
