UW Student Services Complex | ? m | 3-4 fl | Did Not Pass Referendum

[Spokes]

UW Student Services Complex
Website: http://www.studentspace.uwaterloo.ca/index.html
Estimated Project Budget: $47.2 million
Estimated Project Size: 133,000 sq. ft.
Architect:
Contractor:

http://www.studentspace.uwaterloo.ca/_images/student.jpg
Building will not be exactly as shown
http://www.studentspace.uwaterloo.ca/index.html



The Plan
In response to undergraduate and graduate student feedback, and in conjunction with UW's 6th Decade Plan, the Federation of Students, Graduate Student Association, and University of Waterloo have developed a strategy for a new Student Services Complex. The goal of this project is to foster stronger student engagement and to provide increased and enhanced space to support student services and life on campus.

The Principles
The design, build, and operation process will be governed by these principles:

1. The new building will bring together several student services that complement one another and that will be more easily accessible to the majority of students.
2. The new building will not need to generate revenue to cover operating costs given the University's undertaking to provide the maintenance and upkeep.
3. The new building will be designed and constructed in a collaborative and collegial way so that each party's interests and concerns are considered and addressed.
4. The new building will have a different emphasis on student life than the Student Life Centre. This building will focus on the support services for students to succeed academically while the Student Life Centre will remain the social centre for students on campus.

The Location
Parking Lot H (The front end of campus).

The Campus Master Plan Update (2009, pg. 63) addresses the matter of campus life as follows: "A new campus life centre is required on the South Campus to meet the growing demand for facilities. The South Common is an ideal location of a new facility given its central position between multiple faculties and the existing campus life functions in that area." The proposed sitting of the Student Services Complex is just south of the South Common area.
http://www.studentspace.uwaterloo.ca/_images/student/map.jpg

http://www.studentspace.uwaterloo.ca/studentservices/buildingspecifics.html

[Spokes]

Students propose a building on H lot

UW student leaders are inviting comments on a proposed plan to erect a $47 million student services building on the site of the present parking lot H, at the south end of the main campus, and expand the Health Services building beside Laurel Creek at a cost of another $8 million.

Both projects would be paid for through student fees, with an addition of $49.50 per term for the student services building and $10.00 for the Health Services addition. Subject to final approval by students’ council, a referendum will likely be held in mid-November, with undergraduate and graduate students voting separately on the plans and the new fees.

The university administration hasn’t said anything publicly about the plans, but Federation of Students leaders explain that the university will pay the operating costs for the student services building, estimated at $1 million a year, if students themselves cover most of the construction cost.

The Health Services addition could be ready in 2010-11 and the student services building a year later, if the vote this fall gives the go-ahead.

“After more than a year of planning,” says Feds president Allan Babor, “the Federation of Students has established a framework agreement with the University of Waterloo to better serve student needs for health, social, study, and spiritual support services. Student leaders are asking for feedback about the proposed project and would like students to submit their comments. Following consultations early this Fall, Students’ Council will consider calling a referendum.”

A web site that went public this week discusses both the financial arrangements and the perceived need for the two projects. Here’s some of what it says about the proposed student services building:

“The new building will have a different emphasis on student life than the Student Life Centre. This building will focus on the support services for students to succeed academically while the Student Life Centre will remain the social centre for students on campus.

“The proposed three to four storey, approximately 135,000 square foot centre will house most of the main student services departments, in addition to increased study space, study, social, and meeting space for students. Where possible, some of the space vacated by the Student Services departments will be used to enhance student service e.g. more space in Needles Hall devoted to OSAP support.”

Counselling services, the writing clinic, study space, the UW visitors centre, the student life office, a prayer room and offices for the GSA and Federation are among the facilities the new building — slightly larger than the present SLC — would include.

Students would cover 80 per cent of the cost through a fee that would begin when the building is “substantially complete” and continue until it’s paid for. UW itself would provide about $5 million, with another $4 million coming from the self-supporting food services and retail services departments, which would both have facilities in the new structure.

http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2009/sep/30we.html

[Spokes]

Hopefully however they do this it's got a lot of street interaction with both University Ave and Ring Rd.

[Spokes]

I should have checked to see if this passed before posting. Too bad it didn't pass. This will come back before the student body I bet.

Too bad there was such poor voter turn out. And that they failed to mention that the info about the fee being implemented later on was omitted.



FEDS Referendum Results
Students Vote For Health, Vote Against Student Space & Media

By Adriana Cameron, Marc Tan, Matt Casswell

At noon on Friday November 13, the Great Hall of the Student Life Centre was filled with anticipation as students gathered to hear the results of the three recent undergraduate FEDS referendums. The referendum voting period opened on Monday November 9th and closed on Wednesday November 11th. The three referendum topics were a $49.50 fee increase to fund the proposed Student Services Complex, a $10.00 fee increase to fund a Health Services expansion, and a proposed $2.50 fee that would support the operation of 100.3 SoundFM. FEDS President, Allan Babor, and Referendum Committee Communications Delegate, Matthew Waller, announced that the fee increase for the Health Services extension had passed whereas the Students Services Complex and the 100.3 SoundFM fee failed to pass.

Student Services Complex

The new Student Services Complex was proposed by the Federation of Students, Graduate Student Association, and the University of Waterloo in order to provide more space for student services and to enhance student life. The proposed building would have housed the Student Resource Centre (Formerly Ombudsperson), Visitors Centre, Retail Services, the Office of Organizational and Human Development (OHD), the Office for Persons with Disabilities (and Exam Centre), the Student Life Office, a Writing Clinic, Counselling Services, and a multi-faith prayer room. The new building would have also provided social space, office space, 24 hour study space, and meeting space which would have be available for students to book. Space in this building would have also been designated to graduate students as the proposed facility would have included a Graduate Student Lounge, Graduate Studies Office, Graduate Student Association, and a new Grad House facility. The proposed Student Services Complex would have been located on South Campus where Parking Lot H is currently located.

The referendum question asked "Do you support the addition of $49.50 to the Student Coordinated Plan fee to contribute to the proposed new Student Services Complex?” The University would have paid for the operating costs of the building which is estimated to be $1 million per year. The proposed $49.50 fee would go towards paying off the capital cost of the building which would take an estimated 20 years. The fee would not have been implemented until the building was open for student use which was estimated to be in 2012-2013. The referendum failed to pass with 1819 students voting “Yes”, 2546 students voting “No”, and 146 students declining to vote. Voter turnout was approximately 18% as 4511 out of 24 979 eligible voters voted. Following the announcement of the referendum results, some speculated that many students were unaware that the fee would only be implemented once the building was opened. This may have contributed to the large number of “No” votes as some students incorrectly believed that they would be funding a building that they would not use.

http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/?module=displaystory&story_id=4765&format=html&edition_id=117 (http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/?module=displaystory&story_id=4765&format=html&edition_id=117)

[mpd618]

It's a crappy location on the campus, students were not aware that they needed a new student services complex, and consultation/input was nonexistent. "Vote for it, someone else will pay for it" is a really bad justification -- and it was quite prominent in the Yes campaign. Particularly unsettling was how the supposed student representatives referred to the results of the referendum as a setback rather than a mandate -- saying that they will keep trying.

And based on my experience with PAS, that really is a crappy location. There is minimal foot traffic on those parts of University Avenue and Ring Road, and I think such a building would suffer for it.

[Spokes]

It's a crappy location on the campus, students were not aware that they needed a new student services complex, and consultation/input was nonexistent. "Vote for it, someone else will pay for it" is a really bad justification -- and it was quite prominent in the Yes campaign. Particularly unsettling was how the supposed student representatives referred to the results of the referendum as a setback rather than a mandate -- saying that they will keep trying.

And based on my experience with PAS, that really is a crappy location. There is minimal foot traffic on those parts of University Avenue and Ring Road, and I think such a building would suffer for it.

I see what you mean. It's too bad though. A building there would look really good. I just hate how from University Ave all you see is a grassy hill and then the parking lot before the campus buildings. Im not sure what would be a better use of space there then. The hill really seems to segregate campus though. In my opinion at least.

[mpd618]

I see what you mean. It's too bad though. A building there would look really good. I just hate how from University Ave all you see is a grassy hill and then the parking lot before the campus buildings. Im not sure what would be a better use of space there then. The hill really seems to segregate campus though. In my opinion at least.

If that space had to be used, it could be for some regular academic building. But yeah, that berm, Ring Road, and much else about the campus make it poor in terms of planning. An unfortunate consequence of it being a suburban campus built in the 1960s.

[Spokes]

If that space had to be used, it could be for some regular academic building. But yeah, that berm, Ring Road, and much else about the campus make it poor in terms of planning. An unfortunate consequence of it being a suburban campus built in the 1960s.

Oh I see what you mean. It would be a bad location for a student services centre, but an academic building would work because people would HAVE to go there?

[mpd618]

Oh I see what you mean. It would be a bad location for a student services centre, but an academic building would work because people would HAVE to go there?

Pretty much, though (in my opinion) it still kind of sucks to have a building like that. Ideally, if you have a campus with better urban design, there's foot traffic in all parts of it. But thinking about the geography some more, the way that part of campus would change is with a build out facing University Avenue on both sides, and with some more pedestrian destinations towards Westmount & University. So I'm no longer entirely sure in my above assessment.

By the way: build sidewalks on Westmount already, dammit!

[Spokes]

Pretty much, though (in my opinion) it still kind of sucks to have a building like that. Ideally, if you have a campus with better urban design, there's foot traffic in all parts of it. But thinking about the geography some more, the way that part of campus would change is with a build out facing University Avenue on both sides, and with some more pedestrian destinations towards Westmount & University. So I'm no longer entirely sure in my above assessment.

By the way: build sidewalks on Westmount already, dammit!

No, you know what after you mentioned that, the more I thought about it, I think you're right. You need to have something to draw students there first. Maybe an academic building first, then a new student services centre. Anything they do there though HAS to have entrances on both University ave and Ring rd though

[Duke-of-Waterloo]

Why students said no to new building

The proposed Student Services Complex, turned down by a student referendum in November, “addresses a number of student needs on campus” and most students would still like to see something of the sort developed, the university senate was told on Monday.

Allan Babor, president of the Federation of Students (and a candidate for another term in next month’s election), briefed the senate about the $47 million project, the needs it would have met and the apparent reasons students turned it down.

“This has been a student-driven project from the outset and has incorporated students’ needs and ideas throughout the process,” said an 18-page report distributed to senate members. It says students feel a shortage of study space and a need to expand and improve such services as help with academic and library skills as well as academic and career advising.

The proposed building was to be sited on part of the current parking lot H near the main entrance to campus. “The new building will have a different emphasis on student life than the Student Life Centre,” its proposal noted. “This building will focus on the support services for students to succeed academically while the Student Life Centre will remain the social centre.”

As the project was presented last fall, students would have provided 80 per cent of the building’s cost through a $49.50-per-term fee lasting 20 years. The university would have provided $5 million as well as the operating costs of the building, and about $4 million would have come from food services and retail services to cover the cost of a cafeteria and store in the new building.

When November’s referendum was held, 18 per cent of eligible undergraduate students voted, and turned down the proposal and its $49.50 fee by 2,546 votes to 1,819. In the same referendum, students did approve a smaller fee to expand the Health Services building.

Babor’s report says a survey was done after the referendum to find out why students voted as they did. Among the comments quoted in the report: “I don’t want to pay more money; tuition is high enough as it is.… I cared about the projects and how they would benefit the undergrad experience.… Lack of concrete plans.… This should have been done before the student population grew bigger than the campus could sustain.… There is too much construction on campus to begin with.…

“They can just rearrange their budget to allocate the money differently.… It should be the responsibility of the school to pay for the services required by the excess number of students that they are accepting.… An improved student centre would benefit the student body.… Don’t build on a parking lot when there is currently a lack of parking space.… Expand existing facilities.”

The report concludes that “the current proposal does not meet the expectations of our students”, with key issues including the fee, the location, “lack of specific details” and a “desire to see the central University contribute more to the construction costs”.

Babor adds: “Anecdotal evidence also suggests a lack of awareness about both the specifics of the project, and its relation to UW’s Sixth Decade Plan including areas such as enrollment, financial environment, and the campus master plan.

“However, it seems that most students remain in favour of the project continuing to be developed to address space concerns. Moving forward, the Federation of Students will continue to work with the undergraduate students, Graduate Student Association, and University Administration to evaluate this proposal and investigate ways to address students’ growing needs in the short and long term.”

Babor told the senate meeting that students typically “don’t understand” the university’s long-term development, but “they understand the fees they are paying. I think that we can do a better job about informing students.” UW president David Johnston asked him where the proposal goes from here. His response: "I don't know entirely. I hope we can sit down and discuss what we've learned."

http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/