Elliot Felix and Richard Minturn, University of Virginia, presented "Budgeting for Collaboration: Planning a Shared Services Advising Center" which shows show how UVA created an integrated budgeting tool that forecasts space, technology, staffing, and operational costs for an “Advising Center” that brings together different units to share space, services, and data.

1. Total Advising at University of Virginia
Budgeting for Collaboration: Planning
a Shared Services Advising Center

2. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
introductions
Richard Minturn Elliot Felix

3. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
session objective
How can you create a flexible and comprehensive
operating budget for a space that’s shared across
dozens of providers?
This session will show how the University of Virginia created
an integrated budgeting tool that forecasts space,
technology, staffing, and operational costs for an “Advising
Center” that brings together different units to share space,
services, and data."

4. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
agenda
Intro and icebreaker 10mins
Context and problem definition 10min
Small group discussion 10mins
Service and space strategy 10mins
Small group discussion 10mins
New budgeting model 10mins
Lessons learned 5mins
Q&A 10mins

5. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
poll (5mins)
What is the biggest barrier to collaboration among
student service groups on your campus?
1. Physical separation of groups
2. Different reporting / communication structures
3. Different processes and systems
4. Separate budgets and staffing
5. Turf war / territoriality
6. Other

6. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
using poll everywhere
Go to pollev.com/
brightspot and type
A, B, C, D, E, or F
brightspot
web
brightspot A, B, C, D, E, or F
Step 1: Send
“brightspot” to
22333
Step 2:
Receive Text
Back
Step 3: Vote
by typing A, B,
C, D, or E
text message

7. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018

8. context and problem definition

9. students were somewhat dissatisfied w/ advising
Although UVA had robust Advising resources for undergraduates, Students did not give high marks to their advising
experience on the SERU survey several years ago. Particularly students who had not yet declared their major.
New students enjoy the UVA lawn
UVA SERU Survey data
Graduation at UVA
Students’ time at UVA
*Data was taken from one question on the SERU survey, which may be misinterpreted by students.
However, qualitative data collected throughout the process supported the overall finding.

10. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
advising: importance and challenges
Advising plays an important role in
fulfilling student expectations, helping
them make the most out of their
experience at UVA, and ensuring
students develop into and are prepared
to become productive citizens, as
outlined in the University mission.
Students’ time at UVA
But there are gaps – students
identified a need for integrated
advising services that better
support their experiences at UVA.

11. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
vision: convenient, integrated delivery, 24/7
A central location, near the “Lawn” and Student Union would be ideal. The Center should integrate
UVA’s many advising services into an integrated and coherent experience – both physically and
digitally.

12. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
• Steering Committee: Vice Provost
for Academics, Faculty, Advising
Providers
• Working Team: Library, UVA
Planners, brightspot, Nalls
Architecture
• Stakeholders:
• Many, many students
• More Advising Providers
• Provost, President
• Process: Interview, measure, model
and prototype, repeat.
organization and process
Initially we thought we were building a space. In reality we were creating a new business.

13. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
Many advising services are
available. They span
Academic, Career, Financial
and Health/co-curricular
areas.
But Providers are scattered,
physically and
organizationally, with no
single access portal.
abundant advising resources, weak integration
There was no central index of advising services. After searching for a week we found about 30 entities
in 4 major areas.

14. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
findings: four areas of opportunity
With initial student interviews we dug deeper into the qualities that make a good advising
experience for students. Four areas of opportunity emerged:
awareness
personal
connections
expertise convenience
• Increase
knowledge of
available services
• Help students
identify what’s
most applicable
to them
• Help students
create personal
connections
earlier
• Fill the “gap” until
they form
connections
• Connect students
to a variety of
“experts”
• Prepare
individuals
(including peers)
to act as advisors
• Make services
more visible and
physically
accessible
• Offer services at
the time and point
of need

15. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
envisioning a future model
To address these opportunity areas, we needed to get the balance right between helping
and directing and between a physical and digital center.
better match
students to
people
and resources
discover new
services and
opportunities
online
advising
experience
help
students
save time
self-service
options increase
staff availability
& efficiency
provide staff with data to
operate and continuously
assess and improve

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themes for the student advising experience
With students, we used images and thematic ideas to draw out and prioritize the attributes which
would be most valuable to them in an advising experience. Then tested the themes with the steering
committee.
Integration
Flexibility and
Choice
Engage and
Empower
Physical and
Digital
Helping and
Directing
Advisors as
Guides

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students want variety of support services
Students rates (scale 1 to 5) how valuable to have groups present in center.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Cav Link
All-over tutoring center
Cross-School Advisor
Women's Center
Peer Health Educators
Mindfulness Center
Pre-Commerce Advising
Foreign Language Tutoring
Representatitves from Majors
Transfer Student Advising
Human Resources
Alumni Mentoring
Ulink
SFS
CAPS
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
Eng. Tutoring Assoc. Deans Math Center Library Instr.
Prog.
CUE + URN Writing Center ISO Internship
Center
UCS: Pre-Prof
Value of being
in center
New groups
written in by
students

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our problem statement
How can we bring together dozens of student
service providers to share space, resources,
and data to improve the advising experience
by providing effective help and direction,
physically and digitally?

19. Discussion:
Student services on your campus
(10mins)

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discussion:
Thinking about student services on your campus….
1. What are the student service functions/groups that you’d like
to be more integrated in the future?
2. What are the barriers? What’s keeping them separated or
disconnected now?
3. Where is this working well now and are there lessons that
could be applied?

21. service and space strategy

22. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
what’s brightspot’s approach?
brightspot’s approach to
service strategy is to think
through the why, what,
when, where, and how of
a service to improve the
experience of both the
user and provider.
The key principles are:
1. Touchpoints over time
2. Inside-out/outside-in
3. Physical and digital
Planning for Higher Education article

23. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
meet students where they are
Rather than have student service spaces distinct from where students are working or
socializing, we sought to blend the two together. So, services are more visible, the stigma
of using them is reduced, and staff can reach out instead of waiting for questions.
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
Student workspace and
support services are distinct
NEW APPROACH
Student workspace and
support services are blended

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design the experience
To envision the future service experience, we considered different space metaphors with
own associated set of spaces, staffing, and approach to service delivery.
National Park Visitors CenterPop Up MarketDiscovery Center

25. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
select the right service model
To accommodate the student services that will activate and operate the space, we
selected the right model for each partner, consider space needs and org relationships.
Participating Groups
Center for Diversity in Engineering Peer Mentoring Groups (ULink)
Center for Undergraduate Excellence Pre-Comm. Advising
Contemplative Sciences Center Special Populations Advising
Counseling and Psychological Services Student Financial Services
Deans Offices of the schools Total Advising Center Roving Staff
Deans Offices of the Schools UCS Career Communities
General Academic Support & Tutoring Undergraduate Research Network
Graduate & Pre-Prof advising University Registrar
International Studies Office (ISO) Virginia Alumni Mentoring
Internship Center Women’s Center
Library Instructional Programs Writing Center
Math Center

26. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
select the right service model
Visiting -
Programming
?
?!
Visiting –
Episodic/Surge
Visiting –
Recurring
?
Satellite
?
Collaborative
• Contemplative Sciences
Center
• Counseling and
Psychological Services
• Women’s Center
• Peer Mentoring Groups
(e.g. Transfer Student
Support, Native
American Services, etc.)
• Virginia Alumni
Mentoring
• Deans Offices of the
schools
• Student Financial
Services
• University Registrar
• Pre-Comm. Advising
• Schools’ Deans Offices
• Graduate & Pre-Prof
advising
• Center for Undergrad
Excellence (CUE)
• Undergraduate
Research Network
• Center for Diversity
• Writing & Math Centers
• General Tutoring
• Special Populations
• International Studies
Office (ISO)
• Internship Center
• Library Instructional
Programs
• UCS Career
Communities
• Total Advising
Center staff
Deliver only
workshops and
programs on a semi-
frequent basis
Deliver 1:1 and group
services at peak times
(e.g. end of semester)
Deliver 1:1 and group
services on a
frequent, recurring
basis
Deliver 1:1 and group
services during many
Center hours
Deliver services
during all Center
hours, require office
space

27. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
forecast needs in terms of space and time
We translated the partner model into the space through ‘work style’ based programming

28. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
develop the space program
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
Total NSF
46% - Public / study: Group study
rooms, tables and soft seating, café
seating, tutoring spaces
27% - Events / program:
Flexible event spaces of varying sizes
1% - Exhibit / display: Displays
distributed throughout
14% - Service delivery: Welcome desk,
service points, consult areas
8% - Back of House: Staff offices,
workstations, and support resources
5% - Support: Storage
5,825 nsf
3,500 nsf
1,600 nsf
800 nsf
600 nsf
100 nsf
12,425 nsf
total
88% shared /
available for
students “after
hours” or in peak
study times
Note: current
student seat count
= ~450 and future
seat count = ~340,
providing a better
variety of types of
study space

29. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
leverage peer support through “rangers”
• Approachable, visible and accessible to all
students
• Knowledgeable of Center services and the
outside advising ecosystem of UVA
• Able to connect across providers – to
resources within the Center and beyond
• Help with basic info including explaining
options, identifying resources needed, and
directing them to / scheduling appts.
• Hand-off to specialists for questions that
require expertise
Santa Monica Mountains National Park Visitors Center
To activate and operate the center, we planned for a series of skilled peer service
providers that could act like park “rangers” within the space.

30. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
PUBLIC / STUDENT SPACE
DEDICATED EVENTS /
PROGRAM SPACE
ADVISING AREAS / SERVICES
STAFF SPACES
make it functional and inspiring

31. Discussion:
Collaboration on your campus
(10mins)

32. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
discussion:
Thinking about the list of providers you’d like to collaborate
more….
1. Which groups might be visiting providers in a space? Which
could establish a satellite presence? Which could relocate?
2. How might you apply some of our techniques to plan the
center; such as service experience metaphors or determine
space needs by the amounts of time spent?
3. How might you address the barriers previously identified?

33. new budgeting model

34. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
the challenge:
How can we determine what it will cost to
operate the center given the shared services
model, unknown/variable demand, and
multitude of groups?

35. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
determine the operating governance model
The Center brings together academic, personal, and career support, is governed by an
advisory board, led by a Director, and includes marketing, administration, operations,
technology, facilities, and assessment functions.

36. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
establish the operating model criteria
To create the operating budget, we first defined the design and the functionality needed
from the budgeting tool.
model criteria
• 5 year forecast to account for ramp-up
of usage/operations, inflation, etc
• Variable levels of activity over the
course of the year
• Variable levels of staffing based on
activity
• Student, paraprofessional, and
professional staff
cost components
• staffing costs including administration,
tech support, operations, facilities,
marketing, assessment, and student
“rangers”
• overhead costs including space
overhead and maintenance, furniture
refresh, marketing costs (e.g., printing,
food)

37. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
translate criteria and components into a tool
Scenario based modeling of staff enabled exploration and flexibility by forecasting level
of activity week by week and associated levels of staffing

38. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
forecast staffing assuming variable demand
Scenario based modeling of staff enabled exploration and flexibility by forecasting level
of activity week by week and associated levels of staffing

39. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
translate staffing model into dollars
Once the future staffing load was forecast (dynamically), that was translated into wages
for salaried and hourly employees – by function, level and type.

40. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
forecast overhead costs year over year
Overhead costs were forecast for space (overhead and maintenance), furnishings and
equipment, and marketing – for years 1 through 5.

41. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
putting it all together
The overall budget takes the demand forecast x staffing costs + overhead costs to pull
together a dynamic operating budget for the Center.

42. University of Virginia brightspot NACUBO 2018
tool
demo

43. lessons learned

44. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
• During Planning, communicate a lot. Without
good information people assume you are up
to no good.
• Students should be part of leadership and
design process; not just stakeholders.
• Digital and Physical platforms should be
designed and rolled out together. Also
design staffing and operating models as
plans are being developed.
• Hire the Director early. We did not have our
director on board until construction was
done. Our relationships with the Advising
Providers suffered.
“Ranger Station” – Typical afternoon
lessons learned - planning
We visited with the Director of the advising center after 6 months of operation. For the
most part it runs surprisingly close to plan. However, there were some important lessons:

45. University of Virginia | brightspot NACUBO 2018
• Changing behavior is hard. Advising Providers
won’t embrace new, shared models easily
• 24/7 spaces get used intensively. Plan
accordingly (stains, stress, staffing, etc).
• Plan for confidentiality and compliance
constraints: in health and finance advising, open
stations and glass walls won’t work.
• Politics matters. The more that integrated
advising is new for an institution, the more it
needs to be a Presidential initiative.
• Choosing the right host unit can be a big
advantage; for instance, locating in library
provided built-in tech support
lessons learned – operations
Full participation by the Advising Providers has been hard to achieve; sometimes due to
turf anxiety, sometimes due to unforeseen regulatory constraints.

46. questions and answers

47. thank you
richard minturn rsm8fr@eservices.virginia.edu
elliot felix elliot@brightspotstrategy.com