The increasing importance of advocacy by our associations

An association's functions can be narrowed down to four areas: networking, learning, services and advocacy. The first three are often the most familiar to an association's members as they tend to have the most immediate and direct benefits to members. For example: networking at conferences, learning from reading industry magazines, and services such as online job listings.

The benefits of advocacy, however, may not be as immediate or apparent.  In many cases the benefits of advocacy take time to be realized. Big wins can come from advocacy though, and we would be well served to dedicate more resources to this type of work. 

Many associations can learn from the approach ACUHO-I has adopted for advocating on behalf of campus housing professionals and our field. For instance: the creation of a Public Policy committee, partnering with other associations in a Student Affairs Consortium, and hiring an organization to lobby on behalf of the campus housing profession in the United States. 

A largely untapped area for campus housing and student affairs association's advocacy efforts is at the highest levels of leadership within higher education. Board chairs, Presidents and Provosts need to understand the contribution we make to student learning and development. Publishing discussion papers or fact sheets, presenting at conferences or other gatherings where these individuals will be present, and leveraging those high-level leaders who deeply understand our work, are some of the actions we can take to raise the profile of the contribution we make to higher education. 

In an increasingly complex future where the pace of change in higher education is increasing, the Internet is changing how we learn, and new delivery models for services are being explored, we need to assert ourselves or we risk losing our place. We make a valuable contribution to our student's learning. Dedicating more time and resources to influencing higher education leadership will ensure our leaders know this fact.   

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It's time we learned how to sell campus housing

For decades colleges and universities in North Amercia were really the only players in the student housing market. Twenty years ago things started to change and today the student housing market is big business - a multi-billion dollar business.

My institution, uWaterloo, has witnessed the changes first hand over the past decade. The city of Waterloo is home to both uWaterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, and our combined enrollment is approximately 50,000 students. This has proven to be a very attractive market for private investors interested in student housing. Rock Advisors have indicated that more than 9,000 off campus beds targeting students have been added in the past decade and more are coming.

To put this in perspective, there are about 9,000 purpose built beds targeting students in the rest of Canada combined! For students in the city of Waterloo this means they have more choice than students elsewhere in the country. For my team and I, more student choice means we must compete with other student housing providers.

Competition is not something we are accustomed to in our work as campus housing professionals. I suspect the trend will continue in Waterloo and elsewhere as more private investors look to enter the student housing market in the years to come.

In my role as Chief Housing Officer, I'm seeking to understand the implications of the changing market so I can provide effective direction to my team. One skill set I believe we'll need to develop is our ability to sell. Selling is something we are not accustomed to doing as campus housing professionals. Investors and property managers understand how to sell though so they can achieve their financial targets. To ensure our students understand what makes campus housing distinct from other types of student housing we will need to develop our ability to sell to continue serving our students well.      

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