During election time, student politicians are evaluated for their competence and attitudes. The Varsity wanted to do the same for the staff student unions employ.
We set out to test this through phone, email, and in-person visits between Feb. 22 and March 4. From cheery laughter to slammed phones, we received a variety of responses as we asked about everything from anti-calendars and health care plans to how to contest a mark and horrible professors.
University of Toronto Students’ Union is the largest of the student unions, and understandably not the most accessible. Office staff are generally helpful, though most queries are passed on to other contacts. The office sells Wonderland tickets and does not only compile tax returns but files them as well. UTSU’s protest-happy website is clearly laid out, with some broken links and a striking resemblance to the CFS site. It does not post minutes online, for fear of the administration knowing its plans. when phoned, staff asked if we were from The Varsity. It is best to call in the afternoon, and dial 221 to skip the trailing directory message.
Scarborough Campus Students’ Union was difficult to reach the first two days, as commuter students lined up outside the office for metropasses. Phone calls went to voicemail until Wednesday, when the voicemail system was filled until noon. Often both staff members on duty served only one student at a time. When available, the staff tried to help as much as possible before referring us to other people or the Internet. Information on SCSU’s slime-green website is badly categorized, but it is updated frequently with detailed information on upcoming events. Some pages haven’t been touched in years, and the last minutes available are from December. Budget information was released this year after high demand. Staff recommend phoning between 3 and 5 p.m.
University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union is the smallest and, consequently, the most accessible of the unions. Although it offers fewer services than the other four, the front desk is located right in the middle of the student centre. Staff were cheerful, but often reluctant to give any information beyond references to VPs or online information. When functioning, UTMSU’s slick website is up-to-date, well-organized, and invites student thought. Its budget and meeting minutes are sorted out clearly. Staff recommend phoning in the afternoon, and not during Board of Directors meetings.
Arts and Science Students’ Union has the advantage of a unique organizational structure, with almost all attention on academic services. Although the office often opens a few minutes late, it is welcoming and the staff are helpful. They even sell cheap pop. When asked for budget and financial information, we were provided print-outs without getting questioned. ASSU’s website is very functional, although most information can only be found on individual disciplines’ websites of varying usefulness. Students should avoid phoning after marks are released and the end of the semester.
Graduate Students’ Union also holds a unique role, catering to grad students’ needs through services such as a swap shop and housing networks. When phoned about meeting minutes, staff were hostile when our reporter did not give their name and terminated the conversation. When visited, office staff wanted to know if our reporter was from The Varsity and said the budget was not available to non-graduate students, even though the information is posted online. The website features a well-organized layout, with more propaganda than useful information. The information it does have is up-to-date, including meeting minutes.
We wanted to know how accessible the presidents were, so we sent an aliased email just after midnight last Sunday asking for a meeting to discuss “getting involved with politics on campus.” ASSU’s president wrote back within an hour; the heads of UTMSU, SCSU, and GSU within a day; UTSU did not reply by print time.
Report card breakdown
We approached the staff as regular students with a variety of concerns. While the questions were modified based on each union’s services and official lingo, these are the main ones:
How can you help me contest a mark in [humanities course] from last semester?
How can you help defend me in an English literature essay plagiarism case?
Can I get a copy of your last executive meeting minutes?
Can I get a copy of your most recent budget?
How can I apply for Dollars for Daycare/family services?
How is the anti* calendar assembled?
Can you help me find housing near campus?
Are you offering income tax workshops?
I have a really ineffective professor. What can you do to help?
I was wondering how I go about accessing the food bank and who is eligible?
How can I get involved with volunteering on campus?
The email we sent to each union president’s official address asked: “I was wondering if I could meet with you sometime this week to [discuss] getting involved with politics on campus.”
Approachability
We made notes of how friendly the staff seemed at varying times, including Monday mornings. This included smiles, tone of voice and patience with seemingly absent* minded callers. We also made note of when we were asked if we were from campus media.
Helpfulness
We tallied up how much effort staff seemed to put into serving us. Some staff put in time to find answers, while others wanted to be finished with us as soon as possible.
Knowledge
We recorded our impressions of how knowledgeable the office staff were. This included how much they knew about services and how often we were referred to other people. We also took note of when we were referred to the wrong people.
Availability
We designed schedules of when to visit and phone the unions to ensure they were contacted on different days. We took notes on when the offices were open and how long it took for the phones to be picked up. We also called at the end of our testing to find out how many administrative staff are employed and when are the best times to call.
Office Layout
We visited each office to observe the layout and test out office supplies available to students.
Website
We reviewed websites for content, loading time, ease of finding information and design. We also tallied a table of every service offered by the unions to design our questions and find services unique to each union.
Overall
The overall score was tallied mathematically, assigning each grade a number (A+ as a nine, C- as a one). We then combined the scores for all categories and divided it by six to provide an average number score, which was translated back into a grade.
