Living in the economic climate that exists today, many universities are looking at ways to cut cost while maintaining a high level of service. One method to cutting cost is to increase the staffing of students in support roles that in the past were held by full time employees. However, managing students can be a hassle. Not only are they prone to sudden schedule changes due to academic obligations (that need to be completed within 24 hours), they have yet to be able to discern between a hangover and a legitimate illness. There exist many hurdles need to be overcome on a daily basis. When managing students, these hurdles include utilizing successful hiring techniques, scheduling around class and academic activities, motivating a student employee, dealing with the unexpected, helping the student employee develop a strong work ethic, walking the thin line of appropriate social media usage, along with many more issues. The VCU helpIT Center has attempted to tackle the issues that arise with student employment, and has maintained a high level of customer satisfaction while utilizing a primarily transient student staff. This presentation will focus on their successes, while highlighting the lessons they learned along the way.
['Thomas J. Mattauch', 'Hannah W. Pettit']
Homework and hangovers: the joys of empowering a student staff