Mission
The Donaghey Student Center (DSC) contributes to the intellect of students by working with the colleges to present events, conferences, and trainings that align with their academic mission of instruction.
Development: The Donaghey Student Center establishes a climate that encourages personal wellness and nurtures individuals to be positive contributors to society.
Service: The Donaghey Student Center supports the mission of the University by providing a diverse facility, programs, and services to enhance the Institution’s educational environment and improve the quality of college life.
Community: The Donaghey Student Center is a place of convergence which provides a sense of campus community and linkage to the University’s public.
Summary Narrative
1) Enhance recruitment and retention efforts to increase enrollment
Staff of the Donaghey Student Center and Fitness Center host and coordinate many activities to keep students engaged and help them retain, including:
- Intramural Sports collaborated with Sodexo (Dining Services) to host Fat Tuesday Games, including an NBA 2K Video Game Tournament
- Worked with Campus Living and the Student Experience Center to host Battleship during Welcome Week in the Aquatics Center
- Participated in the Student Wellness Fair with Campus Wellness department
- Intramural Sports teamed with the Student Affairs Success Initiative to organize Hoop Wing Fest
- Fit/Well collaborated with the Student Activities Board and taught ‘Glow Yoga’ classes for them during UPC Week.
- Fit/Well collaborated with the UA Little Rock’s Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority with its programing for AKA Week, using one of our fitness classes for their programming.
- Fit/Well partnered with the Office of Undergraduate Academic Advising by presenting at two of their ‘Getting Myself Together…Am I Ready For The Semester?’ series workshops.
Campus Recreation added new Kettlebell Clinic, Badminton, and Pickleball
2) Strengthen student-friendly operations and customer service
- Conference Services relocated to the DSC Administration Suite and merged with the information desk, allowing employees to serve the campus community with general information as well as event/space reservations and ID services in one location
- Refurnished the second floor of the DSC and dining areas with new bar stools and chairs to create a student-friendly environment
- The Fit/Well Coordinator taught five CPR/First Aid classes for the UA Little Rock Fitness and Aquatics Center, helping to improve safety and responsiveness of our student and full-time employees.
- Continued 9 pm fitness classes, providing access to the program for night students and activities for students living in the dormitories.
3) Improve diversity and inclusion efforts to provide a safe and inclusive environment for students
- Hired 2 students from the Easter Seals Program in the Fitness Center
- Five managers attended the NASPA Every Student Counts Conference: Student Persistence & First-Generation Student at Arkansas Tech University, where such topics as Understanding and Supporting the LGBTQ+ Student Subculture for Collegiate Success, Why Emotional Connection Matters in Student Affairs, and Developing a Center for Success, Inclusion, and Diversity to Increase Student Persistence were covered.
4) Align financial and human resources to operate more effectively and efficiently
- DSC absorbed the physical and financial responsibilities of the Trojan Card office.
- The DSC is down 3 full time custodial positions and has had to rearrange staff schedules in order to maintain cleanliness of the building.
5) Promote student development, engagement, and leadership
- Campus Recreation participated in the Bowen School of Law’s Fall and Spring Health Fairs for their students, conducting body composition evaluations and distributing programming information.
- Created Intramural Sports Employee of the Week to provide incentive for student workers.
- Brought in professional soccer officials to assist with staff training and create networking opportunities.
6) Other
- In the process of repairing the roof
- Completed GHS OSHA Training for Environmental Services and DSC staff
- Collaborated with the City of Little Rock Youth Employment program to hire 5 high school students during Summer 2018
- The Fit/Well Coordinator taught five CPR/First Aid classes for the UA Little Rock Fitness and Aquatics Center, helping to improve safety and responsiveness of our student and full-time employees.
At A Glance
The Donaghey Student Center hosted a total of 6,462 meetings/events, which include events at the Coleman Sports Complex and the SSC auditorium.
- Conference Services totaled $209,500 in revenue, which also includes facility fee for eStem usage. The Fitness Center totaled $175,991.50 in memberships and day passes.
Intramural Sports
- Collaborated with Campus Living to host Battleship event for Fall Welcome Week (50 participants)
- Collaborated with Sodexo (Dining Services) to host NBA 2K video game tournament (IM sports new event)
- Created March Madness Bracket Challenge for IM Sports
- Added singles and doubles badminton
- 81 teams, 694 participants
Fitness Center
- Fitness Center visits: 33,295
- Fitness Center Equipment rental: 6,127
- New gym memberships: 172 (increase of 36 memberships from FY18)
- 205 participants for University District’s annual wellness fair
Conference Services
- Merged with the Information Desk in the DSC Administration Suite
- Technology in Ledbetters was updated
- Trojan IDs are now printed in the Admin Suite
Aquatics
29 total Swim Meets:
- 4 College meets
- 12 High School meets (200+ swimmers per meet)
- 12 Club swim meets including the Arkansas State Age Group Championship (450 swimmers), Central Arkansas Swim League Meet of Champions (800 swimmers), and the Little Rock Summer League Championship.
- 1 United States Masters swim meet. (100 swimmers)
Pool Usage:
- UA Little Rock Women’s swim team
- UA Little Rock Swim Team swim lesson program (400+)
- Arkansas Dolphins Swim Team (75 swimmers)
- Central Arkansas Swim Team (60 swimmers)
- Arkansas Game and Fish
- Arkansas State Police
- 8 High School Swim Teams (200+ swimmers)
- Arkansas Canoe Club
- Arkansas Spring Board diving team
- Arkansas Masters Swimming
- Boy Scouts of America
- Certified Pool Operators certification course
- Little Rock Fire Department
- MEMS SORT Team
- Pulaski County Sheriffs Department
- US Navy Special Warfare
- US Navy National Guard
- US Army
- US Army National Guard
- US Marine Corp
- US Air Force
- USGS
- US Army Jr. ROTC
Fitness
- 3,235 participants
- Held Kettlebell Clinic, which resulted in improved fitness for the participants, as well as bringing several brand-new participants into the Fit/Well program.
- The Law School participated in our Holiday Weight Maintenance program for the first time, improving the participants’ wellness and health awareness, especially during the holiday period.
Assessment 1
Type of assessment (learning outcome or operational)
Operational
Activity or experience being assessed
Design and implement recreational programs to enhance social, cultural, traditional, and intellectual services that support retention.
Assessment artifacts
Survey
Time period assessment was done
5/15/2019
Results
Results from the survey indicate the following activities are wanted by our students:
- Include preseason “jamborees” to get students excited about the upcoming intramural league for each sport and have light food/snacks for spectators (social/traditional)
- Add 1-day softball tournament that faculty/staff can participate in against the students (social/cultural)
- Continue to create personal and professional development activities for work study students and student workers (intellectual)
- Continue homecoming student v. staff basketball game (traditional/social)
- Welcome feedback from students for new ideas and what they’d like to see
Continuous improvement process
- Intramurals has added “Pickle Ball” as a Intramurals sport for our international students.
- We will look for more non-traditional sports to incorporate into recreational activities.
- We will create more social gaming opportunities for students.
WHEN: FY 2020
Stakeholder involvement / Communication plan
Share with Director of DSC communication plan for marketing new sports and events to students through social media
Assessment 2
Type of assessment (learning outcome or operational)
Student learning out come 2C: Implement a division-wide customer service training program based upon exemplary standards for service and student feedback
Activity or experience being assessed
Develop a mentoring program for DSC student employees
Assessment artifacts
Interview and Survey
Time period assessment was done
12/15/2018 – 5/15/2019
Results
Over 30 students were surveyed and 27 responses were collected.
- How often did your manager ask how your semester was going? (80% asked at least twice a week)
- Did it make you feel valued as an employee for your manager to ask how your semester was going? (80% said Yes)
- Did your manager make you feel valued as an employee? (90% said Yes
- Did sharing information about your semester with your manager help navigate you through issues or concerns? (75% said yes)
- Would you come back to work for this department? (100% said yes)
Continuous improvement process
After reviewing the results of the survey and seeing how successful it was as a retention tool for students to want to come back and work for us, we will continue the mentoring program next year.
We will look for a different approach to get students to feel comfortable enough to share any issues or concerns they may be having.
WHEN: 2019-2020
Stakeholder involvement / Communication plan
Results were shared with the Director of the DSC who then shared the information with departmental managers during staff meetings.
Assessment 3
Type of assessment (learning outcome or operational)
Operational
Activity or experience being assessed
SubitUp third party vendor software tool for service training program to identify and keep track of who completed training and when they expire.
Assessment artifacts
Feedback in staff meetings
Time period assessment was done
9/1/18-12/1/18
Results
The software that was purchased called SubitUp was not user friendly for our staff and not what we needed. Students had issues trying to log on and develop profiles.
Continuous improvement process
We have returned to using Blackboard for each student like in previous years. We will continue to research other options that are user friendly and simplify our process.
WHEN: Spring 2019
Stakeholder involvement / Communication plan
Results were shared with the Director of the DSC who then shared the information with departmental managers during staff meetings.
Priorities for Next Year
- Complete renovation of the new Trojan Cafe dining facility
- Complete the building and full installation of a Starbucks
- Renovate new student area space to include gaming and lounge areas
- Create new policy and procedures for Trojan Card ID System
- Update media technology in meeting room G
- Work on opportunities for staff development
- Create a replacement plan for fitness equipment
- Address all structural and safety concerns in the DSC
