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DIVISION OF FINANCE
Residential Identity and Cultural
Evolution:
A Framework, Impacts and Case Study
Approach
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Culture
“Culture: the ideas,
customs and social
behaviour of a
particular people or
society”
Oxford Dictionary
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Culture
“Residential Culture:
what gets you on the
front page of the
newspaper”
Res Life Manager
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Understanding Culture
“In order to encourage the expectations, attitudes,
and values of student culture that are consistent
with the educational purposes of the institutions,
these cultural elements must first be discovered
and understood”
Kuh, 1990 (p.47)
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Our approach
By understanding the factors which shape
student connectedness, a greater range of
positive and affirming behaviours can be
encouraged within residential culture, leading
to increased student success and student
engagement. So, we need a framework to
analyse what‟s going on...
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Plan for our presentation:
• CSU Snapshot/Overview
• Introduce framework
• Application of framework: Towers, CSU Bathurst
• Past – where we have been
• Present - Where we are at
• Future – where we are going
• Questions
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CSU – Students and structure
• Regional University
• Student Enrolments:
• 14,500 internal
• 24,100 external/distance education
• Multiple campus locations
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CSU – Structure
• Division of Finance
• Residence Life
• Accommodation
• Catering and Retail
• Events (conferences and graduations)
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Residence Life - Student Accommodation
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Four Frames Approach
Bolman & Deal (2008) use four lenses to examine
the situation/organisation.
“Multi-frame” thinking:
• repositions your perspective to consider other
influences;
• considers variation in interpretation
• to „reframe‟ is to look from another angle
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Four Frames (Bolman & Deal, 2008)
Structural Human
Resource
Political Symbolic
Frames are used to analyse the situation or organisation,
and direct development of effective change strategies.
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Examine the organisational design (formal roles and
responsibilities) often visible as an organisational chart
+ We have adapted the theory to include the physical
structure in this aspect of analysis of residential settings
Analysis of the formal organisational structure, and
building layout and features
Structural
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Organisational Structure
Staffing context: CSU has no full time staff living on site.
VC Executive Director Director
Manager Northern Zone
Campus Coordinator (Bathurst)
Head Resident (Student)
Residential Advisors (students)
+ Student focused structure – student driven leadership
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Bathurst Campus – “precincts”
4 Main Precincts = “Halls of Residence”
•Towers
•John Oxley Village
•Chifley Halls
• Macquarie Village
• Mitchell, Truskett, Gordon (known as MTG)
•Diggings
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Towers – Fact File
• Built in 1968
• Heath House & Cottrell House
• Awarded the Sir John Sulman Medal for
Architecture and Design in 1970
• 256 Beds
• Catered residence
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Towers – Circa 1968
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Towers – Structural Frame pre-2010
Physical structure
• Aged, concrete structure
• Run down
• Noisy
• Doesn‟t meet current codes
(fire safety)
• Demolition under consideration
Formal structure:
• Head Resident
• 8 RAs
• Social, pastoral and
administrative roles
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Frames the human needs and organisational requirements
of personnel, and the resources that personnel possess:
• Skills
• Attitudes
• Energy
• Commitment
This frame examines the „fit‟ between the needs of the
organisation and the individuals who are within it.
Human Resource
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Towers – Human Resource Frame pre-2010
RAs were the „alpha personalities‟
Student body:
• Skills: low academic performance
• Attitudes: strong social focus, acceptance of alcohol &
drug use, academic work a low priority
• Energy: devoted to social activities
• Commitment: to social activities
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Who has the power?
This frame examines the powers in the real-life process of
making decisions and allocating resources.
Sources of power: position (authority); control of rewards,
coercive power, information/expertise, reputation, personal
power/charisma, alliances/networks, access and control of
agendas
Framing context: Who has control of meaning & symbols?
Political
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Towers – Political Frame pre-2010
Students:
Towers was where the minority ruled, because no-one was
prepared to speak up.
RAs were big personalities to try to manage the students
who chose to live there Human resource frame
Power = students (a minority of dominant, male and female
residents).
Links to symbolic „party central‟ reputation
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Towers – Political Frame pre-2010
University Hierarchy:
To the university, Towers was a potential liability:
- reputational liability
- physical liability
- risk liability
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Images and associations linked to organisation, with
symbolic resonance to embody culture;
Symbols may be: myth, vision, story, play, ritual, heroes
or heroines, ceremony (initiations/rites), unique language,
Symbols are socially constructed; stories establish and
perpetuate tradition.
Symbols may be tangible and visible, but also intangible or
invisible.
Symbolic
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Towers – Symbolic Frame pre-2010
• Culture
• Stories
• Events
• Traditions
• Rituals
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Summary of our Four Frames analysis:
Up to about 2010, Towers could be described as:
• Reputation = Party central
• Alcohol and drug use visible
• Campus eyesore
• Run down/ regularly trashed
• Low academic performance and retention
• GPA average 4.58 Towers 4.25
• Retention 85.6% Towers 73.7%
Structural Human
Resource
Political Symbolic
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How did the Four Frames analysis help?
What did we consider, and decide to do?
Structural Human
Resource
Political Symbolic
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Strategies Implemented – evolve CULTURE
• RA Selections - „The Phil experiment‟
• Colours
• Logo
• Academic Support Program
• Physical refurbishment investment
+ Dance as a symbol of change
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RA Selections
“The Phil Experiment”
- A different type of RA was chosen
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Colours
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Colours
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Colours & Symbols
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Towers – old logo...
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Towers - new logo
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Academic Support Program
24 Hour Study Room
+ Residential Tutors
• Peer led
• Informal sessions
• Visibility of study
• Cultural shift
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University Strategy considerations
•Estimated $3.5 million to $4 million to demolish
•Replacement cost $30 million
• estimated $120,000 per bed x 256 beds
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Before
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University Strategy considerations
•Refurbishment of $5 million to refurbish and bring
to code
250 students accommodated in the centre of
the Bathurst campus
Value of each student to the university
= $60000
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Refurbishment
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Dance
Each year, each Bathurst precinct develops a
dance to a current song. Each cohort then
performs this dance whenever, wherever it plays.
• Up until 2010, Towers didn‟t participate. Refused.
• From 2011, they participated.
• In 2013...
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Where to in the future?
Structural Human
Resource
Political Symbolic
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Contact:
James Kelly
Tel: +61 2 6338 6960
Joanne McRae
Tel: +61 2 6338 6127
