Private vs. Public

1. Private vs. Public Brendan Dolan Director of Residence Life Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Nikki Hodous Student Conduct Officer University of Iowa Original Presenation Created By: Linda Varvel

2. Nikki’sBackground • Undergraduate Experience: • University of Wisconsin-River Falls (Public, 6,900 Students, Division 3) • Graduate School: • Attended: Bowling Green State University(Public, 17,000 students, Division 1, Mid-American Conference) • Assistantship: Baldwin-Wallace College (Private, Methodist, 2,900 students) • Summer Internship: Macalester College (Private, 2,000 students) • Professional Experience: • Saint Mary’s University of MN (Private, Catholic, 1,400 students) • University of Iowa (Public, 30,000 students, Division 1, Big Ten Conference)

3. Undergraduate Experience: • John Carroll University (Private, Catholic, 3,700 Students, Division 3) • Graduate School: • Saint Mary’s University of MN (Private, Catholic, 1,400 students) • Professional Experience: • Saint Mary’s University of MN (Private, Catholic, 1,400 students) Brendan’s Background

4. Pros/Cons of Public v. Private Pair up with 1-2 other people. Take a couple of minutes and in your group discuss some pros and cons of both public and private institutions (attending graduate school or working professionally). Be ready to share with the rest of the room what you’ve come up with.

5. Private School - Size • Private institutions are typically pretty small in size. The majority of these institutions will be 5,000 students or less. • Cons of small size: • Working/Living in a fishbowl • Wear many hats • Budget restraints • Diversity of Student Population (also SES) • Partner/Personal Job Opportunities • Pro of Small Size: • Know students, faculty, and staff very well • Wear many hats • Things can sometimes happen quickly

6. Public School – Size • A public institution will be over 5,000 and oftentimes over 20,000 people if you’re working at a public state school. • Cons of large size: • Red tape! • Harder to know students, faculty, and staff individually • Sometimes position experiences are limited • Pros of large size: • Budgets (Programming, Pro Devo, etc.) • School pride • More diverse student population • Partner/Personal Job Opportunities

7. Student Population • Private • Admissions process is often more selective • SES can be limited • Presence of religion can be more evident on some campuses (and sometimes a factor in who they hire as staff) • Public • More open admission policies • Varied SES • More diversity among student population

8. Funding/Spending • Private • Easy to spend money (if you have it!) • Less accountability • Cash handed out freely (Cash Advance) • Buy anything for student events • Public • Stricter spending rules • The infamous P-Card • Rules about what is and is not okay for student events

9. Expectations/Campus Relationships • Private • Everyone does a little bit of everything • More ambiguous • Lines of communication can be fuzzy (you may pick up the phone and call the president) • Very collaborative • Public • Strict job description with a specific function for position • Clear picture of your job • Hierarchy is clear and communication is understood • Often most of your work is done within your department

10. Job Comparison Public: Hall Coordinator Private – Director of Residence Life Live-On Campus Supervise 1 Assistant Director, 5 Graduate Hall Directors, and 34 RA Staff Members Plan selection process and oversee hiring of all staff Judicial Officer for all on-campus students, especially higher level cases/appeals Created building programming model as well as campus programming Create, edit, and distribute housing contracts Make room assignments and coordinate all aspects of room moves Coordinator all aspects of move-in Complete all budget requests for residence life Budget oversight: $10,000 Duty rotation was every week and every fourth weekend Plan, present, and coordinate all aspects of RA Staff Training Contribute to planning and design of new residence hall/hall updates Parent Phone calls • Live-On Campus • Supervise 12 RA Staff Members, 10 Desk Clerks, 1 Hall Secretary • Judicial Officer for building • Oversee building programming • Budget oversight: $20,000 • Duty rotation was 3-4 weeks per semester • Attend RA Staff Training

11. Cool things about going “Public” • Your focus can be on the students • Administrative work is straight forward and clear cut • Campus committee opportunities (Alternative Spring Break, OnIowa, etc.) • Money and resources are always there • Professional Development funding

12. Cool things about going “Private” • Opportunities to do many things other haven’t done before (building new residence hall, design and implement programming model, create roommate pairing/manage housing, manage an office budget and write budget proposals, work directly with the President) • Knowing each and every student who lives in your building • Make changes quickly and easily • Learn a lot of skills in a limited amount of time

13. Things to consider when choosing… • How long do you plan to stay in this position? • What experiences have you already had? Did you attend a private/public? Have you worked at a private/public before? Have you been at a public for your entire career? • Are you comfortable with the institution’s mission and the role of religion? • What opportunities are there for growth at the college/university? • Who works above you and how often do you interact? • What experiences are important to you (supervision of an RA staff/grad/full time, live-on, campus opportunities) • Graduate School: Does the program offer the courses/structure you are looking for in a grad program? • Live-On Rules/Regulations

14. Questions? What are you still wondering about??? Contact: Nikki Hodous nicole-hodous@uiowa.edu 319-335-1162 Contact: Brendan Dolan bdolan@smumn.edu 507-457-1409