Creating a sustainable responsive association.
In April 2017, the Residence Life Professional Association’s (RLPA) first master planning process was initiated by RLPA President Natasha Reynolds to ensure the association had a strategic plan to meet the needs of our members.
The initial master plan was approved at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2018 at the University of Alberta – Augustana Campus. This plan provided strategic direction for the Board of Directors and identified six areas of focus: Board Administration and Responsibilities; Identity of the Association; Communication and Technology; Fiscal Responsibility; Membership Recruitment and Makeup; and Membership Engagement and Programming and Services.
Since the approval of the first master plan, the Board of Directors, in collaboration with RLPA members, has worked on completing the key objectives identified in the plan. The work completed to date is highlighted below.
Identity of the Association
The RLPA’s mission statement was reviewed and updated by the Identity of the Association Committee. Members were provided with opportunities to provide feedback on what they see as critical to the success of the RLPA, as well as the draft statements, before approving the new mission statement. A vision statement and guiding principles were also developed and approved during this process to guide the work of the association.
Board Administration and Responsibilities
A review was completed of existing board responsibilities. This information was used to develop one-page documents for each position. These documents outline the responsibilities and tasks of each position to provide clarity for current and incoming board members.
Communication and Technology
The association’s current communications tools were reviewed to identify gaps and areas for improvement. Following this review, the RLPA website was updated. These updates included changes to the layout as well as the addition of a job board, forum and members only section.
Membership lists for each institution are now updated annually to ensure the association has accurate and up-to-date information for contacting members.
Fiscal Responsibility
The Fiscal Responsibility Committee reviewed the association’s financial state and recommended adopting consistent operating procedures moving forward to ensure clarity and security for the association’s finances.
As part of this review process, the Board of Directors clarified expectations for the association’s budget and financial reporting process to ensure transparency for members.
After the conclusion of the initial master plan (2018-2020), the RLPA initiated the association’s second master planning process in March 2021. This master planning process started during a time of significant change in student housing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, renewed calls to action for anti-racism and reconciliation, changes in staff roles and expectations in housing, and financial challenges facing post-secondary institutions.
A Master Planning Committee was formed to support the development of a new strategic plan, comprised of the members below:
Dillon Andrus – Red Deer Polytechnic, Past-President RLPA
Meghan Reiser – College of the Rockies, President RLPA
Nathan Riley – Simon Fraser University, President – Elect RLPA
Laura Bowser – Lethbridge College
Kristin Davick – University of Calgary
Tracey Rollins – Simon Fraser University
Cassalina Robertson – University of Alberta
This committee solicited feedback from members to inform the second version of the master plan. Members provided feedback through a master planning survey, group feedback sessions at Fall Business Meeting (FBM) 2021, and conversations with committee members and Board members.
WHAT WE HEARD
Through this feedback, members identified several challenges, both within their roles and within the association:
The feedback from members also identified some of the benefits they experience as members of the RLPA:
The feedback received provided information about current needs in student housing and the role of the RLPA in supporting its members. Based on this feedback, three themes were identified for the master plan: community (why),
engagement activities (how), and people (who we support).
This framework will remain consistent for a three-year period with objectives and goals that will be updated and reviewed annually. After three years, we recommend a review of the framework to ensure it continues to meet the needs of RLPA members.
CURRENT STATE
This section provides a brief overview of the association’s state in the identified theme at the onset of the master plan (Spring 2022).
STRATEGIC STATEMENT
The strategic statement indicates where we would like to go as an association and will guide the work that is done by the association to meet the needs of its members.
KEY STRATEGIES
After outlining each of the three themes, this plan identifies key strategies and objectives to help the association achieve the strategic statements. Objectives will be reviewed and updated annually by the Board of Directors to ensure that goals and priorities within each of the three themes continue to be relevant as we work through the master plan. It is our hope that this flexibility will ensure the master plan is able to adapt to the changing needs of members while maintaining a focus on the three theme areas which are central to the RLPA’s mission and vision.
Current State
The RLPA works to build community, create connections, and support knowledge and resource sharing between student housing staff and institutions. Ongoing and meaningful relationship building is a guiding principle of the
association. This occurs through providing opportunities for formal and informal support and encouraging connection and outreach by members.
Currently, not all members of the association see themselves represented in the association and may face barriers to feeling like a part of the community it strives to create. Work must be done to identify barriers and improve the
association’s ability to welcome and support all members.
Strategic Statement
The RLPA must become a sustainable and responsive association to represent our professional members and institutions’ unique needs. It is the opportunity for members to collaborate, share knowledge, and advance the work of the profession and at member institutions. Creation and maintenance of community within the RLPA ensures that the association has a strong foundation to support the key activities and connections. This must be done through connection of our engagement activities and our people to ensure that we create an equitable and inclusive community of professionals.
Current State
The RLPA currently offers a wide range of diverse engagement activities for the membership. Through both in-person and virtual engagement opportunities, the RLPA works to facilitate connection, knowledge sharing, and educational
activities throughout the association with a focus on a Canadian context.
The feedback received indicated that not all current engagement opportunities meet the unique needs of our members. Limits to attendance, participation barriers, quality, and general interest in topics limit the association’s ability to facilitate connection and knowledge sharing.
Strategic Statement
Through intentional engagement activities at various levels and roles within the membership, the RLPA will support the mission and vision of the association by providing an exceptional experience through collaborative evaluation
development of best practices. Engagement activities facilitate members’ connections; support the work of the individual at their institution, to remain connected to the community and grow professionally within their roles.
Current State
The RLPA is currently made up of member institutions from across Western
Canada. Professional members represent each institution through attendance
and engagement with the RLPA at events, committees, and more.
The profession is changing. Professional members are seeing their work and role within student housing shift regularly to meet the changing and dynamic needs of students on their campuses. With the response to COVID-19 professional members are experiencing burnout and struggle to conform to longstanding institutional structures related to student housing.
Strategic Statement
RLPA members feel included and aware of the resources of the RLPA. Members both institutionally and personally feel connected, supported, and are provided opportunities to grow and develop through their engagement with the
RLPA. The RLPA becomes a forum for discussion and change supporting student housing staff in a changing professional landscape.
OBJECTIVES AND KEY RESULTS
| Objective: Create a welcoming and inclusive community for our members. | |
|---|---|
| Key Result |
Review of processes and systems related to the onboarding of new members to the association.
|
| Key Result | Create an easy process to provide membership updates, communication, and overall welcome to the association. |
| Key Result |
Facilitate connections between members through sharing of information such as an association directory. |
| Key Result |
Complete assessment with membership to understand barriers of providing a welcoming and inclusive community. |
| Objective: Ensure that the RLPA provides a clear representation of our membership and membership needs. | |
| Key Result | Review association branding, name, and format. |
| Key Result | Align association structure with membership needs and requirements. |
| Key Result | Create an understanding of who are members with alignment on where as an association we wish to focus our efforts. |
| Objective: Create and maintain engagement activities that meet the needs of our diverse membership. | |
| Key Result | Create a sustainable Board of Directors model including individual positions supporting growth and development of professionals and association activities. |
| Key Result | Develop an intentional plan of engagement opportunities and assessment of these to meet the needs of the association membership both at the individual and institutional levels. |
| Key Result | Increase networking and collaborative opportunities at all levels of membership. Remove barriers to access and connections. |
| Key Result | Develop guidelines for evaluating engagement opportunities through the lens of accessibility, equity and inclusion. |
An annual planning and reporting process will be implemented to help the association achieve the strategic statements listed above.
Reporting
As the association accomplishes key strategies and specific objectives/key results a status report will be created and disseminated to the membership. Two updates will occur annually at the Fall Business Meeting and the Annual
General Meeting.
The intention of these reports is to provide membership updates on the work that has occurred, what is left, and the measurable improvements of completing this work.
Annual Planning
Each Summer Board of Directors retreat, an annual planning session will be facilitated by the presidential trio.
This planning session will focus on:
Through this planning session, the Board of Directors will set the priorities for the year to move the association towards the strategic statements.
This process works to create accountability within the executive team to ensure that the association continues to remain sustainable and meets the ever changing needs of our membership on an annual basis.
Key Strategies and objectives/key results will be shared annually and updated on the RLPA website.
