Finn Murdock, contributor
The student population at Augsburg is not getting any smaller. With a record-breaking number of new students this fall (a total of 1,157 across undergraduate, graduate and PSEO areas of study) there is concern over the ability of the university’s current infrastructure to support the needs of all students and faculty. While the number of students enrolling each year fluctuates, we can expect a continued population increase due to Augsburg’s Strategic Enrollment Plan, which has goals of reaching 5,000 Auggies by 2030. Some Augsburg departments are already strained by the current student population, so modifications and further development to accommodate the increase in students is necessary.
A particular concern of students who live on campus is the effectiveness of facilities management at Augsburg. Many residents have known friends who have had issues resolving maintenance issues in their living spaces or have their own personal anecdotes. I spoke to two residential second-year students early this semester who were having significant difficulties resolving a mold problem in their bathroom. Since they could not remove the mold on their own, they followed the protocol of submitting a facilities request. After no resolution, they had to follow up multiple times over many weeks to actually get a staff member to work with them to make a plan to fix the issue. The current communication systems that are in place for students to request maintenance assistance are in need of upgrades to improve the efficiency of Augsburg’s Facilities office. Additionally, it appears that having more maintenance and custodial staff could also help problems be resolved in a more timely manner. If more students are going to enroll, leading more people to move into living spaces on campus, the Augsburg administration will have to prioritize making changes to campus facilities infrastructure so the maintenance and custodial teams have the support they need to adequately operate.
“The Augsburg administration will have to prioritize making changes to campus facilities infrastructure so the maintenance and custodial teams have the support they need to adequately operate.”
finn murdock
Another notable department that will require expansion as the student body grows is Augsburg’s Department of Public Safety. Augsburg’s DPS often struggles with meeting the employment requirements needed to staff its dispatch office since its services must be available 24/7. The students who work in the dispatch office receiving calls are the first responders to developing safety issues, so their role is crucial to maintaining a safe environment on campus. A potential solution to the lack of student workers in the DPS office would be for the administration to consider allowing students who do not have work-study eligibility to apply for the dispatch office position. Work-study students could still be prioritized but the applicant pool would grow, allowing DPS to staff its office efficiently. Aside from the existing need for an increase in student safety workers, Augsburg would also benefit from hiring more full-time safety officers. Most students who have to contact DPS for non-emergency issues are met with lengthy wait times because there are simply not enough officers responding to calls. As more students begin to take classes and live on campus, more opportunities arise for potential hazards, so more full-time officers would definitely be required.
Although restructuring and developing both Augsburg’s facilities and safety departments would require additional funding from the administration, the changes would benefit the current students and ensure that Augsburg will be able to grow as an institution and accommodate larger student bodies.