Hope City University Residence Hope City University Residence (HUR) provides housing services on the campus of Hope City University (HU), in the municipality of Hope City. Students at HU can take advantage of living in a residence community with opportunities for growth beyond classroom learning. There are 10,000 students at HU, and approximately 20% of them live in residence.

The HU residence is committed to providing a holistic experience, promoting the personal development of students, as well as operating in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The residence director, Jo Keeping, oversees HUR and manages relations with external partners, such as the hair salon located in the residence complex. Jo supervises staff in the department and administers the annual $10 million operating budget. HUR generates revenue from a number of sources including residence rental fees and vending machine services, which generate a small annual surplus.

Jo also develops departmental policies and procedures affecting the quality of student life in residence. These include guidelines on confidentiality, drugs and illegal substances, alcohol, subletting rooms, and student wellness checks. The residence director liaises with students, parents, the broader university community, and the general public, especially HUR's neighbours. As an appointed member of the disciplinary panel, Jo is also engaged in student discipline within the residence. Jo has two full-time direct reports, the residence life manager and the residence support administrator. They are supported by about 50 residence assistants (RAs), who are HU student leaders living in residence. HUR also employs a number of front-desk staff full-time and part-time employees who are available at the HUR entrance 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. RAs are carefully selected and receive one full day of training in maintaining community standards, community programming, crisis management, and peer counselling. They are not expected to be professional counsellors, but they must do their best to assist students in crisis. Nevertheless, there seems to be a growing concern on campus with student emotional issues, such as stress and anxiety. In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of reported issues pertaining to sexual harassment and assault. RAs are paid by a tuition deduction on their student fees account at HU. In addition to her salary, Jo qualifies for a substantial bonus based on a combination of (1) a student satisfaction survey; and (2) the level of surplus of the residence operations (that is, residence revenue exceeding residence expenditures). Mission statement HUR does not have a formal mission statement. However, HUR management believes that residence is an integral component of HU's academic community, providing students with a clean, accessible, diverse, and reasonably priced living-learning environment in which safety is a priority.

Conversely, HU has a formal mission statement. Jo asked around the campus and eventually learned that HU has three main strategic pillars that support it:

teaching and learning excellence

meaningful research and innovation, adding to the intellectual, social, and economic capital of our communities

opportunities for our students, staff, and faculty to serve local and global communities to be citizens of the world HUR intends to set the tone for strategic management of the residence operations. Jo has asked you, in your role as CPA, to help guide her to set the tone

Hope City University (HU) has two residence buildings. One residence opened in the prior year, while the other is significantly older and does not meet modern accessibility standards.

The two buildings have a combined total of 2,000 bed spaces, composed of traditional single and double dormitory-style rooms, suite-style accommodations with single and double rooms, as well as family housing apartments (partially furnished onebedroom units). There are several specialty floor designations, including floors for graduate students, alcohol-free floors, and quiet floors for studying.

Residence fees include unlimited internet and Wi-Fi, and students can purchase a reasonably priced meal plan for the nearby university cafeteria. It is estimated that 90% of students have a smartphone and a laptop. HUR attempts to foster a diverse, inclusive, and equitable campus climate. Demographically, HUR's student population is extremely diverse, as 30% of students at HU are international, and come from approximately 50 different countries. In particular, first-year international students desire to stay in residence not only to gain independence, but also to make new friends. HU students residing in the local area tend not to live in residence.

Most commute from their parents' homes or rent apartments in town. Numerous residence activities are held each year.

Examples include Hope City Day, an introduction to volunteering; Go Pink, where residence volunteers raise money for breast cancer research; and WaterMe, a fun and interactive water conservation competition that educates students on how to live more sustainably. Student conduct in the residence is a frequent issue.

There have been complaints (internally and from community neighbours) about binge drinking, loud parties, and personality conflicts among assigned roommates. HUR aims to maintain a positive standard of student conduct and, when necessary, intervenes with corrective action.

Several other concerns have been plaguing HUR. Pest control is a recurring problem. Students are asked to report any sighting of insects or rodents to the front desk immediately. Last year, a number of students required medical attention due to a bed bug infestation. Garbage control and recycling are also a constant battle. The student residents are responsible for ensuring that all personal garbage, recycling, and organics are brought to designated areas and sorted appropriately, but these tasks are not carried out consistently. Relationship with HU HU's president and senior administration generally take a hands-off attitude toward the residence operations. The president has stated she wants the residence to operate like a business.

Thus, HUR is considered an ancillary operation. As long as HUR does not require additional financial resources from the university to maintain its operations, HUR has the authority to run the residence independently. HU's hands-off approach continues as long as there are no significant issues. HUR does not currently have a representative on the university management committee or the budget committee.

Jo Keeping, the residence director, is expected to work closely with the university's director of Student Services. However, the Student Services department is extremely understaffed, and its director does not have much time to devote to residence issues. A majority of students in residence are international students, and they are vital to HU, as they pay twice the tuition of domestic students. The overall annual operating budget of HU is $100 million, not including ancillary services such as residence operations, the campus arena, and the food service operations. An additional $25 million is spent each year on the university's capital and infrastructure projects. The $10 million HUR budget has no specific allowance for capital improvements. Capital projects must be funded either from the residence surplus by special request, or fundraising from donors. This constraint can result in an internal competition for funding with other departments in the general university budget. Jo considers that perhaps HUR should be allowed to incur some long-term debt since interest rates are low and the university has a favourable credit rating.

A number of other significant issues impact the maintenance and operation of residential facilities on university campuses, such as the condition of the aging facility buildings and the cost and affordability of housing for students. HUR is feeling the pressure from these issues.

Required:

a) Define quality control and identify the five quality control activities that could be useful for HUR. (6 marks)

b) Define quality assurance and identify four quality assurance activities that are important to or that could be useful for HUR to implement. (5 marks)