Criteria for Community Group Resource Allocations
Campus community space, serving students, faculty and staff, contributes to our goal of inclusive excellence by creating a sense of belonging and providing a hub for academic support, cultural community building, and co-curricular programs and events. That said, space is unusually constrained at UC Berkeley with near 100% occupancy of current academic, administrative, and co-curricular space on the main campus park.
Allocation of space is determined by several factors that include, but are not limited to, the advancement of the academic mission, co-curricular programming, public service, and student government and leadership needs. Registered student organizations with space needs are encouraged to follow the process created by the ASUC Student Union.
Since 2017, the campus has communicated a set of key priorities connected to the strategic plan:
● To attract and recruit a more diverse student, staff, and faculty population that reflects California’s demographics;
● Advance the work of the 2015 Chancellor’s African American Initiative;
● Become a Hispanic Serving Institution by 2027;
● Recognize the importance of our stewardship of unceded Huichin Ohlone land and to repair the relationship between the Native communities and the University (2019);
● To meet the needs of the growing number of students with disabilities and to provide equitable access to campus resources through a Disability Justice framework.
In alignment with the campus’ current strategic plan and the Principles of Community, the Division of Equity & Inclusion has a strategic plan with three guiding principles:
➢ Responsive Research, Teaching, & Public Service
Broaden the creation of ideas and knowledge on equity, inclusion, and diversity, making contributions to the body of scholarship, as well as to the campus and society.
➢ Expanded Pathways for Access & Success
Create a critical mass of talented students, faculty, and staff that will fully represent California’s excellence and diversity and provide an environment in which all can thrive academically and professionally.
➢ Engaging & Healthy Campus Climate
Create and sustain a healthy campus climate by providing the conditions necessary for all campus community members to feel welcomed, supported, included, and valued by the University and each other.
Each principle highlights the importance of creating a welcoming campus climate that contributes to the goal of inclusive excellence. Creating spaces that build community and a sense of belonging for all, especially under-served or underrepresented students, is a key part of this plan.
Strategies for Community Support
There are many ways that community goals can be met outside of acquiring space on campus. In lieu of additional campus space, please consider some of the following interventions for improving campus climate, academic outcomes and co-curricular experiences.
● Curricular reform: new courses, new academic programs;
● Involvement in Organized Research Units;
● Expansion of services/outreach from existing offices/depts;
● Specialized student support services;
● Additional staffing
● Online/virtual services and communities;
● New co-curricular programming
● Community-centered career advising
● Alignment with existing programs and departments that are serving the needs of community;
● Leverage broader Berkeley and Bay Area community resources;
Allocation of Space
Within the space context mentioned above, requests for space must contribute to UC Berkeley priorities listed above and demonstrate how the space use will advance the university’s equity goals in relation to academic outcomes and student experiences. Space requests should have broad community support from other relevant committees/departments that serve the community. Additionally, space requests are strengthened when they are in alignment with current campus-wide equity initiatives.
Application Questions to Assess Space Requests
Applications are reviewed once per semester and will be prioritized according to need and alignment with campus goals and initiatives. Space allocations are long term plans and usually take multiple years from initial request to allocation of “phase one” space. Please answer the following questions with as much depth and detail as possible.
1. Name and describe the community the space will serve, its mission statement, and approximate number of students, staff and faculty (listed separately) that would actively utilize the space. Please provide some examples of attendance numbers of prior events, etc.
2. What current spaces, if any, does the community utilize? (For example, APASD, EOP, Student Union, etc.)
3. How would your programming be improved through utilization of additional community space on campus? What goals would this help the campus community meet?
4. What kinds of activities would be happening in the space and how often? Please give specific examples and acknowledge any consulting with other offices that has already happened. (For example: counseling from CAPS, student org meetings, etc)
5. How many students/faculty/staff would access the space each day? Each week? What percentage of the overall student/faculty/staff community is this?
6. Please indicate the outcome of consultation with related student organizations. (For example: letters of support from related student orgs, university offices or academic depts)
7. How will you demonstrate that the allocated space is meeting the campus community goals you indicate? What information can you gather in the first year to demonstrate your outcomes?
8. How can the requested space partner with existing student spaces to meet community goals?
9. Is there a funding source currently identified to cover costs associated with space management (e.g., staffing, cleaning, trash service, repairs, building management, and/or upgrades)? If not, what is the community’s plan for funding these things?
10. All campus space is delegated by the authority of the Chancellor to be managed by a Control Unit. In other words, all campus space is managed within a footprint delegated to a Dean, Vice Provost, Vice Chancellor, or the Provost. In the case that a proposal for space is heard by SACI, the head of the Control Unit must present the proposal to SACI. Please explain who your planned Control Unit is and why they are the right partner for your community group. Additionally, please detail what office or staff person will manage the space. (For example: The Control Unit for the Fannie Lou Hamer Black Resource Center is the Vice Chancellor of Equity and Inclusion, and African American Student Development manages the space within that footprint.)
Community Space Review Committee
Community groups that are interested in applying for space should review the process below:
1. Communicate with the broader community to determine whether there is broad support for community space and whether the community’s desire for space is aligned with the criteria outlined above. Please consult with spaceplanning@berkeley.edu if you have questions about whether your space needs meet the criteria outlined above.
2. Draft and submit a space request with answers to the above questions to spaceplanning@berkeley.edu. Proposals will be reviewed semiannually (usually November and April) by a committee that will review any applications and develop a list of priority spaces in accordance with the criteria listed above. The priority list will be shared with the office of the Vice Provost for Academic Planning for review and then to the Space Assignments and Capital Improvements Committee for final recommendation to the Chancellor in the event that space becomes available on campus that might serve as community space. Even applications that are considered to be high priority will likely have to wait for space to become available before it can be allocated to them.
The committee will be led by a designee of the Vice Provost for Academic Planning and will also include:
a. Designee of the Vice Chancellor for Equity & Inclusion
b. Designee of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
c. Designee of Vice Provost of Grad Division
d. Designee of Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education
e. Designee of Vice Chancellor of Administration
f. ASUC Representative
g. Graduate Assembly Representative
Questions about this process or about the application questions should be directed to Space Planning within the Division of Academic Planning. Review and communicate as needed the response from the community space committee.
Current Priority Spaces
The campus has identified the current list of high priority spaces:
● Native Community Center: The campus has agreed to identify a long-term space for the Native American community to utilize once the current agreement with the Graduate Assembly for use of Anthony Hall expires in 2026.
● Latinx Student Resource Center: The campus has agreed to identify a long-term space for the Latinx community to utilize as a resource center.
● The Disability Cultural Center: The campus has identified a space in Hearst Field Annex for the Disability Cultural Center which will open in January of 2022.