Campus housing and residence life departments must identify partners to help develop business operations, enhance the community, provide efficiencies, and improve service. These partners may be found on campus, in the community, or within the larger campus housing industry and vendor community.
Rarely will any HRL department have all of the resources they need to run a successful and efficient operation with their in-house staff and expertise. In fact, being strategic in developing partnerships with other departments and business entities will provide better service to the students while allowing the departmental staff to focus on those aspects of the residential experience that would be difficult for a third party to provide.
It is important that contracts and agreements are developed in the best interests of both parties involved. This is best accomplished by the department doing advanced research so that a clear business case is being offered to potential partners to help minimize unwelcome surprises. Having samples of contracts and agreements that have proven successful is a valuable resource that saves the time of creating something from scratch and helps eliminate overlooking any vital elements.
ACUHO-I will issue a call for contributions encouraging campus housing departments to submit samples of a request for proposal, memorandum of understanding, individual service agreement, and other documents helpful in formalizing internal and external partnerships.
Download the document to learn more about resources that support vendor partnerships and view examples.