1.2 - Room and Space Reservations:

Rationale:

The facility is primarily funded by a designated fee authorized by the Texas State Legislature (Education Code §54.532) "for the sole purpose of financing, operating, maintaining and improving a student union building for The University of Texas at San Antonio." As such, UTSA Student Union policies and procedures have been put in place over time to ensure student access to the resources they fund. Sponsored and registered student organizations, therefore, have priority in scheduling UTSA Student Union event spaces.

The Office of Student Activities (OSA) currently registers over 350 student organizations each academic year. Many of the Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) have expressed concern regarding the ease of finding spaces within the UTSA Student Union (UTSA Student Union ) to hold meetings and events.
Several factors play into the challenge that RSOs face in relation to securing space in the UTSA Student Union . The most significant challenge is that of scheduling recurring reservations (as opposed to single-occurrence events).

• The most requested time for meetings in the UTSA Student Union is after 5:00 p.m. on weeknights.
• Many RSOs hold several recurring reservations (e.g., executive board, general meeting and committee) throughout the semester.
• In order to ensure that the RSO has sufficient time to cover its agenda, many RSOs overestimate the time needed for meetings. When they consistently leave earlier than the scheduled end time, they are, in essence, blocking the reserved room from being utilized by other student organizations.
• Valuable room usage time is decreased when the UTSA Student Union has to change room layouts between meetings.

As UTSA continues to grow, the challenge that organizations will face in finding space on campus will only become more significant. In an effort to provide more student organizations access to UTSA Student Union meeting rooms, the following initiative will begin April 1, 2016:

Policy:

Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) will be allotted up to 1.5 hours of reservation time after 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, for recurring (e.g., daily, bi-/weekly, monthly) reservations.

• Organizations must be registered and in compliance with the Office of Student Activities (OSA) and have authorized event requestors on file with Events Management and Conference Services (EMCS) prior to making a request.
• Scheduling blocks for recurring RSO reservations are as follows:
• 5:30–7:00 p.m.
• 7:00–8:30 p.m.
• 8:30–10:00 p.m.
• Rooms will be arranged in a standard furniture setup throughout the evening. RSOs are responsible for restoring the standard furniture setup and for picking up after themselves before leaving the room.
• For those RSOs with special circumstances, contact your EMCS events manager.

The UTSA Student Union has delegated reservations and management of UTSA Student Union spaces to the Office of Events Management & Conference Services (EMCS).  To learn more about the reservation process, please visit utsa.edu/events, call 210-458-4155 or email EMCSevents@utsa.edu.

You may begin the reservation process by using the online reservation request form.

Related BORR, HOP or other Policies:
Use of UTSA Student Union Facilities, UTSA HOP 5.07
UTSA Student Union Operations Manual 1.0
UTSA Student Union Operations Manual 1.5
Events Management Operations Manual 2.13

Last Revised: 1/25/17