Master Calendar Policy

Master Calendar Scheduling and Campus Usage Policies - UPDATED 8.17.2022

Overall Policy Statement

Ownership of all Hendrix College space/facilities belongs to the College, rather than individuals, units or departments and is assigned for specific functions that support the College's educational mission and strategic goals set by the College. The use of College-owned facilities is primarily reserved for students, faculty and staff in the normal daily operations of our educational mission. Events, conferences, seminars, and programs that complement our educational mission can be accommodated if the appropriate campus space is available. The College reserves the right to deny access and use of facilities for any event, conference, seminar or program that they believe is not consistent with Hendrix College's mission, statement of purpose ( https://www.hendrix.edu/StatementOfPurpose/ ), or diversity statement ( https://www.hendrix.edu/diversity/statement/ ). All properties, buildings, spaces (both indoors & outdoors) are included in this policy. The use of College space is a privilege.  Additionally, campus use must not violate any federal, state, or local laws or regulations or the policies of the College.

Definitions

For purposes of this policy, the following definitions apply:

• Sponsored Event - an event that is established by the College and represented by a current administrator, faculty member, staff member, or student organization. These include, but are not limited to, official Hendrix departments and divisions. Furthermore, the event supports the College's educational mission, goals, and purpose. Examples include but are not limited to:
  • Hendrix College academic departments
  • Hendrix administrative offices
  • Hendrix non-academic departments such as Athletics
  • Student Organizations registered with and approved by the Office of Student Activities
• Co-sponsored Event - an event that involves an external sponsor associated with an officially sponsored College department, office, division, or student organization. Co-sponsored events are recognized as sponsored events as long as they meet the following criteria, otherwise the event will be considered an external event:
  1.  The event must be open to the Hendrix community.
  2.  The sponsoring College entity must be directly involved and present in the planning, support, and execution of the event.
• External Event - an event, other than sponsored events, that uses College facilities but is not sponsored by the College. Members or participants of the group sponsoring the event may be Hendrix personnel, alumni, or students, but the event is not officially established or recognized as part of the College. Typically, these events are requests to access the College's resources by outside entities in exchange for compensation to Hendrix or to support community/governmental organizations. Examples include but are not limited to:
  • Individuals, groups or organizations (commercial, government, or non-profit) who are unaffiliated with the College
  • Hendrix personnel, alumni, or students who wish to use campus space for private events or meetings not related to College business
• Fronting - Hendrix personnel and sponsored groups are prohibited from serving as hosts for external events that wish to use campus space or resources without compensating the College. Sponsoring, scheduling, or planning events in order to give external groups un-affiliated with Hendrix access to College facilities or to avoid required fees is not allowed. The master calendar administrator may deny a request, alter rates, or rescind a reservation for a facility if it is determined that fronting has occurred.

Roles and Functions

• Master Calendar Administrator - The College maintains a centralized calendar of all events on campus. This calendar is maintained by an administrator.
• Event Coordinator (Hendrix Affiliated) - An individual or group of individuals who are responsible for planning and managing the event in coordination with appropriate campus departments and offices. The Event Coordinator must be a current Hendrix administrator, faculty member, staff member, or student (in coordination with a Hendrix faculty or staff member).
• Event Contact (Hendrix or Non-Hendrix Affiliated) - An individual or group of individuals who are responsible for supervising the event and are present for all event activities. The Event Contact may or may not be affiliated with the College.
• Facility Administrators - Some campus facilities have a designated administrator with the following responsibilities:
  • Be aware of these policies and ensure they are followed;
  • Coordinate with the calendar administrator as needed to approve reservation requests and confirm that all events in a building or space are properly reserved in the Master Calendar;
  • Notify the calendar administrator of any changes to a facility that may affect its use;
  • Assist in coordinating use of the space including, but not limited to, making equipment available, building and room access, communicating events to appropriate faculty and staff that may be affected, and provide input for quotes of cost of use of facilities or equipment.
  • Help determine rules and restrictions for use of spaces.
  • Meet, when needed, to discuss scheduling policies and procedures.
• Public Safety - Requests for access to a building or space for an event are granted only if the event is recorded and approved in the Master Calendar or the Facility Administrator approves the request. Doors are programmed to unlock so long as the reservation is made more than 48 hours in advance. Public Safety must be contacted for special access needs such as: rooms with traditional keyed locks, rooms with multiple doors, or events located in public access areas such as the Library or WAC.
• Technical/AV Support - Requests for audio visual or technical support for an event must be scheduled separately. Requests are considered only if the event is recorded and approved in the Master Calendar, and no services may be provided or agreed upon before that approval. Technology and AV staff may only provide estimates for the cost of services prior to an event's approval in the Master Calendar.
• Dining and Catering - Requests for Dining or Catering services for an event must be arranged separately. Requests are considered only if the event is recorded and approved in the Master Calendar, and no services may be provided or agreed upon before that approval. Dining or Catering staff may only provide estimates for the cost of services prior to an event's approval in the Master Calendar.
• Housing - Master Calendar requests for use of residence halls are considered only for the summer. Assignments are determined based upon availability and group characteristics such as group size, needs, ages, etc.

Scheduling

Standard Procedure:

1. Hendrix faculty and staff should submit event requests to the master calendar. Student organizations should submit event requests through the Student Activities Office or their organization's advisor. The master calendar administrator does not submit requests on someone's behalf unless urgent (less than 24 hours) or the user is experiencing technical difficulties.
2. The master calendar administrator confirms receipt of the event request. The calendar administrator considers initial factors such as
   • Conflicting reservations or requests for facilities or resources
   • Events scheduled in the same space(s) with less than 30 minutes between start and/or end times.
   • Setup and teardown time needed for the event and/or event services such as catering and AV.

The calendar administrator discusses any concerns with the Event Coordinator and any appropriate parties. If initial considerations are satisfied, then the request is forwarded to the appropriate facility administrator for review, if applicable.

1. The facility administrator reviews the request within 48 hours of receipt and considers factors such as:
   • Availability of space at times requested
   • Suitability of event in the requested location and at the time requested
   • Number of guests/participants
   • Duration of the event

The facility administrator communicates any concerns to the calendar administrator. If the facility administrator is satisfied with these considerations, then the request is approved and, at that time, the calendar administrator may confirm the event reservation and then notify the person(s) submitting the request.

1. Once the event is officially confirmed in the calendar, any service-related requests may be submitted to the appropriate departments. The Event Coordinator is responsible for making arrangements with specific departments including submitting separate requests if necessary.  If the event is cancelled or requested space is no longer needed, then the Event Coordinator is responsible for notifying the master calendar administrator and other service-related departments to cancel or change the reservation.
2. Once an event request has been approved in the master calendar, the Event Coordinator should consider the following additional steps:
   • If there are special access needs, then Public Safety should be contacted at publicsafety@hendrix.edu .
   • If any work orders need to be submitted for event setup or take down, submit a Work Order Request .
   • To request AV support for an event, submit an AV Support Request .
   • To request tables, chairs, and staging in the SLTC, submit a SLTC Setup Request .
   • To request catering from Dining Services, contact Catering Services .
3. This policy as well as scheduling procedures is available to all faculty and staff via email communications at the beginning of academic terms and relevant webpages on the College website. Additionally, workshops and meetings are offered at the start of academic terms.

Types of Events

• Exclusive - Events against which nothing else may be scheduled due to their significance in the life and operation of the College. These events are allowed to schedule during the Early Scheduling Period for the next academic year to avoid as many scheduling conflicts as possible; however, if events are scheduled at the same time, then event coordinators will be asked to cancel or select an alternate date.
  • Campus-wide Convocations such as honorary degree conferrals, distinguished professor installations, building dedications, and presidential inaugurations
  • Commencement
  • Honors Convocation
  • New Student Convocation
• Restrictive - Events that are major, campus-wide events that require broad use of campus facilities. These events are allowed to schedule during an Early Scheduling Period, and once scheduled, other events may be scheduled only against them as long as approval is provided by the appropriate Event Coordinator for the Restrictive event. Examples include:
  • Alumni and Family Weekend
  • New Student and Parent Orientation Week
• Priority - Significant campus events or meetings that require priority facility scheduling but do not require an exclusive or restrictive slot on the calendar These events are allowed to schedule during the Early Scheduling Period, and once scheduled, other events may be scheduled against them on a first come, first served basis.
  • Music, Theatre Arts, Visual Art Department major events (concerts, guest recitals, productions, exhibitions)
  • Board of Trustees meetings
  • Faculty meetings
  • Candlelight Carol Services
  • Student Activities, Senate, and Organizations major events (Senate meetings, Shirttails, Campus Kitty)
• General - All other sponsored and co-sponsored campus events and meetings. These events are allowed to schedule for the next academic year once the Early Scheduling Period has ended.
• External - External events from off-campus groups and organizations not affiliated with the College. These events may be scheduled as space is available with sponsored and co-sponsored events having priority.
• Convocation Period - Thursdays from 11:10-1:00 are ideal for campus-wide events such as official ceremonies, invited speakers, and performances. Campus programs and organizations are encouraged to consider using the convocation period for significant events. Events can be proposed for the first hour, the second hour, or both hours of the period. The major exception is that faculty meetings will have the priority in scheduling during this period. All requests for convocation period scheduling should be approved by the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs before going to the Master Calendar.

Priorities:

Generally, reservations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis once the early scheduling period has ended. If multiple requests are made for the same space at the same time, then the following scheduling priorities are followed.

1. academic classes
2. exclusive events
3. restrictive events
4. priority events
5. general events
6. external events

To maximize use of campus spaces, the master calendar administrator reserves the right to relocate smaller events to locations with comparable space to grant use to larger events.

Scheduling Calendar:

To facilitate proper scheduling priorities, the master calendar administrator does not accept any requests for future academic years until the academic class schedule for that year has been set. During this time, an Early Scheduling Period is offered to campus departments and offices who typically schedule Exclusive, Restrictive, or Priority events. Once this process is complete, all campus offices will be notified that the calendar is accepting general and external event requests for the upcoming academic year.

This policy protects classrooms and academic spaces which have the highest priority in scheduling. Additionally, it ensures that academic departments and staff offices/divisions are given an opportunity during this period to schedule significant, campus-wide events. All other requests are denied until the timeline described above has been met. Requests may be resubmitted when the master calendar is open for general requests. If an event needs an earlier confirmation because of contractual obligations, a request for an exception should be made to the master calendar administrator.

Resolving Scheduling Disputes/Conflicts:

If proper scheduling procedures are observed, then, in most cases, scheduling disputes or conflicts should not arise. However, any scheduling disputes or conflicts should be brought to the immediate attention of the master calendar administrator. The administrator communicates with all relevant parties and attempts to find a satisfactory resolution for all parties involved. If a resolution cannot be agreed upon for all parties, then the administrator follows the general scheduling priorities outlined above to determine a scheduling hierarchy. If the scheduling priorities do not resolve the issue, then the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and/or Provost may be consulted to resolve the conflict.

Additionally, in cases where a desired space is already reserved, individuals are welcome to contact the master calendar administrator to determine alternative options.

Campus Services and Use Rates

Rental and service fees will be determined by the College for use of campus services and facilities. In general, all campus event coordinators are expected to:

1. Use college facilities in the manner intended and leave them in an acceptable condition. The college may designate use of event chaperones when necessary to ensure proper use of facilities and confirm facility conditions before and after events.
2. Follow all college rules pertaining to facility usage. If specific rules apply, then the college will provide those rules in writing prior to setup for the event.
3. Perform general cleaning after the event by placing trash in proper receptacles or bags and removing any belongings or supplies from the event. Any cleaning performed by the college at or beyond this level after the event may result in additional fees.
4. Report and take responsibility for any damages to college property resulting from the event or its participants.

All groups are charged according to the rental and service policies outlined below.

1. Sponsored Event:

2. Co-Sponsored Event:

3. External Event:

Reductions or Waivers of Rental Fees:

Rental fees may be reduced or completely waived for state or local governmental agencies or nonprofit organizations if requested and if the organizations meet specific criteria outlined below. Sponsors of these events are responsible for all service-related costs surrounding the scheduled activity including, but not limited to, costs associated with set-up, clean-up, food, technology/AV, housing, WAC, etc. Requests must be submitted in writing to the master calendar administrator.

To be considered:

1. The purpose of the event must positively impact the College or broader community or be a fund-raising event for a nonprofit/charity.
2. Individuals and for-profit businesses must not profit from the free use of campus facilities for the event. (Fees may be charged to cover actual direct expenses of the event but should not produce a profit for individuals or organizations.)

Publicity

Use of official Hendrix College logos is reserved for sponsored and co-sponsored events. External events may not use official College logos for promotional purposes.

Political Activities

As a 501(c)(3) organization under the IRS Internal Revenue Code, the College is prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. The College may offer facilities and/or services for non-partisan activities such as public forums, voter education and registration drives, and election polling sites. Exceptions may be made with prior approval from the Dean of Students for student-sponsored organizations to organize political activities within the context of their specific educational mission or charter. Any student-sponsored activities will be required to clearly indicate that the event is sponsored by the student organization. No photography or videography from the event shall be used for political campaigns or advertising on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for elective public office.