The number of students applying for jobs with the Associated
Students of UCLA has increased along with the rise in student fees
this year.
ASUCLA, the largest student employer on campus, runs Ackerman
Union as well as most of the other stores and campus eateries. Each
year the association hires about 1,500 student employees.
Held during the first week of school, this year’s ASUCLA
job fair attracted a large crowd and a significant increase in the
number of student applicants. The number of applicants rose from
245 in 2002 to 405 students this year.
Throughout the month of September, 1,236 students turned in
their applications, compared to 1,040 during the same period in
2002.
Sally Amato-Rogers, ASUCLA human resources director, said the
increase in applicants started about three years ago. The growth
has occurred without the association doing anything significantly
different in terms of advertisement, she said.
It is likely that more students have been applying for jobs at
ASUCLA, she said, because of “the economy, and the way things
are.”
Amato-Rogers added that the recent fee hike might also be a
factor causing the rise in the number of applicants for ASUCLA jobs
this year.
“We do hear from our employees that they’re very
concerned about fee increases,” she said, adding that some
students have been asking to work longer hours.
Like other campus organizations that employ students, ASUCLA
limits the number of hours students can work each week so that they
can still focus on their academics.
Kelly Goodman, manager for the BookZone in the UCLA Store, said
because of the relatively large number of people working in her
section, each student is usually allowed 15-20 work hours per
week.
While BookZone has always received a lot of applications,
Goodman said the number of early applicants grew considerably from
2002 to this year.
Aside from receiving a higher number of applicants this year,
ASUCLA also tried to minimize the percentage of students it hires
at the job fair. Though the number of students hired this year was
178 ““ one more student than last year ““ it was out of a
larger pool of applicants.
Amato-Rogers said the association is concerned with retaining
more of its employees. In 2002, the retention rate was low, as many
students either quit or were released.
Patricia Eastman, ASUCLA executive director, said at a recent
board meeting that she hopes a better screening process would help
retain more students hired by the association.
“When you’re hiring that quickly, sometimes
you’re not making the best selection. We’re hoping to
be looking at a wider pool of applicants this year in order to get
the best qualified,” Amato-Rogers said.