Discussion on Hypothetical "Illinibucks" System
The hypothetical idea of a campus-wide system of allocating “Illinibucks”
to students is an interesting concept to ponder and yields a vast array of
possibilities. I think that the method
or reason behind a specific allocation system is important to the success of
the system as a whole. If the Illinibucks were incentivized as a reward (maybe
based on grades or year in school), people may care more about having them and
what they could be used for than if they were arbitrarily allocated to each
student equally. The system would also need a way to hold incentive for each
individual student no matter what their interests or needs are. If there wasn’t
a good use for an individual, he may be motivated to sell his allocation of
Illinibucks to another student who would choose to spend more of them. However,
that may be an impossible task, as students are inevitably different from one
another and have different priorities and potential uses of Illinibucks. Based
on that fact, the Illinibucks system may need to have a rule that they are not
transferrable. Yet, even that may be difficult to enforce because a student
could easily use his or her Illinibucks on an item or for a purpose of another
student.
The possibilities of uses of an Illinibucks system are
nearly endless, but the one use that would likely affect a vast majority of
students would be for class registration purposes. As mentioned in the prompt,
the current registration system is based on priority. Illinibucks could
hypothetically allow a student to purchase a more preferable time slot for
registration and would allow them a better selection on class times, days of
the week, or location. Maybe more popular or high-demand courses would “cost”
more Illinibucks, providing even more incentive for students who need to take
certain course to save Illinibucks for that purpose.
Another common issue that happens on campus that could
potentially be alleviated by Illinibucks is the study space, or lack thereof, available
to students. Specifically, I am thinking of the periods of time each semester
when exams are occurring frequently, especially the end of each semester with
final exams. It is often very difficult to find adequate places to study during
finals, as nearly every student on campus is trying to do the same thing. Each
library is packed and many of the other common study areas are overcrowded as
well. Illinibucks could be used to reserve space for a specific period of time
in a desired location. I know that I would personally use my Illinibucks to
reserve a table on the quiet floor of the UGL a couple hours at a time during finals
week.
Furthermore, Illinibucks could be extremely popular if they
could be used on wants or things that are “fun.” For example, if the University
could strike up a deal with several restaurants and coffee shops on campus,
students could eat and drink their favorite things more easily or for a better
price. You could also come up with a use that would allow students to purchase
tickets to sports and live events on campus and at locations throughout
Champaign-Urbana. Another “fun” activity that Illinibucks could be used for
would be to pay for cover at campus bars. Cover is often $5 or $10 on a typical
night and is an inconvenient extra fee that students have to pay to have a good
time and Illinibucks could alleviate some of that issue.
Let me take up the study space issue. Other students have posted about it, but you described it with some more depth. There is a time of the year aspect to it, near the end of the semester, as well as perhaps a time of day aspect, during evenings when students aren't in classes. So my first question is whether you can study where you live rather than at a common place on campus. I know from students who have written to the prompt in past semesters that there are distractions they have to deal with at their apartments. People might be blasting music or playing some video game at high volume. My question is whether this sort of interference dies down near the end of the semester or if it persists even then. Also, I wonder whether you can insulate yourself from it, with your own headphones or ear plugs. If this alternative space is possible to use, then the issue you discuss is not of such grave concern to the university. If the alternative space is entirely inadequate, then you'd think there'd be plans afoot to have more common areas for students to work.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your suggested use of Illinibucks for fun things - concert tickets for events on campus are one thing. Those are university sponsored activity. Commercial enterprises located adjacent to campus are quite another. The campus might be in violation of law by interfering in such markets, even if that benefitted students, as it would steer demand toward certain establishments. So the exercise was meant to consider things that the campus offers as part of the way it does business.
On the transferability issue and the possibility of a secondary market, I'm of the mind that is transferability is viewed as a weakness that it could be prevented without much difficulty. There need be no physical paper to spend. It all could be electronic. It could be set up so an account is debited any time Illinibucks are spent, but the accounts can't be credited except by the university, when it gives an allocation. At least conceptually, that shouldn't be hard.
I think that studying in your place of residence is a possible way to avoid the issue of lack of study space, but that it is often a less than ideal. Personally, I can just focus better and for longer when I am in a public space as opposed to my apartment. It isn't that there is external distractions from my roommates or neighbors, for me it's just easier to avoid my own distractions such as watching TV, checking my phone, etc. when I am not at home. This issue isn't something that changes based on the time of year or die down during finals. When I truly need to study hard, I need to be in a public space. I would prefer to use campus spaces such as the UGL and other libraries, but those are often too crowded during the busier times of year. Often, I have to resort to a random classroom (often inadequate due to lack of good sized tables to spread out on) or a non-University place such as Espresso Royale (often inadequate because of noise level).
DeleteWhen I was considering the problem of transferability, I also assumed that Illinibucks would be a totally electronic system. Yet, I still think that transferability issues could arise. Most simply, one student could use his allocation of Illinibucks on something that another student needs, and then allow the other student to use the item or perk. Then, the second student would compensate the first student in some other way. In general, it might not happen too much, but in real life I have heard of students paying other students to hold spots in classes until the time that they can register at.
I'm wondering how it would be if students could trade their Illinibucks. I believe that the students with the highest willingness to pay would get the most Illinibucks and I think someone would start a company to sell and buy Illinibucks with profit. I think trading of Illinibucks would be a bad idea, because the more 'richest' students would get the most advantages.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I liked your thought about the study place and the bars. During exams, my university in Amsterdam get packed too and you have to arrive before 9 to get a good spot to study. I believe that more students (compared with the past) are studying outside of their room, it is a trend to study at a library or in university buildings.
About the bars, I would surely spend my Illinibucks to skip the line at Lions on weekends if that was possible. However, are the bars connected with the University? Is there a bar that is owned by the University? Or are nightlife and University separated from each other?