UMD Bureau of Business and Economic Research
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL FOR
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT EMPLOYEES
BBER FACULTY & STAFF:
WELCOME
As a student employee of the University of Minnesota you have been supplied with a handbook on Student Employment Rules produced by the University of Minnesota. The Student Employment Rules are general rules you should familiarize yourself with so you are aware of your rights and obligations as a University employee.
University policy states that:
UNDERGRADUATE JOB CLASSIFICATIONS & DUTIES
UGRAs
OFFICE ASSISTANTS
INTERNS
Undergraduate Research Assistant (UGRA)
Qualifications and Experience:
Spreadsheet and SPSS computer application experience, statistical analysis, library
skills, electronic file transferring, Visual Basic desirable, SBE student preferred.
Duties:
Assist UMD Center for Economic Bureau of Business and Economic Research with research
projects. Create spreadsheets and run SPSS computer applications; assist with statistical
analysis for economic research; collect data from Internet sites, library, and other
sources; execute electronic file transfers. Prefer SBE major sophmore or junior.
- As an office assistant in theBureau you will work closely with the faculty and staff performing such duties as word processing, photocopying, distribution of daily mail, answering phones, filing, and serve as office receptionist.
- While working in the department office,Jean Jacobson will be your supervisor. She will work with you at the beginning of each quarter to establish a work schedule conducive to both your schedule and the needs of the Bureau. Once the schedule is established, you are responsible for meeting that schedule. Should something come up for you that you cannot come to work as expected, you email Jean and let her know.
Word Processing/Typing
Accuracy is the most important factor in producing documents for the department. Word Perfect, Microsoft Word and Excel are the programs you will most likely be using to complete your assigned tasks. Receptionist
Directing Traffic
Some days, the traffic flow into the office is almost constant. People want to know a wide variety of things (i.e. how to find a classroom to borrowing a paper clip); you are here to answer these questions. The most important thing to remember is that you don't have to know all the answers to their questions - just where to get the answers for them. Answering the Phone (see this link for the directions for BBER phone operations such as forwarding calls, etc.)
The manner in which the phone is answered is important since it is sometimes the only contact a person has with the Bureau. The Bureau phone number is 726-7244. You will receive inquiry calls, and calls for other faculty/staff. (And wrong numbers. Note that our phone number 7244 will ring if callers forget to dial nine while on campus.) Phone calls for faculty/staff members should noted as a message and the message put in the appropriate mailbox or office. Photocopying
Bureau copying is done in the SBE copy room on the Xerox copier. Jean will give you the Bureau access number. Short copying jobs can be done on the front fax machine if single copies of poor quality will serve. Filing
You will be asked to file incoming mail in BBER mail boxes, and incoming BBER publications and documents in archive folders. Other Duties as Assigned
This catch-all heading for office assistants includes such things as delivering something to another area on campus, taking inventory of supplies, watering plants, unpacking a delivery from the storehouse, etc.
Qualifications and Experience:
Spreadsheet and SPSS computer application experience, statistical analysis, library
skills, electronic file transferring, Visual Basic desirable, GIS desirable, SBE students
preferred.
Duties:
Assist UMD Bureau of Business and Economic Research with research projects. Create
spreadsheets and run SPSS computer applications; assist with statistical analysis for
economic research; collect data from Internet sites, library, and other sources; execute
electronic file transfers.
Students have an opportunity to participate in funded research projects. Team activities involve working with School of Business and Economics faculty and staff; economic modeling and analysis; primary data gathering; and familiarity with economic, demographic, and statistical data sources. Students most often have the opportunity of adding Bureau research publications to their resumes, and gain hands-on experience with specific software applications, as well as gain research management skills.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
Keys: If you find yourself locked out of the office, please see the LSBE Dean's Office, SBE 104.
E-mail : All students have an email address for electronic communication. You should check your email regularly (at least daily) in the event that someone from the Bureau needs to contact you. You may use any of the computers in the common area of SBE 19 for computer access. Student employees generally establish a specific workstation as the one where they do their work and where they can be found.
Payroll: Time Sheets/Pay Checks
Making sure that your time sheets are turned in accurately and on time is YOUR responsibility. Time does not allow for the staff to look for you to make corrections or obtain your signature, or that of your supervisor. Without your time sheet signed by all parties, it cannot be forwarded to payroll - the bottom line is, you wonít get paid (until the following biweekly paycheck)!
Biweekly payroll deadlines are in your materials from the Dean's Office. Or see Cindy Beaudin.
Sexual and Other Harassment
The University does not tolerate harassment of any form and has identified a process by which individuals can report incidents of harassment.
