May 12, 2022
Welcome to our Region’s Residence Life Conference, what an amazing opportunity you each have before you! Residence Life is an area that is near and dear to my heart. Working in residence life as a residence assistant some 25 years was one of most memorable and rewarding experiences of my life. \ The conference is packed with some insightful and developmental topics, please take full advantage of all that this wonderfully conference has to offer. You each plan a vital role in making our communities what they are today and I would like to thank you for that! Thank you for attending the conference and investing in yourselves so that you can make a meaningful impact on those that we serve! Lastly but certainly not least, a huge thank you to RVP, Melinda Farmer and team for seeing the vision and developing such an awesome conference.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE EVERY DAY Have a great conference!
Felicia Chacherre, Ph.D. senior Regional Vice President
This year has again been filled with so many challenges and student issues. Through it all, this team has really risen to the occasion. You have creatively programmed to get your students re-engaged in your properties, spent a lot of time and energy building successful communities, and navigating a host of student behaviour and mental health issues. I am proud of each and every one of you and look forward to engaging with you when I visit your property, attend programs as they are being presented when I am on-site, and seeing the phenomenal things you have created carry us forward as we grow as a company, and you grow as professionals. Kudos to you for always staying positive, always putting students first, and showing the spirit that makes ACC/CCC the premier provider of student housing in the nation. In the spirit of ACC/CCC Melinda Farmer Regional Vice President
Welcome to this fantastic opportunity. This will be such a great experience to come together, learn from each other and push our innovations as you continue to give the best experiences to your students and student staff. I hope that you will take valuable information and development from today. Thanks to each and all of you for everything you do! Sarah Garcia Regional Manager Welcome to our Residence Life Conference! Residence Life is an essential part of our daily operations that ensure our residents have all the resources they need to succeed during their time with us. This conference is meant to be a networking opportunity for you all to learn and share ideas to take back to your communities and implement those ideas that can be a resource to your residents so please listen, take notes, participate, and enjoy your time with your peers! Thank you for attending! Mark Clemmons Regional Manager
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INDEX 2
Welcome To Our Residence Life Conference
4-5
Our Chachere Region Map
6-7
Guest Speakers and Presenters
8
Conference Itinerary
9
Empower Our Staff to SLED
10-11
Accelerating Resident Engagement through Residence Halls Associations (Residence Councils)
12-13
Leasing and Residence Life: A True Collaboration
Leasing and Residence Life: 14-15 Establishing a Mutual Beneficial Relationship 16
Social Media, Marketing, and Residence Life
17
Fall, Mental Health and What we can do.
18-19 Pulse Words for the Wise from the Wise 20
Feedback
20
Upcoming Conference & Dates
03
772
290 291
827
813 911
814
912
819
773 863
458 784
864
727 730
407 406
576
733 553 732
934
725
GUEST SPEAKERS + PRESENTERS Shannon Foster
Director of Residence Services | Lakehead University
Shannon Foster is the Director of Residence Services at Lakehead University, located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He has spent the last 30 years working in housing, a student's 'home away from home'. Previous to working at Lakehead, Shannon spent time at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario. Shannon has a real passion for student life, residence retention and the transition of a first year student to graduation. Part of that passion is the whole student, the balance of academics and what transpires outside of the classroom. Over Shannon's last 30 years of living and working in Residence, it's the nonbalance that has become more prevalent for many of our students. This has led to some changes in how we support our students, particularly in respect to mental health, and our connection with both campus and off-campus partners.
Lynn Ellison
Area Manager, Residence Life | American Campus Communities
Lynn Ellison serves as the Area Residence Life Manager for the ACC portfolio at the University of California-Irvine. In that role, Lynn works with the property teams to implement the ACC Residence Life program. She also serves as the ACC representative on several UC-Irvine committees. Lynn has worked for ACC for 14 years as the Director of Residence Life and a General Manager before taking on her current role in 2021.
Mason Branham
General Manager | 576-U Club Sunnyside
Mason Lee Branham is the current General Manager of U Club Sunnyside, the former General Manager of College Park, and the future General Manager of UToledo. His love for ACC is clearly greater than his hatred of moving. Before joining ACC, Mason worked as a Residence Life employee at Kent State University, Duke University, and at his alma mater, the University of South Carolina. Mason holds a B.A in Theatre and an M.Ed. in Educational Psychology, and he enjoys finding moments to use his unique educational background to support both his residents and staff. Please feel free to reach out to Mason with any questions after the conclusion of the conference.
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Cristina Aranda
Residence Life Coordinator | 814-CampusOne Toronto
Cristina Aranda, Residence Life Coordinator for CampusOne Toronto, studied a bachelors in Tourism Management back in her home country Mexico to then migrate to Canada in 2017 to study Dance Performance & successfully graduated with honors from Centennial College. Cristina discovered the Student Housing industry in her home away from home Centennial Place Residence & fell in love with the Residence Life Department which allows her to engage & create memorable experiences for other national & international students.
Daniel Travieso
Residence Life Coordinator | 819-Parkside Student Residence
Daniel Travieso is the Residence Life Coordinator at Parkside Student Residence. Daniel started his journey with Canadian Campus Communities as a Community Assistant in the fall of 2017 at the opening of CampusOne Toronto, after a great experience living at Parkside! Over the years Daniel held various roles and was promoted to Residence Life Coordinator in the fall of 2020.
Bella Vargas
Assistant General Manager | 863-The Nest
Bella Vargas is the Assistant General Manager at The Nest, Chicago, IL. She started her journey at The Nest as part of the first Resident Assistant team in Fall 2016, and received ACC’s Student Staff Member of the Year in 2018. Bella continued her journey on to be Assistant Resident Director, Leasing Manager and now AGM of The Nest.
Jessica Smith
Resident Director | 773-Honors Academic Village & 784-The Lofts at Gateway
Jessica Smith is the Resident Director for Honors Academic Village and the Lofts at Gateway in Toledo, Ohio! She started her career in housing and residence life at George Mason University as a Resident Assistant in Fall 2016. After graduating with her Master's Degree in Global Affairs in May 2020, she worked for a community health center for a while. After several months of healthcare, she decided to go back to her ResLife roots and was fortunate enough to land a job with ACC at Honors Academic Village in Toledo, Ohio! She will celebrate 1 year with ACC on May 19th, 2022!
Kenneth Cole
Leasing Manager | 732-Morgan View
Kenneth Cole (Yes like the designer) is the Leasing Manager at Morgan View Apartments. He started his journey with American Campus Communities as a Resident Assistant in the Summer of 2019 at Morgan View Apartments. Soon after graduating in the Fall of 2020, he joined Morgan View Apartments as the Leasing Manager. He looks forward to networking and growing within the company and expanding out within the company.
Nicole Huynh
Residence Life Coordinator | 813-Centennial Place Residence
Nicole Huynh is the Residence Life Coordinator at Centennial Place Residence. She previously worked as a Residence Life Don and then started her journey with Canadian Campus Communities in Summer 2021. She has been able to achieve with Centennial Place the Best Overall Participation for PULSE, CCC's Annual THRIVE Week, and 4 programs of the month so far.
Victor Ramirez
Resident Director | 290-Lobo Village
Victor Ramirez is the Resident Director at Lobo Village in Albuquerque, New Mexico. First joining ACC in 2019 as a Resident Advisor at Lobo Village, Victor has quickly moved up the ranks during his 2.5 years with the company. Before starting his role as RD in 2021, Victor was the property Office Assistant after gaining experience in the Senior Resident Advisor position previously.
QuaAsia Robinson
Office Manager | 732-Morgan View Apartments
QuaAsia Robinson is currently the Office Manager for Morgan View Apartments. She started her journey as a resident assistant as an undergraduate at Morgan State University in February 2020. After graduation in May 2021, QuaAsia was promoted to Office Manager in July 2021. Some colleagues may refer to her as "The Glue", as she works on various project pertaining to keeping the office afloat. QuaAsia has had great pleasure working as a resident assistant and has gained a wealth of knowledge about Morgan View and ACC over the past 2 years.
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ITINERARY TIME EDT SESSION 01:00 PM
Welcome & Introduction
Regional Managers Director, Residence Life Regional Vice Presidents
01:02 PM
Jessica Smith | Resident Director Honors Academic Village
01:04 PM
Cristina Aranda | Residence Life Coordinator CampusOne Toronto
Sprint Session I
01:06 PM
QuaAsia Robinson | Office Manager Morgan View
01:08 PM
Nicole Huynh | Residence Life Coordinator Centennial Place
01:10 PM
Discussion - Sprint Session I
01:15 PM
Development Session I
01:30 PM
Discussion - Development Session I
Lynn Ellison | Area Manager, Residence Life Irvine Market
01:35 PM
Victor Ramirez | Resident Director Lobo Village
01:37 PM
Daniel Travieso | Residence Life Coordinator Parkside
Sprint Session II
01:39 PM
Isabel Vargas | Assistant General Manager The Nest
01:41 PM
Kenneth Cole | Leasing Manager Morgan View Mason Branham | General Manager U Club Sunnyside
01:48 PM
Development Session II
02:03 PM
Discussion - Development Session II
02:08 PM
Introduction To Guest Speaker
Jomo McCormack | Area Manager, Residence Life Canadian Market
02:10 PM
Guest Speaker
Shannon Foster | Director, Residence Services Lakehead University
02:40 PM
Discussion - Guest Speaker
02:50 PM
Tour de Table
03:00 PM
End of Conference
| Session times are subject to change.
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PRESENTER
PORT LEARN EMPOWER DEVEL RN EMPOWER DEVELOP SUPPO
Y
EMPOWER OUR STAFF TO SLED
SUPPORT
Working to collaboratively together to achieve our goals as a region.
LEARN
Seeking educational opportunities from colleagues within our region to better our skills and systems.
EMPOWER
Through effective examples give encouragement to colleagues who seek to enhance their property product delivery.
DEVELOP
Reflecting on the learn opportunities and putting to action the necessary to set yourselves on the path to success.
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ARTICLE
Accelerating Resident Engagement through Residence Halls Associations (Residence Councils) JOMO MCCORMACK, AREA MANAGER, RESIDENCE LIFE, CANADIAN CAMPUS COMMUNITIES
I
t is said that there are some things you can’t learn at any university, except for one, the University of Life, the only college where everyone is a permanent student. If we were to take this and apply it to Residence Life, we can infer that our students who desire to become involved while living in Residence, can also teach us a thing or two about keeping themselves engaged during their studies. For many years at Canadian Campus Communities, our Residence Council has certainly emerged as a significant contributor to enhancing our students’ experience. The first Residence Council was established in September 2016 at Parkside, and was created out of an urgent need: (1) to give residents the appropriate medium to bring forward concerns to the management team, while being participant in discussions about the path forward; and (2) as a means of enhancing resident engagement and experience, outside of student staff executed events. Residence Council is therefore given the opportunity to act as a liaison between management and the student body as it pertains to resident ideas and concerns. In order to enhance resident experience, Residence Council members are provided a budget annually and are encouraged to consult with the residents in order to execute student-led events as requested (providing they fall within Community Standards and University Guidelines). The Council is also involved in niche programming through the establishment of committees, geared towards (1) increasing student participation in residence activities, (2) 10
maintaining student satisfaction with residence (3) giving students living in residence an appropriate and active voice in conduct, amenities and facilities issues. Residence Councils with Canadian Campus Communities are governed by a constitution created by students; equipping the representatives with the tools necessary to be effective leaders and advocates while serving their communities.
The Two Core Functions Advocacy One of the greatest benefits we have experienced from our Residence Councils, is the ability for our management teams to maintain our fingers on the pulse of current resident issues and concerns. In the age of social media, it has been our experience that residents who perceive that they are not seen and heard by our teams, consult other avenues of media, not limited to Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and Google Reviews. Since the Community Advisory Committee meetings occur with Residence Council Representatives and the property management team at least once monthly, residents are empowered to go out into the community and solicit feedback and concerns from the student body, and update us so that if it is within our ‘Circle of Influence’, we correct the issues, and use the Council as a conduit of information back to the residents (in addition to our regular communication streams). What makes this partnership opportunity between council and management even better, is the positive legacy opportunities that are created at the properties.
and execute events that they want to participate in, is that it gives Community Assistants the brainstorm space to develop and execute more Educational Programs, that cover the other program categories outside of Community Engagement. On the plus side, after having a year of program planning and execution experience, these residence council members have been prepared to become future new hires for your Community Assistant program.
Using Parkside as a case study for this, in 2016, the property saw a significant increase in the usage of the gym facilities. The usage of the space was dominated by male students, 24/7 participating in intense physical workouts. Female residents who wanted to use the space did not feel comfortable whether for religious reasons, or personal comfort reasons, and this was brought as a concern to the residence council executive. The Executive took the concern and discussed it in a regularly scheduled caucus meeting with the General Manager of the property present. Following a brainstorm, council as well as the General Manager identified a space, that equipment could be added to create a ‘Women’s-Only Gym Space’. The council members voted on this and the motion was unanimously passed. The General Manager took the proposal and the vote to the Regional Manager and Regional Vice President for review (since there would be financial implications and commitments for the property). Following the approval at the RM and RVP level, the management team worked with Residence Council to equip the new gym space accordingly and it is still in operation today. Resident Engagement The key to creating and maintaining high resident engagement at any property, is the ability of a property team to read the room effectively. Simply put, properties must ensure that they are one hundred percent certain that whatever program or event product they deliver to students in house, is what they want and what they will participate in. Residence Council serves as the perfect means to facilitate this, as although student requests are diverse and dynamic, residents are far more likely to participate in and attend an event that they can claim some ownership to. The blessing of having students plan out
This year Campus1 MTL, like many other properties, found itself in a difficult position as it pertained to Residence Life staffing. The property was not able to hire on Community Assistants and the resident engagement execution was delegated to the management team. It was decided that, to the best of their ability, the Residence Council in its current structure, would be supported through the year, with any resources they needed should they chose to execute events. When the opportunity for Residence Council participation at the property was advertised, many nominations for candidates were put forward and five representatives were voted in, instead of the four, due to the overwhelming interest from the students to take part in creating engagement opportunities. They decided that the first event to execute would be a Valentine’s Day Personalized Messaging Service. The five council members made personalized paper mailboxes and posted on all 325 unit-doors of our residence. They delivered blank cards for residents to complete and deliver to whomever they chose; to be a word of encouragement while being physically distanced during the valentine’s season. To our surprise, after the completion of the event, when property staff and council members returned to remove the personalized paper mailboxes, they were turned away by the residents who insisted that they stay on the unit doors, for the duration of their stay. To this day, residents continue to deliver items and messages using these mailboxes created by Residence Council in February 2021. Simple event, but it served a need; it filled a gap by providing an additional means for students to connect with each other, whilst being physically distanced. The marriage of advocacy and resident engagement make Residence Council’s support at our properties, critically important in maintaining the engagement that we have with our residents from September right through to April or August. If you do not have a residence council established, consider developing one today. Please reach out to me and I will be able to provide you with additional resources, such as Constitutions and Annual Strategic Plans.
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provide to our residents - it is a very simple concept but has a huge impact. Residence Life is about establishing an environment for our residents that allows students to thrive outside of their formal education. Residence Life Objectives To help define Residence Life further and begin to understand its connection with our leasing efforts, let’s revisit our department objectives.
ARTICLE
Leasing and Residence Life: A True Collaboration TONY GHINELLI, DIRECTOR – RESIDENCE LIFE, AMERICAN CAMPUS COMMUNITIES
T
he housing industry is a dynamic landscape that requires companies to evaluate competitive advantages. One advantage that American Campus has developed and nurtured over their existence is Residence Life. You are reading this article now as a participant at a Residence Life conference, but what is the true impact of our work? How do we impact our property and the organization? Let’s dive in to learn more about Residence Life at American Campus, and how our work impacts leasing in our communities. What is Res Life? Before we dive into the impact and relationship between Residence Life and Leasing, it’s important we define Residence Life at American Campus. Our number one value is to Put Students First – it’s the essence of Residence Life. As someone who has worked within higher education for over 10 years, I know the importance of our work with the college aged population. At the end of the day, Residence Life is the quality of life that we
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• To create inclusive communities where students feel connected, are involved in the university community, and are academically successful. • To develop partnerships with our affiliated universities which support the residents’ academic success. • To support the financial objectives of the community by creating a vibrant and desirable student community. It is written into our objectives to connect our program efforts to the financial wellbeing and growth of our communities by creating and maintaining an environment that students want to be part of, and want to tell their friends to join. Residence Life = Leasing Whether directly or indirectly, all our Residence Life initiatives impact leasing. No matter how our community is affiliated with the university, our goal is to lease beds and ensure our community and company continues to grow and flourish. Creating American Campus’ IT Factor American Campus is the biggest and best student housing company in the country. Our performance is unmatched, and we are a true industry leader. How have we made it to the top and held on for so long? Our communities’ physical designs, amenities, and proximity to campus, are all competitive advantages – yet it’s not what truly sets us apart. It all goes back to something Bill says quite often – “our people are our strength.” Our people and the connections that they make within the community are what set us apart. You cannot replicate our commitment to our residents and our Res Life programming initiatives. As we discuss with prospects the value-add of living
at our community versus any others, Residence Life becomes a major selling point and many times leads to that IT factor that makes us their top choice. Renewals Current residents are the “target market” for Residence Life programming; making sure we can engage them and create a dynamic living environment. It allows them to create a memorable experience within our community. When we do it correctly, we are nurturing their professional and personal growth during one of the most pivotal points in their lives. Why would you want to leave a community like this? You wouldn’t – you’d renew! Having residents renew has a direct financial impact in reducing the overall marketing and turn costs. Not only does it account for the individual’s bed space, but word of mouth becomes a major, unsolicited part of our marketing campaigns. People want to live with their friends, so creating an environment and community focused on personal and professional growth will allow our residents to make the case for moving in with us versus any competitor. Marketing Outreach Residence Life also provides opportunity for us to tell our story beyond our community walls. Yes, our programming is focused on residents, but it doesn’t limit the visibility of what we do to prospects. Social Media has especially taken off as the communication tool to promote our events and initiatives. This can range from hosting a virtual bingo night to a full-fledged campaign on wellness – it’s all visible and shareable on our social media platforms. For example, our Hi, How Are You Day campaign earlier this year consisted of 2,500 social posts that made 676,000 impressions. As we have roughly 120,000 residents within our communities, it’s clear that our Res Life initiatives spread a message of who we are and what we believe far beyond just our residents. College students are looking for a community that will nurture their growth and development – so our work becomes a major selling point, before, during, and after they’ve signed a lease.
Here in the south, many of our communities are hosting crawfish boils as both a resident and marketing initiative. It’s a chance for our residents to invite their friends and show off the amazing things our community has to offer. Events like this allow prospects to view our amenities, take a tour, and experience our tight-knit community first hand – talk about a selling point. University Partnerships One final area of collaboration between leasing and Residence Life comes to our university partnerships and opportunities for collaboration. Residence Life is a major selling point for ACC when we approach universities to enter into management agreements, master lease agreements, ACE deals and/or other development opportunities. It shows that our organization is invested in student success – something that is also THEIR core passion. Our initiatives have both a programmatic and educational foundation which mirrors many traditional Residence Life departments within higher education. By demonstrating our effectiveness, our team’s passion for student development, and track record of success, we can significantly increase our heads in beds. It’s a unique perspective to consider, but everything you do within your community truly has a butterfly effect across our organization and leads to growth! Conclusion We are involved in Residence Life because it’s a major part of our role and more importantly a passion. We care about our residents and we want to see them succeed and can serve as an invaluable competitive advantage. At the end of the day, Residence Life is one of, if not the strongest leasing factors we have within the organization.
Lastly, our programs and initiatives are not always limited to residents. We just discussed the social media impact, but there are physical programs that bring people into the community as well.
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ARTICLE
Leasing and Residence Life: Establishing a Mutual Beneficial Relationship MEREDITH LISTER, AREA MANAGER - LEASING, CANADIAN CAMPUS COMMUNITIES
I
n the above article, Tony Ghinelli, residence Life Director for American Campus Communities (ACC), mentions that YOU, as part of our Residence Life Team, are one of ACC & CCCs main advantages over its competitors.
They might wonder why students choose to lease with us. Is it the amenity spaces? Is it our proximity to campus? Is it price and overall convenience? Inevitably, it’s a multitude of reasons; but the main reason a prospective tenant chooses to lease with us is YOU! To quote CEO, Bill Bayless, “Our people are our strength.” This is often one of the most commonly overlooked selling points when speaking to prospective tenants and parents. We know that people will purchase things from someone they trust; someone with whom they’ve built a rapport. As a member of the Residence Life Team, dealing directly or indirectly with a prospect, parent, or current resident, you are in a sales and customer service role. Beyond the physical building, ACC & CCC are always ‘selling’ resident events (e.g., social gatherings), you as Community Assistants, academic environments (e.g., amenity spaces), on-site staff (e.g. custodial), and customer service (e.g., front line desk). While the most important objective for the Leasing Department is getting ‘heads on beds’, it’s equally important for the Residence Life Team to create an inclusive and welcoming community that supports a student’s personal growth and academic success. Maintaining a caring and positive work/life environment, plays an integral role in our year over year retention rates and leasing goals. The result being current residents choose to stay throughout their academic career whilst referring friends along the way. An example of establishing a mutually beneficial relationship between the Leasing and Residence Life Departments at CCC is in the “Our Students of Canada” initiative. We care about our 14
residents, and want to ensure their voices are heard. In an attempt to humanize our brand, we took a page out of the Humans of New York playbook. As such, we annually seek out residents willing to share their stories; where they come from, what school they attend, why they chose the property they now call home and what they love most about it. We created an “Our Students of Canada” Instagram account that is shared between all four Canadian properties. The Residence Life Team is tasked with seeking out willing participants and creating the content. Each video gets uploaded to the “Our Students of Canada” Instagram account that feeds into each property’s website; specifically their Residence Life tab. This is a hub where prospective tenants, parents, and even current residents can go to learn about our curated Residence Life program. They can meet the team, access the property handbook and monthly newsletters, and watch the “Our Students of Canada” testimonies to learn about those in our community. The Leasing Departments then share these testimonies to their main social media accounts to promote the benefits of living in our vibrant communities. It’s a win-win! Another successful example of how to merge the Residence Life and Leasing Departments is during the “Pulse Survey”; an open forum in which students give voice in feedback. Whether or not you have a Residence Life Director or an Area Leasing & Marketing Manager to help facilitate, there should be open communication, collaboration, and support between the departments to ensure your property garners the most value out of this initiative. How can we set ourselves up for success to capitalize on survey responses?
Image: Squid Game themed "Pulse Survey" Interactive Floor Tracker - Parkside Student Residence.
1. Utilize the Leasing Department to assist with Instagram competitions, increasing social media engagement, and requesting design materials.
full university/college experience. As such, it’s important they understand the time they invest completing the survey potentially equates to an enhanced student experience.
2. Use this as an opportunity to (re)execute a popular property event that the Leasing Department can sponsor and have a presence at. 3. Determine popular touch points to promote the survey (e.g., stuff mailboxes with informational flyers; create table tents for dining halls or amenity space tables; design stickers to attach to resident parcels, etc.).
Our #1 core value at ACC & CCC is to “Put Students First.” We pride ourselves on our student-centric approach by ensuring the assets we provide set each resident up to succeed personally and academically. Going to school is a huge investment and as social creatures getting into a routine is beneficial for health and wellbeing, especially during a student’s formative years away from home. Our goals are to make that transition as successful and rewarding as possible.
In addition, ensure all high-traffic areas have visible messaging. Both departments are encouraged to create an interactive building-wide tracker that lets residents know response-status results per floor.
If you’ve learned one thing about the benefits of establishing a relationship between the Residence Life and Leasing Departments, let it be this: The two are wholeheartedly intertwined. Never underestimate that.
In doing so, we are demonstrating that their feedback is tracked, important, and invaluable to us in terms of improving their residence life experience.
Students have chosen to reside with us because of YOU. The sense of community we provide and the lifestyle we promote are what makes student housing at an ACC & CCC property an investment; producing personal, academic, and economic dividends for years to come.
Plus, a little healthy competition between floors never hurt anyone, right? We saw record-breaking response numbers in the Canadian market for the 2021-2022 “Pulse Survey”. This clearly signifies that students want to be heard. Like many of us, students are tired of prolonged COVID regulations and online/hybrid learning and they’re itching to feel part of a community. They want to live independently in a place they can call their home away from home; where they can enjoy the
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social media platform allowed different generations to cope and move forward with the new normal. So, how can we use this to our advantage when connecting with our residents? Let’s meet them where they are at and start that connection with them.
ARTICLE
Social Media, Marketing, and Residence Life
I
REBECCA CRISMON, RESIDENCE LIFE SPECIALIST, AMERICAN CAMPUS COMMUNITIES
When beginning their college search, each student starts researching and looking for a community in which they want to take part in. They search websites finding majors and extracurriculars, they start following the schools on social media platforms, and begin making connections with their future educational opportunities. That is when the first connection is made. Once that student makes the choice to attend your university, they must now choose a housing community to reside in for their college career. The process is similar with a few other components for their housing decision. What’s the price point? What’s the floor plan? What will I gain from choosing this community over the one down the street? That’s where our strategic planning comes into play, hinging on our ability to create a home away from home. What better way to communicate with these prospective students than to show them the fun we have through our social media platforms. Our world has shifted its focus to the digital marketing age of utilizing social media as a connection with prospects and residents. At American Campus Communities & Canadian Campus Communities, we have an entire department focused on social media outreach that creates messaging based on leasing initiatives and programming campaigns designed around our current and future residents. The question is - how does social media pertain to building a strong Residence Life foundation? Social media has become exactly that - opportunities in building a solid connection with people through a digital platform. During the pandemic, social media became even more vital for communication and community building for our residents. Our world shifted even more to the social media platforms as a connection could be made from a distance and from the comfort of our homes. Zoom meetings and Netflix dates over FaceTime we’re occurring across the world daily. Facetime, Snapchat, & Instagram accounts were created so that people could stay in touch. TikTok videos were created to remember the ‘good times’ before the pandemic and have stuck around as a great way to make people laugh and as a formed of daily entertainment. Each 16
We all see the impact that social media has on the daily basis whether it be people scrolling on their phones, taking photos of their every move, and posting it, or simply learning from the fun five-minute how-to videos in their feed. If our residents are scrolling, let’s get our information into their feed. Residence Life is about creating a living opportunity for the residents to make connections, friendships, and be a part of a living environment conducive to learning and development. We want the environment we create to lead them to success and provide a place of easy communication. Our communities provide incredible events hosted for our residents, educational initiatives rolling out monthly, and common community information – so part of our strategic planning is communicating information in a creative fashion while utilizing social media! Most recently the Residence Life team moved the monthly newsletter pdf/publisher file and transposed it to Instagram stories. We found that residents were engaging with our social media postings, and this was their most preferred form of communication. We worked with the Social Media teams to create templates and topics to share the monthly initiatives, educational subjects, and discussion boards for residents to gain the knowledge they need to have a successful living environment. It is now your turn to take our newsletter templates and add your own twist for each of your unique properties. Another prime example of shifting and utilizing social media to the advantage of residents and Residence Life is the Maintenance 101 Training Series. The Maintenance 101 Training Series was created as an educational tool on social media for our residents to learn about simple maintenance procedures onsite. This gave our properties the opportunity to empower residents, give them a quick how to, and allow the basic information to get to our residents through a video social format. Residents can still go back and refer to these trainings today. The main form of communication for resident interaction is social media. Posting a fun hype video or photos of teasers of upcoming events lets the residents know during a quick mid-day scroll that their home has created an opportunity for engagement and that they have programs that they can be a part of. It allows them to be reminded of the community our properties are building daily. It also allows prospective residents to see the exciting communities you are helping to build and encourages them to want to be a part of it. Social Media Marketing has given Residence Life the opportunity to be creative with our resident engagement and communication. We have been given the chance to get our residents excited about their home away from home in seeing all the wonderful community building opportunities, educational components, and safe space to be able to interact and get their questions answered quickly. So, get out there and create some fun content so that your residents can engage with you today!
ARTICLE
Fall, Mental Health & What You Can Do MEG NICHOLSON, DIRECTOR, RESIDENCE LIFE AMERICAN CAMPUS COMMUNITIES
Mental health is a growing concern, especially among college students. Stress and anxiety levels can be extremely high throughout the year. There are lots of factors that contribute to this, such as concern about academic performance and adjusting to a new social environment. Additionally, many people have lost family members and loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we begin a new academic year, let’s focus building a strong sense of community to support our residents. The greatest benefit to living in a community is that its members look out for one another and help whenever possible. Creating this environment is mostly done through interaction with residents (programming events, student conduct meetings, etc.). How Can I Help? • Provide mental health resources to your residents in the newsletter • Plan a program on how to practice self care • Promote the Hi, How Are You Project to residents and encourage them to reach out if they need help It’s also important for us to be ready to provide help to our residents by doing the following: 1. Give your CA/RA staff the tools they need to help residents. Make sure they have completed the Hi, How Are You Peer Support training in ACC U and talk about the content in one of your staff meetings so they feel comfortable with conversations about mental health. 2. Familiarize yourself and your staff with your affiliated university’s counseling center and student health center and the services they provide. 3. Invite a staff member from your university’s counseling center to the property to meet the staff. When we create a strong sense of community for our residents, they are more likely to ask for assistance if they are struggling with mental health concerns. Raising awareness about mental health issues and reducing the stigma attached to it should be a top priority of our residence life staff.
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Pulse WORDS TO THE WISE FROM THE WISE
Pusel WORDS TO THE WI STEPHANIE WOODS - REGIONAL MANAGER ACHIEVING YOUR BEST PARTICIPATION PERCENTAGE TO DATE ON PULSE The single most important tip in getting your best participation ever in the PULSE survey is to involve your entire team in the task at hand. From your Front Desk team to your Maintenance Technicians, every opportunity you have to interact with a student should include an invitation to complete their PULSE survey. Including the entire team in daily updates, making it a fun and playful team competition goes a long way for the teams morale and motivation!
JESSIKA GRIEGO - AREA MANAGER ACHIEVING YOUR BEST PARTICIPATION PERCENTAGE TO DATE ON PULSE 1.Going door to door, making phone calls, sending emails/text messages, and mailbox stuffers. I like to get all my staff involved not just my RD but all managers, maintenance, and RAs. I also set up prizes for my managers, maintenance and RAs on a site level to get everyone excited and make sure to also update all my staff on our progress! Lastly, don’t forget to have your on-site RAs take the survey too it makes an impact on your numbers, I usually have all mine do it during a staff meeting! 2. I make sure our Pulse survey is also ran with part of our RAW week at least a few days example week 1 = RAW week and week 2 = Pulse week to make it more exciting and fun my students whom live with me. This allows my students to have two weeks of fun vs. one and really allows my staff and I to engage with my students to make sure we get those surveys! 3. I like to have a meeting with all my staff maintenance, managers, and RAs and go over each item the good, the bad, and everything in-between. I like to hear the feedback set new goals on how we can improve even when we did really good and think of new ways we can do better. Good is good but I like to strive and push my staff to be amazing each day and overcome any objections to help eliminate those issues for the remainder of
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WISE FROM THE WISE WILLIE MAE DUERSON - AREA MANAGER INTEGRATING YOUR PULSE AND YOUR RAW TO ENGAGE STUDENTS Host a large/special event that is “invite only”, but make sure that it is something that your residents are specifically and especially interested in. This event should also be something the staff is excited about so that it encourages interaction between both groups at the event. Using the event as a talking point to encourage enthusiasm leading up to the event helps as well…. How do they get an invite to this exclusive RAW event??? Completing the PULSE survey of course.
SARA GARCIA - REGIONAL MANAGER INCREASING YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE SCORE ON PULSE FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR Train, Train, Train – If our staff is not trained to do their jobs they can’t get give good service, and when a staff is properly trained they are empowered to solve problems as they know what to do.
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SAVE WE ARE EXCITED TO SEE YOU AGAIN IN THE THE FALL DATE
Our next Chachere Residence Life Conference will be In:
Upcoming Dates: Evaluation process deadline for U.S. properties- May 31 AGM Focus Forums: · Leadership 101: April 27 & 28 · Be Proactive: May 4 & 5 · Time Management: May 11 & 12 · CA Productivity: May 18 & 19 · Human Resources: May 25 & 26 · Connecting with your University: June 1 & 2 CA/RA Summer Training Series- June (dates TBD) Resident Handbook Due June 30 Res Life Strategic Plans Due July 15
September 2022 More information to follow.
DESIGN BY: DANIEL TRAVIESO