Januarypulse

THE PULSE 


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THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY HOUSING OFFICERS January 2018

Board of Directors PRESIDENT

CONFERENCE DIRECTOR

Amanda Ziegler

Kristin Lennan

Brock University aziegler@brocku.ca

University of Guelph lennank@uoguelph.ca

PRESIDENT-ELECT / FINANCE DIRECTOR

CORPORATE PARTNER RELATIONS DIRECTOR

Ian Crookshank

Jessica Nayda

Ryerson University ian.crookshank@ryerson. ca

University of Guelph jnayda@uoguelph.ca

PAST PRESIDENT

SENIOR-LEVEL MEMBER AT LARGE

Daryl Nauman York University dnauman@yorku.ca

Valerie Bruce

COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR

MEMBER AT LARGE

Kristina Bartold

Wilfrid Laurier University cwebb@wlu.ca

St. Jerome's University kbartold@uwaterloo.ca

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Andrew Natale Brock University anatale@brocku.ca

Ryerson University vbruce@ryerson.ca

Carley Webb

MEMBER AT LARGE

Jennifer Tabar University of Waterloo jtabar@uwaterloo.ca

MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATION MANAGER

Nathan Riley

OACUHO info@oacuho.com

Queens University nathan.riley@queensu.ca

Carol Ford

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Happy New Year! I hope that the beginning of 2018 has brought more joy than sorrow for everyone. Our colleagues who graciously give of their Bme to put together this publicaBon have chosen to focus on the theme of partnerships for January. As always, I am eager to read the insights, reflecBons and research they have been able to gather about this topic.

Amanda

Ziegler

Manager, Residence Life OACUHO President Brock University

AHer a very producBve meeBng at St. Jerome’s University in December, the Board of Directors has generated a long list of goals for the upcoming term as we lead in to our Spring Conference and Annual General MeeBng in May. One goal is to ensure that we have a full Board-elect in order to conBnue the important work of the AssociaBon. The opportunity to be involved in shaping the direcBon of the AssociaBon, to conBnue the important work laid out in our strategic plan and to support the work of our members is one that I hope everyone considers over the next few weeks.

I invite you to reach out and chat with any member of the Board of Directors to learn more about the expectaBons and experience.

Best, Amanda

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in house

RESEARCH

with Research Writer Aman Litt

What I Gained from being the Research Writer for OACUHO When I first applied for the posiBon of the Research Writer, it was purely because it peaked my interest; I did not think much further than the fact that I enjoyed wriBng and the subject maYer was something that was important to me. I knew that scheduling in yet another commitment into my life would be challenging, but I really was intrinsically moBvated to apply, so I did. Many people quesBoned me when I accepted the posiBon. They quesBoned the value of the posiBon, what I was going to gain from it, and why I even wanted the posiBon in general. Firstly, it was not for the fiscal gain of the job, and I do not think anything that takes away a significant porBon of your Bme should ever be purely for money, but it was rather for the challenge of wriBng to an audience and honestly, being judged for my wriBng. I really enjoy wriBng, but unBl this posiBon, I never really thought about if people enjoyed reading my thoughts.

The feedback, encouragement and praise I received from some colleagues was really astonishing. I was really humbled that people enjoyed or even looked forward to reading my arBcles and it really helped build my confidence and made me want to write for a public forum even more. The posiBon also allowed me to do something that I had a lot of ownership of; oHen in our jobs, we have to do many things because they are a requirement of the job, rather than a personal passion. This job was no different, in some regards; there were deadlines I had to meet and I had an umbrella within which my wriBng subject had to fall in, but I did have a lot of freedom. I was able to write about things that were important to me, or to students or staff at the Bme. I was able to take recommendaBons for arBcle topics from colleagues and supervisors. This was one job that I really looked forward to doing, each and every month, genuinely.

The Research Writer posiBon also greatly helped me professionally and academically. Usually, what I wrote about was something aligned with a project at work or a paper at school. My professional and academic career both benefiYed from me taking on this posiBon and I was able to succeed at all three roles because they were all so well aligned.

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N

ow, let’s talk about what this posiBon provided me. I was the OACUHO Research Writer for two years and in those two years I: got a promoBon, became a presenter for ‘Diversity in the Workforce,’ grew my professional network exponenBally, worked with three skilled editors of OACUHO, and excelled in my academics. In all of these successes, I uBlized what I gained as the Research Writer. In my job interview, I talked about my research wriBng skills, my ability to juggle mulBple roles at once and meeBng short deadlines. Working with Brian Cunha allowed me to present alongside him at the OACUHO 2017 Spring Conference at Carleton University. That presentaBon allowed us to do a presentaBon at Carleton University in August of 2017 on diversity in the workforce and issues with the current system. In 2016, I have the opportunity to work with Diane Rawlings on her presentaBon for Gender Neutral Housing. That research moBvated me to take a course on Sexual and Gender MinoriBes in EducaBon and Culture, which opened my eyes to the struggles of the LGTBQ+ community and ways in which we can educate the public on inclusive language and hiring pracBces. I am now currently working with my supervisor and Human Resources to create a Diversity Inclusion presentaBon for the University of Alberta and have had the privilege to aYend numerous presentaBons on the subject.

I understand that being the Research Writer for OACUHO might not be a goal for everyone. It is really, really inBmidaBng to have your work published for so many successful, smart and experienced people to read, judge and discuss, but it is really empowering to overcome that fear. I remember when my first arBcle came out, I made my partner read it again and again, and I noBced so many things in it that I overlooked or failed to correct before publicaBon. Honestly, I did cry when the first publicaBon came out because I did not think it was worthy of people’s Bme. I was morBfied with the final product and thought

people would think I was ridiculous, but the feedback was the total opposite. People really congratulated me for what I was wriBng about and the mistakes or flaws in my wriBng, which seemed so large to me, were really negligent to other people. Being the Research Writer taught me that I was much harder on myself than others and that people simply enjoyed the conversaBons the arBcles generated.

This arBcle was not part of my assignment as the Research Writer; I requested that this be posted because I really wanted people to understand how valuable I really saw this opportunity to be. I will really miss being the Research Writer, but I am also very excited to see what the next individual does in this role; I look forward to learning from them. I am not sure how much value or insight I brought into your life by being the Research Writer, but I would like to thank you for taking the Bme to read my work. It is truly so heartwarming to me that people read my worked, enjoyed it and took the Bme to tell me.

While I have your aYenBon, I would like to challenge you as well to go out and find your dream job, if you are not already in it. Take risks, challenges and opportuniBes as they come and do not be afraid of failure. Do not be your own worst enemy and not allow yourself to be challenged. I have failed so many Bmes, and many Bmes they are in an arBcle, which is public and I cannot control, but I have learnt to overcome that fear. If you like to write, go and find a way to write, if you like to speak, find opportuniBes to speak about things you are passionate about, and most importantly, if someone does something that inspires you, let them know because that might be exactly what ignites them to go further when Bmes are tough or they are quesBoning themselves.

Thank you for your Bme and for allowing me the opportunity to do something I truly love.

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Widening Perspectives: A Reflection on Community Engagement

Carolyn Hough Residence Life Coordinator Brock University

I will be the first to admit that I am fairly new at this whole professional-working-for-a-larger-institution thing (otherwise known as “adulting”). But as anyone who has started a new job at a new institution will tell you, not only does it come with information overload, but it comes with the opportunity to see everything with fresh eyes. As I have now been at Brock for about three months, I have had some time to learn, adjust, and be grateful for my fresh eyes.

Within my first few weeks I was invited/followed along to a soup-lunch competition in support of United Way, and while I did not think much of it at the time (other than I got to taste some delicious soup), United Way events and updates kept finding their way into my email inbox. I was consistently reminded that this campaign was not only a tradition but was a staple of the staff environment and culture. It served as a reminder to me that institutions also strive to be a staple of the community. I saw bits and pieces of this as a student, seeing kids getting dropped off for swimming lessons, kids participating in day camps and youth programs throughout the summer, and the athletics program hosting grade schools for special basketball games. However, being a student, my focus was narrowed to readings and papers and tests and knowledge that may or may not be relevant to the real world. And this is the same for most students.

Post-secondary education itself, in combination with social aspects, can be all-consuming.

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As a Residence Life student staff, my perspective was wider, if only marginally, but my role was even more monopolizing. Student staff, instead of focusing solely on their learning and socializing, take on the extra commitment of worrying about other’s learning and socializing. While incredibly important, it was and still is, a very insular perspective. It is focused on the students living in your community or your building and how their grades are, how their mental health is, how they’re adjusting to post-secondary education and living away from home. With (I’m sure) a few exceptions, the position and responsibilities of a residence life student staff leave little room for thought to the greater community. The community outside their hallway, building, or campus, exists as a place to escape to or a place to go to in between stints in residence. As a student staff, I can personally say I rarely gave a second thought to the city that hosted my institution, and the people that lived in that city. It simply did not make the top 10 on the list of things I had to think about.

As a professional (again, still fairly new), I found it so easy to continue to remain caught up in the walls of a community or a building or the roads of a campus. It can almost become amplified, given the absorbing nature of a Residence professional’s focus. We see the larger, more “critical,” incidents, the ones that, no matter your ability to disassociate, take their toll, from as simple as taking time out of your day to as complicated as hitting a little too close to home. We deal with such a diverse, ever-evolving list of things. And with that list, it is easy to think that we are dealing with all that there is to deal with, that we’ve seen it all, that we don’t possibly have the energy, time, nor emotions to invest in anything else.

In my few months at Brock, I have noticed a genuine effort by the other professional’s in my department, in particular, to ensure that the knowledge that we are a part of the greater Niagara community is not forgotten.

Mid-November came around, and I quickly learned that participation in the institution-wide United Way campaign was just the tip of the iceberg. I learned of and got to participate in, the tradition of our staff teams becoming “Christmas Angels” or “Holiday Elves” for children in need in the Niagara community. The staff teams decide on a budget and go out and buy toys, books, stuffed animals, and anything else they think the child would enjoy, bringing it all together at our holiday reception to create a cartoon-like pile of toys.

It has become a tradition that around the holidays they take the time to look outside their residence communities, look beyond their exams and academics, and think of the greater community. And in turn, it allowed me to take that time. To see the impact that students, with a roof over their head and a meal plan on their card, could have on a child who may not be as lucky, was admirable. It challenged me to think that yes, as professionals, we deal with it all. But there are those that may never get to our residence buildings, interact with our student staff, show up on our radar, and access campus resources simply because they aren’t as lucky as the rest. And as we move into the new year, move into January full of resolutions, fresh eyes, and the light at the end of the tunnel that is summer, I want to challenge myself, and all of you, to think about how what we are doing is impacting the greater community. It absolutely can be through donating canned goods to a food drive, or being a “Holiday Elf,” or donating money and time to philanthropic campaigns. We can develop 17-21-year-olds into change-making, giving, loving leaders that will one day soon go out into the “real world.” While I hope that these leaders make an impact and leave a lasting effect on campus, I hope more so that they give significance to their lives and the lives of those surrounding them after they leave us.

So if you haven’t taken the time over the holiday break to think outside your buildings or campus, take the time to find an initiative that you care about, that your institution is already involved in, or that you think your student staff could get involved with. Donate time, donate money, donate goods (people are not just in need around Christmas!). It’s time to add “wider perspective of the community” onto our New Year’s Resolutions.

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This September, at Carleton University, we launched a new iniBaBve called Mental Wellness Mentors. This is a peer-based mentorship program provided to Carleton University residence students, intended to support students in their transiBon to university. Residence students meet with their mentor on a weekly basis in order to provide support to those who are struggling with transiBoning to university, experiencing new or exisBng stressors in their life or are looking for alternaBve means of support in addiBon to campus resources. This program is unique as it provides an alternaBve means of outreach that is non-judgmental, confidenBal and fosters healthy/posiBve engagement within the Residence and campus community. It is a great way to make connecBons with others and it gives students extra support throughout the year. . They offer coping strategies and structured supports to assist with mental health, mental wellness, selfawareness and transiBonal concerns for students in Residence. This program is flexible as it works with students’ schedule. We currently have eight Mental Wellness Mentors and the capacity of the program is capped at 40 students. Currently there are 30 students enrolled in the program. The Mental Wellness Mentors parBcipated in three days of specific training for this program and began meeBng with students immediately aHer OrientaBon Week. If you have any quesBons, please do not hesitate to connect with Natalie Allan (natalie.allan@carleton.ca)

Natalie Allan Assistant Director, Residence Life Carleton University

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Nicky Renault Manager, Student Conduct Queens University

Misconduct processes are oHen perceived, by nature, to be reacBve. Something happened.

Behaviour is documented. ConversaBons are had.

And there can be an informal or a formal adjudicaBve process. The conversaBons are where the learning and growth happen. These are the moments where we challenge students and push them to explore their own idenBBes, roles, and choices. But this shouldn’t be the beginning and the end.

I believe that a student’s engagement with the conduct process begins not just when there are concerns with behaviour, but rather with our very first interacBons with them. When they research the insBtuBon, scroll through a look-book, or show up for a tour, they peek into the future. This is when we set the stage for the kind of communiBes they will be a part of. When students move in and become residents, we build agreements, establish norms, and collaborate on furthering the kind of community we all want to be a part of. And in this community, there is a process for accountability – but it exists within the larger vision of who we are and want to be.

“Within all of that is an important reality – you can’t force change.”

We strive to be restoraBve, educaBonal, and developmental. We want students to learn, to take responsibility for their acBons, and to hold themselves accountable to a strong moral and developmental code. Within all of that is an important reality – you can’t force change.

PerspecBve is a driving force behind any interacBon. If a resident doesn’t see themselves as a member of a community, or if they don’t see themselves within the values of that community, they can perceive any interacBon with the conduct process as negaBve. But, someBmes, if you can shiH the focus away from “I” centred thinking, to “we,” then we can change the conversaBon. That conversaBon shouldn’t begin and end with a sBnt in the conduct process; it should begin before a resident moves in and conBnue throughout their Bme with us.

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I challenge you, the way I challenge myself, to One last thought, with all that in mind. Be willing and shiH the misconduct conversaBon from “you” to brave enough to operate from a place of hope. We “ u s , t h e c o m m u n i t y . ” are tasked with not only Residence Life at Queen’s is I challenge you, the way I challenge creaBng communiBes about building community, but believing they are myself, to shi< the misconduct developing resilience, and sustainable and worth conversa?on from “you” to “us, the promoBng academic success. taking risks for. Every community.”

Our conduct process is a key d a y, w e s h o u l d b e part of this because it exists m o d e l l i n g p o s i B v e within the larger, balanced picture and is infused change and not let one thing define a person. If I’d with our values. Residents will always challenge been defined by the things I may or may not have the guidelines, our standards, and the status quo engaged in while living in Residence, I probably – I’d like to believe that’s what keeps us on our wouldn’t be in the posiBon I am today. Our residents toes. We, as collaboraBve members of the are smart, capable, and willing to do great things. community, are responsible for creaBng space Believe in them and the community they create and that allows for risk-taking and idenBty building. are a part of – it’ll be worth it in the end.

Together we can hold each other accountable – not just to a wriYen code, but hopefully a broader concepBon of “we” that is worth standing up for.

Our expectaBons for our student staff that run our Residence Service Desks are high. They're high because the Ryerson Housing and Residence Life department has established important and clear values that all parts of our department are passionate about and commiYed to upholding. They're also high because our service desk roles are an incredible opportunity for student staff to learn a wide range of transferable skills. I entered this department at the end of 2016 as the RecepBon and Residence Service Desk Facilitator, which means that I have the opportunity to oversee the service desk student staff who work in our two largest residence buildings on campus. This team controls access to the buildings, liaises with the cleaning and maintenance teams, and delivers excepBonal customer service to anyone who enters their lobby space.

As the role of the Residence Service Desk agent became clearer and the quality of performance from the student staff elevated, we were faced with the challenge of how to effecBvely gather feedback for the team to implement in order to ensure that they conBnued to learn and develop, rather than plateau and become disengaged. I use the word 'challenge' because the way to monitor the performance of a team of 20+ students when they a) work independently at their designated residence building and b) all report into a single facilitator was incredibly unclear.

Thus, the Mystery Shopper program was born.

The program was developed at Ryerson by Valerie Bruce, Manager of Housing OperaBons and AdministraBon, with support through consultaBon from the University of Waterloo. It's modeled aHer the classic secret shopper role in the retail industry; a stranger enters a stores, interacts with the staff, and then goes away to provide feedback on the customer service they experienced. AdapBng this model to the residence world required the answering of a few quesBons: What aspects of the Residence Service Desk role could we request feedback on? Who could fill these roles without rousing the suspicions of the team? And how do we get our candidates to support this new and unusual iniBaBve?

Michelle Barker RSD & Reception Facilitator Ryerson University

Mystery

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The Mystery Shopper assessment was created with a focus on the customer experience and the undisputable feedback of the way the client - in this case, the mystery shopper - felt during their interacBon with the Residence Service Desk agent. QuesBons were formulated to establish if the Shopper felt prioriBzed, understood, and adequately supported while (hopefully) having their issue resolved. All scenarios were common residence occurrences; resident is locked out of room, resident has lost room key, resident has mail to pick up, etc. Nothing that would draw unwanted aYenBon to the mystery shopper and tasks that are common enough to establish whether policies and procedures are being followed. With a focus on the customer experience, who beYer to make up the team than current first-year residents? The choice was easy: people who live in the building wouldn't aYract suspicion when interacBng with the desk staff AND we'd be providing another opportunity to get involved in the residence community early on in the residents' first year. A happy by-product of this choice was that we've been able to connect with some excepBonal prospecBve student staff for our live-in and live-out teams early on in the year, many of whom go on to become Residence Advisors, Academic Links, and Residence Service Desk staff.

With the help of an online assessment soHware, this program should be easily implemented in most insBtuBons with service desks. I can't recommend it enough for the quality of the imparBal and specific feedback we've received. The assessment results have provided our staff with the opportunity to interact with and reflect on data from clients who are one step removed from their team. AddiBonally, the criBcal analysis of their opportuniBes has helped us to establish a culture of feedback on our team. By normalizing and celebraBng the feedback, the sBgma of fear and offence oHen associated with receiving feedback is gradually being removed.

Throughout the Mystery Shopper program's evoluBon, Residence Service Desk agents have even begun to start requesBng their anonymous feedback from their Mystery Shopper.

Overall, a highly recommended evaluaBon program. If you're considering implemenBng this program on your campus and would like to learn more about how to execute a Mystery Shopping iniBaBve, please contact me at michelle.barker@ryerson.ca.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/ 1FAIpQLSf9zRiHeu69ORUOMqM bcaB4BvpVBQ_1sOdkwljB80VL6JK2Q/viewform? c=0&w=1 13

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Let’s Talk: Mental Health and Professional Housing Staff Bell Let’s Talk Day, the annual campaign to raise funds for mental health will be on January 31st this year. It’s an important day for not only increasing financial support for mental health iniBaBves but also to raise the level of awareness around mental health. The hashtag #BellLetsTalk will soon be all over our social media feeds and a colleague of mine is oHen put into “TwiYer Jail” for tweeBng too oHen in too short a Bme. It’s an important day. It helps lessen the sBgma around mental health and makes it a liYle easier for people to talk when they are not OK.

Tim Lade Residence Life Coordinator Sheridan College

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I am a strong advocate of Bell Let’s Talk for many reasons but most importantly because I am currently a live-in professional staff member at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. I started working here in October aHer nearly ten years as an RLC in Edmonton, Alberta. I have lived and worked with thousands of students now, and I have spent a good chunk of Bme as a student affairs professional listening, supporBng, referring, and serving as a catalyst for their success and wellbeing. I am not a mental health expert, nor do I have a degree in psychology (BA film studies and MA leadership over here) but what I do have is experience living and working with students, and I have the experience of being a professional staff member. The value of Bell Let’s Talk is amplified in the work that we do, especially considering the compassion overload or burnout that we face as a result of the long-term support some students require. It builds, and it compounds itself and someBmes, as a professional staff member you hit a wall.

VacaBon is a good thing, as is balance and harmony between our roles as student affairs wizards, but someBmes, that compassion faBgue lingers within ourselves and it is extremely common to feel like one is struggling with their wellbeing. Let’s Talk is an important reminder that even as professional staff, our wellbeing has to be paramount and supported just as much as the residents we work with, especially when some of us live seventeen steps from our offices. Great commute in the winter, fantasBc opportunity to be connected to the community, someBmes a challenge when trying to find a strong work-life balance, parBcularly for new professional staff.

In the last several years, and rightly so, we have poured an enormous amount of resources, fiscal and otherwise, into developing and enhancing mental health support systems for our residence community. Bell Let’s Talk is just one Bny example of the collaboraBve enterprises we have embarked on to create a safe and secure, academically-focused environment for students.

It’s a good way to spend our Bme and money since our goal is to hold an empatheBc space for residents and help them solve the challenges that stand in their way. As someone who has worked all over this country and with countless other housing professionals, I have come to understand that mental health support cannot extend only to the students who live in our communiBes. According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, 500 000 Canadians will miss work due to wellbeing concerns, and 1 in 3 disability claims are related to mental health. Beyond this, the cost of ignoring mental health in the workplace leads to lost producBvity, illness, grievances and complaints, turnover, and staff disengagement. This is a real thing.

Michelle Obama at the launch of Change DirecBon said “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health […]. Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg, or your brain, it’s sBll an illness, and there should be no disBncBon.” Peter Cappelli, Director of the Warton Center for Human Resources at the University of Pennsylvania, said that “There is a lot of sBgma around mental illness and that there are sBll a lot of people who believe it is character rather than something physiological. They believe if you really wanted to fix this you could do it. I don’t think mental illness is very well understood.” As a profession that predicates itself on being a catalyst for student success, we are incredibly well posiBoned to change these condiBons. The most basic and important thing we can do, and in the theme of Bell Let’s Talk, we can listen and support.

I spent some Bme in the AcBng Director at my previous insBtuBon, and I made it a priority to meet with every full-Bme staff member in the department for at least for 30 minutes every week. Some days nothing was going on and others it was a more in-depth conversaBon.

Beyond this, our conversaBons were not just about work

and performance management but about how the people I was working with were genuinely doing. There was a moment where a staff member came to me and shared how overwhelmed they were with a process, and it was to the point where they were considering resigning. We spoke at length of what they needed, what the stressors were about the process, and what I could do to help alleviate the pressure and anxiety they were feeling. It sounds like a simple thing, and it’s something we do with students all the Bme, but there are Bmes when the response to professional staff concerns like the aforemenBoned is work hard, get it done, and move onto the next task. The problem with that type of leadership is that it flies in the face of fundamental professional communicaBon and significant research around the areas of a relaBonal approach to leadership. The relaBonal model of leadership development indicates that the quality of a relaBonship between a supervisor and someone who reports to that supervisor is a major factor in performance and engagement. Beyond this, when we, as supervisors, knock down the barriers for the staff we supervise to access the support they need, and when we genuinely invest in the colleagues we work with, we build a workplace that invests in bringing out, as Abraham Lincoln would say, the beYer angels of our colleague's nature. It is possible to meet the boYom lines of our budget, fulfil our strategic plan, and be the same support network for our colleagues that we are for our students.

There are many places to start from such as providing access to an Employee Assistant Plan, but that cannot be the only response. According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada in Assembling the Pieces: An ImplementaBon Guide to the NaBonal Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, there is much more than can be done. According to the guide, organizaBons that make employee mental health a priority enjoy beYer recruitment and retenBon, colleagues are far more acBve and engaged as well as more innovaBve and thoughzul. Beyond this, research shows that implementaBon of stronger mental health support processes for full-Bme staff see improvement in all key performance indicators.

At the end of the day, as housing professionals, we are oHen doing a lot of the processes menBoned, it’s simply a maYer of adjusBng to emphasize full-Bme staff. Every organizaBon is going to be different, and every organizaBon is going to approach their employees through a different lens. The research, however, is clear that making this investment is worth its weight in community meeBng pizza and something worth exploring. Bell Let’s Talk suggests the first thing to do is share what we are thinking and feeling and being genuinely invested in the person doing the sharing. This is what we do as student affairs professionals and will always do. I believe the Let’s Talk program reminds us of the power of conversaBon and the doorways it opens to enhancing organizaBons that are catalysts for the wellness of all stakeholders.

CitaBons Collins, J. (2014). Assembling the Pieces An ImplementaBon Guide to the NaBonal Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. Toronto, ON: CSA Group.

Mental Health in the Workplace: How We Can Move Beyond the SBgma. (2015, May 28).

Retrieved from hYp:// knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/arBcle/movingbeyond-the-sBgma-of-mental-health-in-theworkplace/ NaBonal Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. (n.d.). Retrieved from hYps://letstalk.bell.ca/staBc/public/downloads/ toolkit/en/workplace-standards.pdf

THE OACUHO PULSE January Edition

Programming & Community Persistence

Brie Sadler AGM Residence on First

When I transiBoned from on-campus to off-campus student housing six months ago, I anBcipated lots of new challenges. I knew that programming in my new role would be hard for a number of different reasons: 1. The tradiBonal “2-door challenge” that exists in suite-style residence, where you have to get students beyond both a bedroom and a suite door.

2. Upper-year students have different needs and interests than first-year students.

3. Off-campus students are looking for a more independent living experience and a close Throw the college strike into the mix, and it’s fair to say that things have not gone as planned on the programming front. The first Res Life event we hosted at Residence on First (R1) this year was an ice-cream social at the end of the move-in weekend. With 60 students in aYendance, it looked like we had an engaged community of students who would at least show up if there was free food. I thought I totally had this.

A few weeks later, three students showed up for my Hobbit movie night. Not great aYendance, but at least I was sBll drawing a crowd. No so for the next few programs. Short of tables in the lobby with informaBon and snacks, students weren’t showing up anymore. I offered Back to the Future on November 5 and free popcorn, and I sat in our cinema alone. How do people not want Marty McFly and free popcorn???

By December, I was feeling preYy discouraged. And then I hit programming pay-dirt with our gingerbread house contest. The set-up was preYy simple – I sent out a building-wide email le{ng our students know about the contest. Residents emailed me back with their intent to register, and I bought the appropriate number of gingerbread house kits. They picked them up, decorated them, and sent me the pictures. I used a website called Later.com to post all the pictures to our Instagram account, and the house with the most likes by Friday won the contest. We had about 50 students parBcipate by making gingerbread houses, either by themselves or with roommates and friends, and the contest generated 1,151 likes between all 20 houses we received pictures for.

When students sent in their pictures, they talked about how much fun they had spending Bme with friends and roommates, or how much they enjoyed parBcipaBng in what they hope will now be a building tradiBon. I tried to replicate the magic by using the same format for our holiday sweater contest and was sorely disappointed in the outcome (a whopping 0 people parBcipated), but I think it speaks volumes to the community I’m programming for.

They want to leave their bedrooms, but not necessarily their suites. They want small-scale programming that allows them to connect with people in their immediate surroundings. They want to parBcipate on their terms, and those terms aren’t always the same on a day-to-day basis.

Programming for an upper-year, off-campus community is hard, but I’m also finding it rewarding. All the “failed” programs in between have been worth it for the excitement and sense of community that the ice cream social and the gingerbread house contest generated. Seeing people who don’t expect to find the same sense of belonging in their apartment building that they felt in residence has given me a renewed appreciaBon for how intenBonal programming can make a difference in a resident’s living experience.

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Rethinking Winter Break Housing From December 20th to January 2nd over three hundred residence students at the University of Toronto Mississauga elected to stay in residence while the university closed. We offered this opportunity to all residence students at no additional cost.

In early 2017 the Winter Break Housing Policy was identified as a high-impact practice to an increasing percentage of the residence population at UTM. A group of professional staff were challenged to review and rethink the current practice with the goal of creating an innovative and accessible Winter Break Housing Policy for residence students.

The priority was getting a better understanding of student needs. We know that the end of the term is a particularly stressful time for our students who have exams pushing late into December.

But even after it's 'pencils down' on the last exam of the year many students are left with the emotional and financial costs associated with travel during the holidays.

After reviewing early applications the initial concerns about students abusing this opportunity, or staying in residence just because they could, quickly faded. A large number of applications cited financial reasons, and international travel as the main reasons to stay over the break. However, these changes did not only impact our international student population; several domestic students wished to stay to continue part-time employment over the holidays at local retail stores, which previously they may have just been breaking even if they chose to stay with us previously.

The changes to our policy helped us reflect on why we offer winter break housing. Having students stay over the winter break was never about making money, rather it was about providing safe and accessible housing to those in need. By removing upfront costs and simplifying the application, students are put first without compromising the administrative process.

Currently, the department is reviewing student feedback and aiming to provide the same opportunity to students staying over the 2018-2019 winter break.

Previously students could stay over the entirety of break for $450 or apply for a short-term extension at a nominal cost. The revenue generated from winter housing was not substantial, and with the goal of an innovative and accessible policy in mind, it was decided to scrap the fee structure. Additionally, the current administrative process (involving tracking multiple unique short-term requests and managing the associated costs) was proving to be more complicated with the increasing numbers of students electing to stay during the winter break. With a fee no longer associated, a singular application was created to simplify the process for both administrative staff and students.

During the break all residence areas were left open so that students could stay in their units, removing the stress of a temporary move. Student staff members who were taking advantage of the new policy themselves applied to continue their roles over the break, acting as on-call support, performing rounds, and facilitating programming for those students who stayed.

Professional staff remained on-call throughout the break, and the Residence Desk was open with reduced hours to accommodate mail and lost keys.

Curtis Nelson Communications Coordinator University of Toronto Mississauga

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Instagramming the Residence Experience to Engage Generation Z We’ve all heard the age-old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” This phrase is incredibly relevant to marketing via social media, especially when your target audience is a part of a generation that places immense value on visual content.

In 2015, our markeBng team idenBfied that 92% of our students who would be living in residence at Western for the 2016-17 year were a part of the GeneraBon Z cohort.

Born aHer 1995, Gen Z is made up of true digital naBves, beaBng out millennials with their online mulB-tasking abiliBes, and known for using up to five screens at once (Ologie LLC, 2017). With such a noisy digital world and an eightsecond aYenBon span, it makes sense that this generaBon prefers visual content and 88% are acBve Instagram users (Fullterton, 2017).

Although Residence at Western has been acBve on Facebook and TwiYer for a couple of years, we knew that as our buildings became increasingly saturated with Gen Z students, we had to up our game. Since launching our residence-specific Instagram account (@westernurezlife) in July 2015, we’ve gained 1,658 followers with an average engagement rate (average likes and comments per post divided by followers) of 7.2%, an impressive feat when comparing to the industry engagement rate benchmark of 3.5% (Schwartz, 2017). Since the beginning of this school year, our average engagement per post has further reached 12.7% with 3,097 average impressions.

New trends in social media are constantly emerging, but one thing is clear—photo feeds like Instagram are a hit with Gen Z. NavigaBng these trends has been a huge learning curve, so here are a few of the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

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Quality vs Quan?ty of the Content PosBng frequently on Instagram can be a challenge, so invest your Bme in posBng consistent, high-quality and engaging content. However, quality isn’t just about using the fanciest equipment; a lesson we learned when we realized most of our top performing posts were shot with a smartphone. Quality can be determined by relevancy, representaBon of the students, and showcasing emoBon. Relevancy means that you’re pu{ng yourself in the students’ shoes. Although you may be incredibly proud of your team, showing something like a Housing staff’s birthday celebraBon isn’t necessarily something the students will find interesBng. We find students like our posts when they know the people in them, which is also why we strive to represent residence by showing new, idenBfiable faces for each post. We noBced this increased the chances of people tagging their friends they see in the post, which increased engagement.

Another strategy that we have found successful is to post candid photos or video that show emoBon or tell a story. Your photo could be relevant and represent the diversity of student life, but if there’s no context or the subjects don’t appear to be having a good Bme, you likely won’t get much response. At one point, we posted a baseball acBon shot taken from the sidelines, but couldn’t understand why it wasn’t performing. We adapted our strategy to focus more on the student, with some subtle details to tell the story; a football field light as the backdrop revealed the se{ng, a genuine smile indicated they won the game, and smudged face paint suggested that they worked hard to do so. In focus groups, we’ve heard Bme and Bme again, “show us how people feel and we can relate, don’t tell us how to feel because everyone does that.” Real stories showing their real peers connect with Gen Z. Authoring vs Sourcing Content Considering the amount of programming that happens across campus, sourcing content can be difficult, especially with limited budget and capacity. However, we discovered creaBve ways to represent the diversity of residence life aHer we considered Gen Z’s desire for authenBcity. We narrowed our strategy to focus on two types of content: self-authored and sourced user-generated content.

Self-authored content represents the posts that we write ourselves. Whether it is wriYen by a work-study student, or myself, the purpose of this content is to keep the account acBve, as well as achieve insBtuBonal goals (i.e. Rez Staff recruitment, upper-year residence promoBons, etc.). It’s difficult to achieve authenBcity in these posts, so we use a “voice” that mimics the language and hashtags used by our target audience. This type of content can be tricky, as it is easy for self-authored posts to look like we’re trying too hard to be cool.

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Although the self-authored content has an important funcBon, we limit this style and strive to source user-generated content, or what is considered “digital word-of- mouth”—the most powerful form of markeBng. What some organizaBons fail to realize is that social media isn’t just about posBng, it’s about listening. To understand our students and source content, we search common hashtags and geotags to see what they post on their accounts. SomeBmes it’s not the most appropriate, and obviously not how you want to represent your university. But, they have a lot to teach us and love sharing their Overall, our social listening has allowed us to idenBfy influenBal students living in residence, and when we see posts that show anything to do with the residence experience, we’ll reach out and thank them for posiBvely represenBng RezLife. We then ask if we can repost their photo with credit, and encourage them to tag us. We created a mailing list that students send their original unedited images to, and once they have that email saved, they oHen send us photos from other residence events even without us asking. This doesn’t just populate our account with user-generated content, but we’ve noBced an increase in these students posBng posiBve messages about their residence experience.

When we repost these posiBve experiences, we give them a voice, and they feel like it’s their channel.

To keep up with social trends and appeal to Gen Z, it is worth invesBng in Instagram. Witnessing these students move to residence, make lifelong friends, and discover their passions is so special that someBmes words can’t express it. But we don’t need words. Use photos and memories that your students have shared because not only will it engage and inspire current staff and students, but it demonstrates for prospecBve students that residence is more than just a place to eat and sleep.

Calista Powell Marketing & Communications Coordinator Western University

References Fullerton, L. (2017, April 11). Study: Teens, college students favor Snapchat while Gen Z spends up to 11 hours per day on social.

Retrieved December 1, 2017, from hYp:// www.thedrum.com/news/2017/04/13/ study-teens-college-students-favorsnapchat-while-gen-z-spends-up-11hours-day Ologie LLC. (2017). This is Gen Z. Retrieved December 10, 2017, from hYps://ologie.com/ gen-z/ Schwartz, C. (2017, April 4). 2017 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report. Retrieved December 10, 2017, from hYps:// www.rivaliq.com/blog/2017-social-mediaindustry-benchmark-report/

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Thinking about joining the OACUHO Board, but are worried…

By: 2017-2018 Board of Directors Various Positions Various Institutions

I don’t know that many people in OACUHO; how could I serve on the Board if I’m not familiar with many members of the association?

That’s the best part! Being part of the board gives you a chance to get to know even more members of the association. You have the chance to work closely with people you would not generally interact with on a regular basis and share ideas and discussions with people from across the province. Nothing brings people together like the successes and challenges of working together.

By the time your term is done, you will definitely know more members of the association growing your personal and professional network.

I’m a senior Housing pro/CHO, and I don’t want to commit three years to the President track.

As a person who has worked in our field for a number of years I felt it was important to contribute both my voice and time to the association because our profession needs the voices of those with broad experiences in the field to be active within the association to further encourage our growth. Was the timing perfect? Not really. During the next two years we will be opening two new buildings at Ryerson and with that expansion I can foresee an incredible amount of effort needed in furthering the robustness and resiliency of our systems, processes and programs.

However, as I began to consider running for president, I looked back on my time as a campus housing professional and realized that rarely would there be a time when the timing would be “perfect”, but now was a great time for me to contribute, create change (where needed), and encourage and empower the growth of our field, our association and its members. We need our senior leaders to be involved in the association beyond attendance. We need their knowledge and experiences to guide our work. We need them to model what active involvement in the association can look like.

I feel like the Board is only for Res Life folks.

One of the reasons I joined the board was to ensure there was a voice around the table with an operations perspective. It is so valuable for members from functional areas to join in order to ensure all members needs are represented while also giving a opportunity to share with the other board members your role and responsibilities.

OACUHO needs all voices around the table and our members who work in functional areas are a big part of that.

It seems really serious and professional; I’m not sure I feel I’d fit in on the Board.

The Board meetings can have a serious and professional tone as we meet and discuss issues that will affect the membership, but it is a great way to observe and learn from peers about housing operations issues.

Regardless of your exposure to the association, if you have not had a lot of exposure to a “professional” outlet, then this opportunity would be great!

Will my supervisor be supportive of me taking on this additional opportunity?

You won’t know the answer until you ask. When I was thinking about running for the Board, one of the first things I did was talk to my supervisor. It was beneficial to go into the conversation knowing why I wanted to join the board and how the experience would benefit me and the institution. This could be different for you, however preparing for the conversation is a great place to start. If you have outstanding questions that you feel your supervisor might ask and you don’t know the answer to (time and financial commitment, etc.), reach out to members on the current board or past boards to get the answers.

I’m kind of new here. I think I lack enough experience to contribute to the Board.

As a new professional on the Board of Directors, I was also concerned with what I could bring to the team or where my fit would be. As we are a Board representing a professional association, it can feel like there is a lot to know and think about; but no one is expected to be an expert, and there are always folks willing to help or offer guidance. Showing up, offering thoughts and asking questions always adds value to a process. All levels of membership should be represented regardless how long you have “been around”.

My friend/colleague is planning on running for the same position as me. I don’t want to compete against them.

As I often say to students in our conversations about behaviour, loyalty is a great virtue. And the value of good relationships in your workplace cannot be overestimated. I would recommend having a conversation with this person that you value about how you both want to proceed. Automatically deferring likely isn’t something they would expect from you. Perhaps you might agree that you will both put your names forward and the person who is not elected will support the work of the association in another way for the year.

I’m past the point in my career where I need to serve on the Board.

There is no expiry date for service to the Association. Period. It is important for members with many years in the field to contribute their knowledge and experience to the leadership of OACUHO. I think I’d love to be on the Board, but I’m too intimidated to actually participate in the election!!

This is a totally fair point, but like anything in life, you’ve got to risk it to get the biscuit! Being on the Board is a really rewarding experience, and there are many talented professionals in our field. Though it might be intimidating, in the same way we encourage our student or professional staff to strive for opportunities that will better them and our institutions, the same goes for you! Take it one step at a time, and recognize that putting your name forward is already a contribution of your time to the organization!

Work is just so busy, and I honestly don’t have time for additional commitments!

This is a fair concern, since Housing already comes with a high volume of work. I wouldn’t encourage someone who was deeply struggling with their priorities to add another commitment to their plate. That said, depending on your position on the Board, your weekly commitment falls in the range of 2-5 hours. It is certainly a manageable commitment for folks who feel adjusted to their roles. If not now, when??

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