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We’re always looking for ways to improve our assignment processes. Whether you’re looking to improve efficiencies for your staff or increase the autonomy for your students, we all can benefit from learning about the best practices of other institutions. Saint Mary’s College is doing things a little differently. Let’s take a minute to learn about their process.
Saint Mary’s College
I had the opportunity to sit down with Ariel Leary, Director, Office of Residence Life, at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN. Saint Mary’s College has learned how to streamline its process and make this method of Occupancy Management successful. By creating a supportive and collaborative process involving students, Saint Mary’s has increased satisfaction and reduced attrition and room change requests. It was immediately apparent that Saint Mary’s puts students first and continually works to decomplexify the room selection process to make it as seamless as possible for students.
The Data
A recent report from Skyfactor Benchworks (2019) indicates that only 49% of students are selecting their own room. 42% of students indicated their preferences and were assigned a room while 9% of students did not indicate preferences and were assigned a room. Furthermore, “residents who selected their own room were more satisfied with the outcomes of the room assignment process than those who were assigned a room (either with or without providing preferences).”
Scheduling
Saint Mary’s allows online room selection for all students. That’s right; all students from senior to freshman students, are able to participate in their online room selection process. The process is separated out by class year, and the team at Saint Mary’s allows plenty of time between the selection dates for each group. Below is an example of their schedule:
- March 1: Applications Due
- March 5: Senior Room Selection
- March 17-18: Junior Room Selection
- April 19-20: Sophomore Room Selection
- June 2-3: Freshman Room Selection
Theory to Practice
Using a method that supports a mix of Stanford’s Theory of Challenge and Support and Astin’s Theory of Involvement, Saint Mary’s works with their students through each step of the process. Prospective and returning students receive a detailed package prior to applying that outlines the entire process. Students are able to view eligible rooms in advance of their selection date to ensure they feel prepared and educated leading into selection day. Students receive a specific lottery time and date, and Saint Mary’s staff are available exclusively to students on lottery days. Students can contact them by phone, email, in person at the housing office, or on social media.
Staffing
Many people believe that an online room selection reduces the staff time that needs to be allocated to room selection. Leary argues that it’s not a reduction in staff time for selection but rather results in more student-facing staff members who work with students, instead of for students. Aligned with the thoughts of Tommy Tressler-Gelok in the post, Leverage Your Occupancy Data, the perception of choice is powerful for students. At Saint Mary’s, students do their research prior to room selection, choose their own room, and make their own roommate groupings. As a result, students seem more likely to take some accountability for their decision and are less likely to blame the department for their accommodation concerns. Rather than spending their workday assigning rooms, staff are scheduled to be readily available to help students leading up to and on selection day. It’s important to show that the students have support through this process, whether they actually need it or not.
Want More Information?
Saint Mary’s is about to launch its eighth season of online room selection. If you’re interested in hearing more about their process and the lessons learned at Saint Mary’s, please be in touch, and we’d be happy to connect you!
Welcome to the community. We’re glad you’re here.
