University housing plays a critical role in shaping students’ college experiences. A well-organized residential system fosters academic success, social development, and personal growth. However, managing university housing requires careful planning, coordination, and adherence to established policies. One way to understand the complexities of this system is through Bolman and Deal’s Four-Frame Model, particularly the Structural Frame, which focuses on organizational structure, policies, roles, and processes that ensure efficiency and effectiveness. In this article, we’ll explore how the Structural Frame applies to university housing, highlighting its importance in maintaining order, optimizing resources, and addressing challenges.
This post is part of a four part series exploring Bolman and Deals Four-Frame Model for understanding organizations.
Structural | Human Resources | Political | Symbolic
Understanding the Structural Frame
Bolman and Deal’s Structural Frame is based on the premise that organizations function best when there is a clear structure in place. This frame emphasizes hierarchy, established policies, and formalized procedures. Organizations that effectively apply the Structural Frame prioritize efficiency, predictability, and accountability. Here are some of the key aspects of the Structural Frame as it pertains to ResLife:
Organizational Roles and Responsibilities: We all know that it takes many people wearing a variety of hats to make a Housing operation successful. You have people at all levels, from RAs to provide peer support, all the way up to Directors and Administrators who oversee budgets and conduct long-term planning for operations. Having someone with an expertise in facilities management and repairs is a necessity as well as someone who can conduct marketing and logistics from that angle to ensure websites are updated and that students know what options are available. The hierarchical structure allows for streamlined communication and efficient decision-making, ensuring that everything runs smoothly (or at least as smooth as it can be without the consideration of other variables, right?).
Policies and Procedures: Hey, I get that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but this is a critical part of ResLife to maintain fairness, consistency, and safety within the residence halls and apartments. The most obvious element to mention are community standards or a code of conduct with policies, clearly outlining noise level expectations, alcohol use, guest policies, and other relevant items to help create a safe and respectful living environment. But it goes beyond that: this also includes the housing assignment process, room change procedures, and expectations for conflict mediation. Each of these items ensure that there are set expectations and patterns to follow in order to seek success.
Resource Allocation and Operational Efficiency: While many see this as big-picture planning conducted by Directors, it genuinely can be managed by people at all levels. Think of RAs and how they manage their floor funds: when they spend their budgets consistently throughout the entire year, they provide residents more engaging experiences compared to those who spend it all on one huge end of year event. And, let’s be honest, if they haven’t been doing well at event planning throughout the entire year, what is the likelihood that residents will attend that final event? Directors and administrators also do a significant amount of resource allocation when considering space availability management, staffing needs, and budgeting for maintenance and renovations.
Coordination and Communication: Clear and concise communication is paramount in ResLife since there are so many stakeholders involved in many of the processes that are conducted. With first-year students, often Housing Teams are communicating with students and parents in tandem, specifically during summer orientation when information is shared about what to expect with move-in. There is also a great deal of collaboration with campus partners to ensure student success, often with the Dean of Students Office, the Counseling Center, Student Activities, and other resources of this nature. Establishing standardized communication channels help keep all parties informed and aligned with policies and procedures.
Crisis Management and Problem-Solving: There’s no way around it: you have to know a lot about everything when you work in ResLife. This is specifically connected to the on-call capacity of the role as you never know what you are going to expect when you get a call. This is where clearly defined emergency protocols come in, where staff at all levels know what is expected of them in general situations and when to call up. It also includes incident reporting systems, which is often in tandem with a few campus partners (see that communication element?). This also means making sure that staff are trained effectively so that they can assist as expected.
Challenges of the Structural Frame in University Housing
An organization cannot be successful without having well-thought out policies and procedures within the Structural Frame. All that to be said, this frame also presents some of its own challenges to consider when refining the policies and procedures.
Rigidity and Bureaucracy: A strict adherence to policies can sometimes lead to inflexibility, which is hard when ResLife seems to be more often in a grey area than one that is black or white. One example applies to policy enforcement through the conduct system. At one institution I worked at, a student had to be held accountable for alcohol if they were in the room, even if it was just for five minutes and they weren’t aware that it was present. There is a lot of context that the policy ignored: maybe the resident was just dropping something off and didn’t see the bottle, maybe they were hanging out and had no idea that it was in the fridge, and so on. When the policy is written in a way that excludes and ignores these factors, it makes it incredibly hard for the student (and administrators) who have to uphold them.
Perceived Lack of Personalization: A highly structured system may seem impersonal to students who seek or need a more individualized approach to their housing experience. Policies that apply to all students may not always account for cultural, financial, or personal differences. There are some institutions where room change processes don’t start until mid-September, so that there can be an effective count of residents as moving can make this process more complicated. If a roommate pair are not getting along, to the point of getting verbally aggressive, one may elect to move home until the room change process can begin. Think about how much that student is missing out on: those first six weeks are essential in creating a sense of belonging. Yet, it’s what happens at a handful of institutions.
Resistance to Change: We’ve all heard, “This is how we’ve always done things.” And it’s unlikely that’s going to change any time soon because policy change seems to happen slowest within higher education. Mental health awareness is a great topic within this category as there have been many changes over the past five years to help this move in the right direction. At an institution I was at, we needed to call University Security whenever there was a mental health concern and that was especially true if suicide ideation was part of the student’s experience. That’s a pretty big issue on a number of levels. Yes, law enforcement are typically trained on some matters like this but it ignores context from the student perspective. Are they going to be honest and transparent about what they’re feeling if someone shows up in uniform? Do they have a positive history in connecting with law enforcement in their past? And so on. There’s been a recent pivot to utilize a mental health app on the campus, where a student can text, call, or have an online meeting with a therapist at any time of the day. This is a big win for change but there are many other ways that institutions can continue to grow and meet students where they are at.
To address these challenges, universities often integrate elements of Bolman and Deal’s other frames. The Human Resource Frame, for instance, emphasizes student well-being and personal support, while the Political and Symbolic Frames help address power dynamics and the cultural significance of student housing. More about these will be shared in future articles.
By establishing clear roles, enforcing policies, and maintaining efficient operations, housing departments can create structured, safe, and effective residential environments for students. However, universities must also balance structure with flexibility, ensuring that policies remain responsive to students’ evolving needs. And this frame isn’t just for Directors or other administrators: it’s to be used at all levels to help provide positive experiences for the students we serve. By leveraging the Structural Frame while incorporating insights from other perspectives, university housing systems can achieve both organizational efficiency and student-centered support, fostering a positive residential experience that contributes to student success and well-being.
