For many of us in on-campus housing, we plan for it the entire year – Move-In. It’s become the main event, and that’s understandable: it’s our first impression, involves overlapping processes, and provides a rather intimate view of what we do and how we do it to every stakeholder imaginable. And because of all this, we put a ton of effort into move-in operating as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
For those of us in Residence Life, that focus on operations sometimes comes at a cost to the educational and developmental opportunities that move-in provides. I prefer to think of Move-in the same as any engagement initiative, from outcomes to assessment and everything in between. And every time the teams I work with break it down in such a way, I find us enhancing the learning embedded in Move-In in some new way. If that interests you, please consider these five quick tips for injecting residential education into Move-In on your campus.
Tip 1: Align Tasks with Outcomes
Whether you utilize a curricular approach or not, I’m sure you have outcomes or goals for what you want students to get out of their on-campus living experience. As you plan out the tasks and interactions staff will have with students as they move-in, pull out those outcomes and consider how the tasks align. Do you see the items covered on check-in aligned with your outcomes? Is the language you’re training staff to use on that first day reflective of how you expect interactions to look throughout the year? How does the staff members’ engagement that day set them up for success in the initial programs they’ll host within the next week?
While you are considering this, scope outward to the rest of the institution and consider how your Move-In experience aligns (or could align) with other orientation and welcome experiences. Any alignment you can add will help both students and staff.
Tip 2: Passive Opportunities for Learning
On a related note, take a look at the signage you have up for Move-In, and consider how it can similarly move students along in the outcomes you have. Think about all the spaces in their new home and how you hope or expect they will engage with those spaces – now put that succinctly on a sign for the first week or two. For example: “Study Lounge – for you and your friends to review for the test together, reset it for the next group when you’re done.” Consider wayfinding as well; some of our communities are huge, and a student living five floors away from the laundry room may miss the two seconds that was covered during their check-in, so give some directional signage from central locations for a couple weeks too.
Tip 3: Process & Procedure Consistency
A common outcome for many residence life programs is that students understand how to navigate and engage with the department’s processes and procedures. Yet we often relegate education on these to quick mentions during the busyness of Move-In or a move-in meeting. While the signage tip above may help, I find going multi-modal and as consistent as possible is important too. Consider keys and access cards. There are several opportunities for education on how they work:
- signage at a desk and/or access points
- Desk staff explaining how they work when issuing them
- Move-In interactions with RA’s re-emphasizing them
- Tours of the building including the same notes
- An initial email that goes out in the first day building from all of the above
And while you’re at it, consider the differences between how students interact with keys during move-in and the rest of the year. Can you bring those any closer together? If not, make sure to call out those differences – you’ll be explaining them anyway, so might as well get ahead of it.
Tip 4: Quick Engagements
Something I am proud to share here is how the teams I’ve worked with have developed quick and intentional ways to engage students and their supporters during move-in. Think of these as quick programs at stations, whether throughout a building or in a lobby. As you brainstorm, I’d suggest answering the question: “what could a student or supporter do in 10 minutes or less that starts meeting outcomes of our residential experience.” Here are some examples I’ve collected over the years – again, most developed by exceptional colleagues:
- station faculty, advisors, or residential college staff throughout the building in lounges & handing out water or a snack, introducing themselves to students and supporters alike
- Host a game that covers important policies for residential living
- Invite students to stop by a station for their major or college and have some icebreaker questions for them to meet other students sharing those academic interests
- Hand out stickers from various offices across campus as an introduction to resources
- Facilitate students writing a note to themselves in a few months, introducing goal setting and how to write their new address
- Take “welcome home” pictures, use on social media with permission, and have some way to share with both students and their supporters – go Polaroid if you have the budget
- Invite students to contribute to a community-wide visual project that will be displayed for some time such as a puzzle, mural, or banner
- Offer quick tours of key areas of the building, thinking of what you want supporters to remind students of throughout the year
Tip 5: On-Going Move-in Education
Because it’s such a big event, we sometimes forget about the day after Move In or the many students who move (into) communities throughout the year. As you consider the tips above, remember that they can and should be a foundation for what comes next – very little of the education you inject into Move-In will be the last time you touch on a given topic or outcome. For example, you may cover key policies during Move-in, but when and how are you covering the others? And for those students moving in the next day, week, or month, how are you engaging them in the same outcomes important for their move-in experience? You may find it easier or more difficult to meet those outcomes when you’re not trying to do so “at scale,” but no matter what, if you’ve determined residential education is important on Move-In day, it’s also important on any student’s move-in day.
