3 Ways to Incorporate Technology Into Your Student Housing
Upgrade your student housing with the latest technology
Student housing has always been a complex topic, and recent years have posed even newer challenges to shared living spaces on campus. From a population raised on technology to unprecedented years of working and learning from home, times are changing for student housing. What are ways you can bring technology into your student housing facilities to make them a more pleasurable experience for your students? The best place to start is by streamlining processes you already have, then focusing on new tech amenities for comfort and convenience. This can be as simple as implementing digital signature forms for student housing contracts, or as complex as building tech-centric study lounges for students. In the end, it comes down to what best fits your campus, your institution’s goals, and your target student demographic.
A Focus on Sustainability
Modern college students have been found to put greater importance on the sustainability practices of their universities. Over the course of an eight-year study, 91% of students noted that they wanted to learn more about sustainability but also wanted to attend a university that made proactive, environmentally-conscious choices. With that number only expected to grow, it’s becoming increasingly important for universities to put mindful effort into their sustainability policies.
While technology brings a host of conveniences with it, the most universally praised aspect of technology is the burden it relieves on our environment. Take for example the case of paper forms or form management. As a higher education institution, you’re no stranger to forms. From staff and faculty schedules, syllabuses, and assignments, all the way to applications and administrative paperwork, there are a lot of forms to keep straight. With millions of pages being printed each semester at medium to large-sized universities, it’s easy to imagine the potential for savings, not just financially, but environmentally as well.
“MSU students printed out over four million pages in 2003… This problem was not unique to MSU. Dartmouth College students were printing over six million pages per year.”
While paper waste is just one example of an environmental impact, it’s one that technology can easily replace. By implementing student portals and digital messaging platforms for students and faculty, assignments and tests can be removed from paper waste calculations immediately. When it comes to accepting applications, reviewing financial aid information, and even handling delicate information like medical history forms, switch to a digital forms solution to remove paper processes from your existing workflow.
Swapping out your paper processes for digital alternatives is a great first step in prioritizing sustainability on your campus, and while there will be a learning curve with any new platform, this can easily be your first foray into an eco-friendly campus. After that, you can move forward with additional sustainability efforts, such as student-led composting or even campus housing community gardens. Additional opportunities for solar panels atop campus housing can not only support your engineering college and programs but can also provide cleaner energy alternatives for your buildings. While some of these are bigger endeavors, it’s ok to start small and work your way up. A sustainably-focused campus has greater appeal to a wider array of students and implementing new pieces of tech each year is a fantastic way to build a stronger reputation for your institution.
Promote Privacy Over Shared Spaces
One trend the younger generation is prioritizing is access to privacy instead of an emphasis on shared spaces. Unfortunately, when it comes to the precious real estate space of on-campus housing, it’s more difficult to provide separate spaces for each student. Instead, some universities are opting to provide fewer shared “dorm” spaces and convert some of them into private “collaborative study lounges”. While your term for these can vary, it’s basically a sound-insulated space with an emphasis on private or collaborative work. It will contain plenty of outlets, tables or couches, and in some cases even a smartboard or large monitor with an HDMI cable or other screencasting system.
It may seem counterintuitive, but these spaces work great to provide solo study spaces for the students who want them in their dorm area instead of just the library. They work great for collaborative projects too, for the students who need those, but in many cases, students will appreciate having a place to do their studies that isn’t also where they’re expected to sleep and/or recreate. The conversion of these rooms can be straightforward, or you can add additional pieces of luxury tech to make the space more conducive to your students. Just be sure to also include some kind of a reservation system that can prevent double-booking. If you’ve already implemented digital forms at your university, adding a simple sign in template sheet to your existing forms can go a long way in keeping track of reservations and room usage analytics.
Of course, having space to study separate from sleep is only as useful as the internet connection. A recent study cited that nearly 50% of students called cell connectivity and internet access a 10 out of 10 on their personal importance scale of “must-haves” for their college living setup. With Wi-Fi providing access to classwork, fitness, streaming, and communication with friends and family, if your university hasn’t prioritized a network upgrade, you’re missing out.
“Fully 90% believe Wi-Fi access is as essential to an education as a classroom or a computer.”
Upgrading your campus internet and dorm study facilities can easily consume a large part of your budget, so it’s wise to focus on the small but impactful changes you can address year by year. One thing to keep in mind, especially as you do any construction or renovation to your dorm facilities, is outlet access and space. As younger students become accustomed to having more devices, from computers and laptops to smartphones, tablets, eReaders, and even electronic notebooks, they’ll need more charging stations. Be sure that each room is equipped with enough outlets, surge protectors, and even USB ports to accommodate all these devices.
Don’t Leave Security as an Afterthought
Campus security isn’t a new priority for the new generation, it’s been a concern of students and parents as long as colleges and universities have existed. The key now is what is expected from the university for the younger generation. Having grown up in an age where video capture is everywhere, there’s no longer an excuse to not have security cameras throughout your campus, especially near housing.
When it comes to cameras and campus housing, of course, there are rightful privacy concerns, but make sure that all major pathways and entrances and exits to the dorms have camera coverage. They should also remain well-lit at all times, not just for visibility and comfort, but so that the footage from your cameras can actually serve its purpose in identifying potential trespassers. For vintage campuses with classic lock and key entrances, it’s also worthwhile to look into additional protection such as electronic entry. These electronic devices can use codes or keycards to limit access, and also keep a log entry each time a card was used. Coupled with proper video surveillance, this will be easy to verify and monitor.
One important note about security, make sure you aren’t waiting for an incident to happen to watch for trends or suspicious activity. If you’ve noticed a single card or code used repeatedly on a single day, check the camera footage to confirm the student’s code hasn’t been stolen or shared. This proactive action can show your students your faculty is serious about security, and prevent security breaches or incidents before they happen.
About GoFormz
Whether your university needs a digital form for faster application processing or a HIPAA-secure solution to handling personal information, GoFormz has your solution. With a completely flexible, no-code-required form builder and proprietary technology to digitize an exact replica of your existing paper forms, there’s no challenge GoFormz can’t conquer. Bring student housing and university administration to new heights with digital forms from GoFormz.
