14_U Wisconsin-Stout Residence Hall Move-in

8/7/2019 14_U Wisconsin-Stout Residence Hall Move-in

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Efficient Residence Hall Move-in Process

Scott GriesbachUniversity of Wisconsin-Stout170 Price Commons1110 S. BroadwayMenomonie, WI [email protected]



AbstractOn any campus, the move-in day process for residence hall students can be

cumbersome. A large number of people descend upon the campus in a short amount of time,and many new students and their families are not familiar with the layout of the campus, parkingrules & regulations, etc. UW-Stout’s campus was no exception, and observations on the part ofthe Housing staff, feedback from parents and students, and comments from various Universitypersonnel all led to the conclusion that some changes need to be made.

Over the course of a few years, the University Housing department had discussions withinthe department and with the University Police & Parking staff seeking ways to streamline themove-in process. As UW-Stout is a data-driven institution, we also sought parent feedbackthrough our Student Life Services parent’s newsletter. Issues that were identified are:

• the process is confusing• families have to wait too long in line• there aren’t enough parking spaces adjacent to the buildings• obtaining the loft kit was a slow and cumbersome process• it is always hot and humid.

We couldn’t do anything about that last item, but we were able to significantly impact the other

issues. Each year, new things were tried. Observations were made to determine if the impactwas positive and parent’s input was again sought to evaluate the satisfaction, until we were ableto identify the best practices. Move-in day at UW-Stout has gone from a day of chaos to a dayof operating like a well-oiled machine!



Introduction of the Organization

University of Wisconsin-Stout is a comprehensive, career-focused polytechnic university

where students, faculty and staff use applied learning, scientific theory and research to solve

real-world problems, grow the state economy and serve society. UW-Stout is a public, four-year,

digital campus that enrolls approximately 8,400 students. As Wisconsin’s Polytechnic

University, we serve a unique role within the University of Wisconsin System. UW-Stout is

characterized by a distinctive array of programs leading to professional careers focused on the

needs of society. These programs are presented through an approach to learning which

combines theory, practice and experimentation. Extending this special mission into the future

requires that instruction, research and public service programs be adapted and modified as the

needs of society change.

A respected innovator in higher education, UW-Stout educates students to be lifelong

learners. Stout encourages responsible citizenship in a diverse and changing world through

experiences inside and outside the classroom. These experiences are general and the

specialized, theoretical and the practical, and often work to promote applied skills leading to

successful careers in industry, commerce, education, and human services.

University Housing is a 9.2 million dollar operation providing service to almost 3,000

residents who live in 10 residence halls. Students can choose from living in double rooms,

single rooms, or 4 person suites. The main campus is host to our First Year Experience

program where all freshman students live. North campus (where our suite style hall is located) is

home to upper-class students (sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students). Our

mission is “to provide affordable, clean, well-maintained, comfortable living environments and

enhancing the education of students through opportunities for personal growth, social

development, and diversity awareness.”

Statement of the Problem/Initiative



Opening day of the residence halls – our move-in day for new and returning students to

come back to college – was inefficient, chaotic, and confusing. Move-in day is a critical day to

the campus as it is often the first opportunity for many parents and students to interact with

University staff and students and form those important first impressions. However, we found that

parents and students would easily get lost, they waited in line for long periods of time, and the

process of unloading cars and moving belongings into the building happened very slowly, thus

tying up parking spaces near the residence halls.

We hypothesized that this chaotic experience ultimately decreased the number of

positive interactions with staff and students. Parent’s complaints on surveys confirmed our

initial hypothesis. A few even commented that “moving-in was way too congested” and that

there was a significant “need to think of a more efficient way.” Survey comments also revealed

that parents were extremely frustrated with “the amount of time spent in line.” One parent in

particular stated “the 2 hour wait in the parking lot was not acceptable”, she went on to argue

that “as a parent it was a bad first impression.”

Another concern was with “town/gown relations.” Because of the inefficiency of our

system, move-in day created a problem for the city with parking and traffic control issues.

Design

After one particularly inefficient opening, several staff in University Housing met to

discuss some possible ways to make the process work better. We then scheduled a meeting

with the University Police & Parking Services leadership to discuss and map out alternate areas

for parking & unloading, creating better holding areas for families to wait in line, working with the

city of Menomonie to close some streets, and discuss ways we can better direct cars and

communicate with families. This “refinement” process took place each year over the course of

the past six years, and each year we built upon the successes of the previous year. We are



now at a place where our “tweaking” the process is minimal, but we still meet with staff and

University Police & Parking Services to discuss any changes to be made.

Additional resources were needed to make this program happen. All University Police &

Parking Services staff, including some Limited Term Employee (LTE) Officers, work on opening

day and are paid overtime. Custodial and maintenance staff are also paid overtime to work.

Additional student workers (Roadies) are paid $50 each to work that day. The department

purchases about 850 t-shirts (@ $5.00 each) for any worker, helper, or volunteer to wear that

day. Semi-permanent signs were purchased by University Police and Parking Services. About

1,000 bottles of soda, water, and energy drinks are also purchased and delivered to the staff

working outside.

Implementation

The following changes were implemented to make the move-in process more efficient:

Two “holding areas” were established on each end of campus – one for North campus

residents and one for main campus residents. Families are directed to arrive at their designated

“holding area” where they wait until a space opens up near their hall for unloading.

Pre Assigned Time Blocks. Families were assigned a block of time to move in. Four 2

hour blocks of time starting at 8:30am, 10:30am, 12:30 pm, and 2:30 pm, were established. A

fifth time period (4:30pm) was designated as a backup time if the family was not able to come

during their assigned time. We divided students by hall and by zip code, so that we had

approximately 25% of the students in each hall arrive during every time block. In addition, the

students who live closest to Menomonie were given the earliest time block and the students

living the farthest from Menomonie were given the latest time block. That made it more

convenient for those who need to travel long distances to arrive later in the day.

Sunday Move- in Days We moved our opening day to the Sunday before Labor Day.

We learned from our surveys and conversations with families that weekend move-in days are



better for them because fewer families have to take time off work to bring their student to school.

In addition, since it is the Sunday of a holiday weekend, the city of Menomonie has less local

traffic and the University does not receive any shipments from vendors on that day. Also,

campus parking lots – where families move their cars after unloading them – were mostly empty

on that Sunday and provided an easy, convenient place to temporarily store cars legally instead

of parking illegally on the city streets.

Temporary Street Closures. With the approval of the city, several city streets were

temporarily closed off, which eliminated local and any unnecessary traffic within the area of the

residence halls. This provided an increase in pedestrian safety around the residence halls since

traffic was minimized and closely monitored. Closing streets also freed 2 police officers to assist

with other duties who would have been assigned to directing traffic (essentially allowing us to

provide those additional services such as monitoring of unloading areas without additional cost).

Signage. Large, semi-permanent signs were purchased by University Police & Parking

Services to direct families to their respective “holding areas.” The campus also borrows a large

electronic traffic board from the county that supplies traffic instructions and provides for a better

traffic flow. These signs, when placed along the major roads coming through the city and into

the campus, help keep traffic moving more smoothly. All verbiage on traffic/directional signs

matched as closely as possible the words used on the instructions mailed from University

Housing.

Designated Unloading Areas. Mall sidewalks,

as well as streets, that are adjacent to the residence

halls were all designated as unloading areas. This

doubled the number of unloading spaces we are able to

provide.

Unloading Process. The unloading process was

changed to be more efficient. Rather than families removing their belongings from their car and

Student helpers directed traffic sending Vehicles from holding area to unloading area



carrying them up to their rooms, they are instructed to unload all their belongings to an adjacent

boulevard/grass area/sidewalk, move their car to one of the temporary storage lots, and THEN

take their belongings up to their room. For most families, the unloading process usually takes

only about 10-15 minutes, much shorter than the 1-1.5 hours that it used to take to unload

directly up to their rooms.

Incentives Provided for Volunteers. Athletes were

recruited and student “Roadies” were hired to help carry

student’s belongings up to their rooms. The athletes are

able to reduce their costs for staying in the residence halls

during their fall training camps (before schools starts), and

upper-class student “Roadies” are able to move-in early

and earn some money.

Color Coding. Each hall is assigned a color to help families know where to go. Upon

arriving at the “holding areas,” each hall has a separate set of lanes in which cars are lined up in

order of arrival. Student workers (wearing t-shirts to match each hall’s color) greet the families,

explain the process for unloading and moving in, give them a map showing them where they

can park after unloading, answer questions, etc. The student workers also put a color-coded

post-it note on the windshield of the car with the room number written on it. This helps our traffic

staff know which way to direct cars as they are driving from the

holding area to the unloading area. In addition, if a family

member forgets to move their car after unloading it, we can

easily track them down in their room and ask them to move it

to a temporary parking area. Next, we use colored duct tape

to create temporary unloading areas. The night before

opening, we close the street and sidewalk areas and tape off

unloading spaces for each hall according to the color assigned to that building. Finally, the

Roadies were hired to help carry items

Student workers were provided color coded t-shirts



athletes and Roadies assigned to carry in belongings for people who live in a particular building

wear t-shirts that match the hall’s color. To summarize and give the reader an example,

residents assigned to South Hall pull into a holding area and are greeted by students wearing

yellow shirts, a yellow post-it note is placed on their windshield with their room number on it,

they are directed to parking in an unloading area marked by yellow duct tape, and their

belongings are carried upstairs to their room by athletes or Roadies wearing yellow shirts.

Two-way radios. Walkie-talkies were purchased to provide an easy method for student

workers to communicate with each other. Workers are positioned in the unloading area and

direct families to park in specific spaces to unload. When each car leaves, the worker radios

another worker in the holding area to send the next car to them. This way, we quickly and easily

keep the unloading areas full, and families are not spending long periods of time waiting in the

holding area.

Room Key Availability. Room keys were

moved from inside the residence halls to the

holding areas. The students working in the

holding areas deliver the keys directly to the

residents while they are waiting in line. In the

past, when the family was able to move their car to

the unloading area, there was at least 5-10

minutes lost while the resident went into the hall to find their Resident Advisor (RA) and check

the key out from them. By distributing the keys in the parking lot, the resident has it before

arriving in the unloading area, which not only saves time but also helps lessen the perceived

wait time when staff are conversing at the vehicle. We also purchased brightly colored lanyards

to which the key is attached so that it doesn’t get lost during the unloading process.

Lofts. Lofts were purchased for all residence hall rooms. While the sole reason was not

to make the move-in day process go more smoothly, the installation of lofts in every room

Room keys were distributed from the holding areas



helped to improve our process tremendously. Our residence hall student government began

renting metal lofts to students starting in 2001. Each year, the number of lofts grew to the point

where approximately 75% of our residents were renting lofts. The loft rental program delayed

the move-in process because the FIRST thing students wanted to do was get their loft set up in

their room so they would have more floor space to put all their belongings. This meant that

before unloading their vehicle, they were waiting in line to obtain the loft materials, and then

while setting it up all the belongings of the room were lined up in the hallways causing a

fire/safety egress concern. By purchasing lofts and having them already set up in the rooms, a

significant amount of time (and work on the part of parents and students) was saved.

Instructions. Somewhat individualized instructions were sent to each family about the

move-in day process. They are individualized based on which hall they live in and which time

period they are assigned to. They also include a map of the campus and let students know

which color their hall is assigned to have.

O-Crew Leaders. Orientation Crew (O-Crew) Leaders are hired to guide (herd) new

students around campus during our Welcome Week. On the South campus, where all First

Year students live, the O-Crew Leaders are present in the holding area on opening day. After

families have lined up their cars, talked to the parking lot workers, gotten their keys, and had a

post-it note put on their windshield, the O-Crew Leaders give them the Welcome Week schedule

and talk with them about the activities that are going on in the next few days. The O-Crew

Leaders also answer questions for students and parents. Typically, by the time all of these

tasks take place in the holding area, families are usually ready to be released and drive up to

the unloading area to empty their vehicles. Again, we cannot emphasize enough that with the

idea of having a number of people come to the car and take care of business, the wait time not

only is shorter but it also seems lessened even more due to the interactions.



Resident Advisors. Resident Advisors (RAs)

remain on their respective residence hall floors to meet

their new students, talk with parents, and be a resource

for all those questions that typically come up on opening

day. In the past, when RAs were helping distribute keys,

working at the desk, or part of the move-in process, they were not around when questions

arose. By having someone on the floor at all times is a good customer service move.

Custodial/Maintenance Assistance. Custodial and maintenance staffs work on move-in

day. They help keep the hallways and bathrooms picked up, talk to students about recycling

and trash areas, and manage the cardboard. There is a significant amount of cardboard

disposed of on opening day, mostly from newly purchased futons, fans, electronics, etc. The

custodial staff plays a significant role in helping to keep things orderly and neat. In addition, the

maintenance staff is available to handle emergency lock problems, install some medically

needed air conditioners, and to take care of small mechanical malfunctions.

Campus Wide Support. Administrators, faculty and staff are invited to campus on move-

in day to serve as ambassadors. They talk with families and answer questions, and some even

help carry in belongings! Parents are particularly pleased to be able to talk a bit with another

“adult” about the University and the community.

Benefits

As the reader can see in the chart below, the improvements have greatly reduced in the

line wait time.

Average wait timeReceiving Line

Average time inUnloading Zone

Before implementation n/a >2 hours*First Year of implementation 1-1/4 hours 45min-1hour

Move-in Day 2007 20 min <15min(* after unloading in the unregulated system, generally the family would not

move their car until it was time to leave town)

Families were visited by O-Crew and others



As a result, there are several significant benefits including:

Parent Satisfaction. We have seen a

tremendous increase of satisfaction from parents

and students, and we’ve seen a huge decrease in

the length of time families spend waiting in line.

Satisfied parents are important to any campus.

Many will experience a separation anxiety. If they

can leave our campus knowing that we took good

care of them, they will hopefully have a feeling that their son or daughter is in good hands. We

feel that we have achieved that as illustrated by the following comment in one of our more

recent parent newsletter surveys: “We’ve moved our kids into Stout dorms twice before. This

was, by far, the most efficient and least frustrating move-in experience!”

Student Satisfaction. The first day at college is also a stressful time for students.

When processes are efficient with plenty of opportunities for interaction and answering of

questions, students will feel more “at home” on campus. We believe that by increasing the

number of students who feel they belong and have a sense of connection to their campus,

ultimately impacts retention rates.

Improved Relations with City. Town/Gown relations are important to any campus.

With our old system, the increased traffic congestion and frequent violations of parking

ordinances were a serious concern of the Mayor and other city officials. With the improved

system, their concerns are greatly lessened. In addition, by asking families about the spending

habits associated with bringing their student to campus, we were able to better provide the city

with an estimate of the positive financial impact move-in day brings to the local business

community. For example, we were able to estimate that on Move-in day 2006, the 2,310

students brought with them 2,240 family and friends in 5,740 vehicles, and spent over

Parents are satisfied with process and assistance



$230,000.00 in the Menomonie community through purchasing gas, school supplies, eating in

restaurants, and the like.

Retrospect

Each year, we have tweaked the process based on successes and areas of concern from

previous years. The only thing we might have done differently is to have implemented some

aspects of this process sooner. However, we needed the knowledge and feedback from the

previous years as a basis for making the changes.



Appendix 1: Example of Instructions Sent to Families



Appendix 2: Example of Move-in Day Survey in Parent’s Newsletter

14_U Wisconsin-Stout Residence Hall Move-in

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