University of Minnesota

Board of Regents

Faculty, Staff, and Student Affairs Committee

July 2002

Residential Life

Crookston Campus Update

Overview

Student housing at the University of Minnesota exists to provide affordable, convenient, comfortable, and attractive living and learning communities that support the academic mission of the institution. Like the students who live in them, each of the six halls that make up the University of Minnesota, Crookston residence hall system possesses an individual personality. The goal of each of the halls is not only to provide a place to live, but also to serve as an extension of the classroom and to provide a variety of recreational and social activities.

Three residence halls and three apartment complexes provide coeducational on-campus housing for nearly 500 students. All rooms are furnished and have recreational, laundry, and kitchen facilities as well as technology features such as high-speed Internet connectivity and laser printers.

McCall Hall is a three-story coed residence hall. Most rooms are set up for two people. McCall features a main lobby and lounge area with an entertainment center. The building has kitchenettes on its second and third floors. The lower level features an information desk, a recreation room with billiards and ping-pong, and a laundry room. McCall Hall also serves as the home location for the Office of Residential Life and Security Services.

Robertson Hall is an upperclassman (junior/senior level) coed residence hall featuring living space on the second and third floors. The hall has a lounge and laundry room.

Skyberg Hall, primarily a first year student residence hall, contains double rooms and triple rooms. Each floor has a multipurpose lounge and kitchenette. The building is coed, features special facilities for students with disabilities, and has an information and service desk area providing a variety of services. Theme floors for Community Service and First Year Experience Living & Learning allow for unique living opportunities within a small group setting and make it easier for students with common interests and/or classes to get to know each other. Recreation rooms provide billiards, ping-pong, and foosball tables.

Brink Hall is a student apartment complex primarily for upperclassmen. Brink apartments feature two bedrooms, a bath, and kitchenette. Twelve apartments provide space for up to 48 students. The complex has a lounge, recreation area and laundry room.

Lee Hall is an apartment complex predominantly for upperclassmen. Lee apartments feature three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, and laundry room. Completely furnished, including a washer and dryer, the eight apartments accommodate up to 48 residents.

Westside Apartments, completed in the fall of 1997, is an apartment complex primarily for upperclassmen. The building's twelve air-conditioned apartments -- each featuring two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living area -- provide living space for up to 48 students.

Table 1. Residence Hall Facilities Summary

Facility	Year Constructed	Gross Square Feet	Beds Available	Occupancy Rate
				97-98	98-99	99-00	00-01	01-02
Skyberg Hall	1970	44,122	207	88%	95%	99%	98%	89%
McCall Hall	1946	25,505	109	99%	91%	93%	103%	100%
Robertson Hall	1910	14,980	50	77%	94%	82%	72%	68%
Brink Apartments	1976	10,716	46	83%	100%	94%	91%	85%
Lee Apartments	1977	9,184	46	83%	89%	98%	94%	80%
Westside Apartments	1997	13,360	44	96%	100%	100%	100%	100%
TOTAL		117,867	474	87%	95%	98%	95%	88%

Computer Access. UMC's residence hall rooms are all equipped with high-speed LAN (local area network) connections allowing each student access to the University of Minnesota's computer network. This network subsequently provides access to the Internet and World Wide Web. UMC students have access from their rooms (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) to any or all of the following: electronic mail, personal web site accounts, information and news from a wide variety of sources and research institutions, public domain and shareware software of all types, access to the University library, the Library of Congress and more!

Basic Furnishings. All rooms in UMC residence halls are provided with basic furnishings for each resident. Rooms are equipped with extra long twin beds, limited wardrobe and drawer space, telephone jack, Internet connections, and one desk and desk chair for each student. Students are responsible for their own telephone, bed linens, pillows, bedspreads and blankets.

McCall and Skyberg Information Desks. The McCall and Skyberg information desks offer many services to students living in any of the residence halls or apartments. These services include: providing change, board game and recreational equipment check-out, light bulb exchange, reading materials (newspapers and magazines), access to laser printers, jumper cables, vacuum cleaners, and providing general information.

Staffing

The Department of Residential Life consists of a Director, an Assistant Director, an administrative assistant, a maintenance coordinator, three custodians, and 12 student Resident Assistants (RA). The Assistant Director of Residential Life lives on campus in a furnished apartment. Two part-time Security Officers provide help and support to Residential Life staff and make security rounds in the public areas and parking lots during the evening hours.

A well-trained staff of Resident Advisers enhances the living environment as resource persons, as well as providing support and guidance to the students on their floors. An RA is an upperclassman that has been selected because of his or her concern for others, knowledge of the University, maturity, and dedication to the concept of residence hall living. Each residence hall floor and apartment complex has an assigned Resident Adviser. RA's are responsible for developing and maintaining a positive community environment on their floor or apartment. They accomplish this by planning social, cultural, and educational activities, by enforcing residence hall policies, and by being available to help with student concerns.

For the past several years the department has experienced a 60% annual return rate for student RA staff that, combined with an expanded training program, has provided for a stable and effective staff. The department has actively recruited and hired students-of-color and international students for it’s RA staff and this has had a positive impact on both campus residents and the entire campus community.

Student residents are also actively involved in residence hall governance through councils, programming committees, and judicial boards and gain valuable experience in participative leadership.

Technology

• All student rooms were wired with high speed Internet LAN connections in 1997. Updates and improvements have been made with additional hubs and printers installed in all residence halls and apartment complexes. Information and administrative functions are available on-line via the University, campus, and departmental web sites including such things as: requests for maintenance, residence life and university policies, administrative forms, resident assistant duty rosters, daily Dining Services menus, and emergency contact numbers and procedures.
• The Residential Life Department has registered the Internet domain name firstyearatumc.com that allows the department to provide a forum for new students. A chat-line has been established on designated nights when residential life staff are available to chat online in real-time with students regarding housing questions and issues.
• The department is currently exploring the feasibility of adding wireless LAN connections in lounges and other public areas.
• Security cameras have been installed in several of the public areas to improve the safety and security of residence hall students. Safety programs and fire escape drills are scheduled on a regular basis through out the year.

Enhancements

• McCall Hall will become “smoke-free” for the 2002-03 academic year. Those designating a smoking preference will be placed in other halls. Depending on student preferences additional halls may become smoke-free for 2004.
• Safety rails were made available by the department to students using bunk beds at no additional charge and are mandated with all loft kits for student safety concerns.
• Lounges in McCall and Skyberg have new large screen TV’s with satellite programming.
• Fire protection was improved in McCall Hall with an updated fire alarm and sprinkler system. The project came in over budget, costing slightly more than $180,000 (approximate cost per bed of $1,600). Costs for this project will result in increased board rates for the campus. Plans to complete fire protection in Skyberg Hall during summer 2002 were delayed when the bids came in well over budget. The project will be re-bid in fall 2002 with the work to be completed during summer 2003. Plans are to have 100% of residential life facilities protected with fire alarm and sprinkler systems by 2004.
• A building project to replace Robertson Hall is tentatively scheduled for construction during the summer of 2004.

Partnerships

· The Residential Life department partners with the First Year Experience (FYE) program to offer a Living & Learning environment in Skyberg Hall. The First Year Experience Program provides new students with a comprehensive introduction to UMC, with programs and resources that assist new students with their transition to UMC, with connections to the campus community, and promotes student growth and development. The living and learning program consists of a group of approximately 40 randomly selected first-year students who live together on the same floor of Skyberg Hall and take two required general education courses together (Computer Applications 1010 and Composition 1011).

• The Residential Life department partners with the Service-Learning program by offering two community service theme floors. Students on these floors have logged many hours with Habitat for Humanity, assisted with the Humane Society and provided volunteer service to area elementary schools, senior citizen centers, and the Care and Share Center. The Service Learning program involves students through active participation in thoughtfully organized service that meets the needs of a community. Service Learning helps foster civic responsibility; is integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students, and includes structured time for the students and participants to reflect on the service experience.

• UMC students violating the Residential Life alcohol policy are referred to the Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention (AODAP) office to complete a course, PRIME for Life! On Campus, which uses persuasion-based teaching processes that challenge common beliefs and attitudes that contribute to high-risk drinking behavior. AODAP also arranges community retribution projects for those with alcohol violations. Together, the two departments, working cooperatively with Student Activities, plan and staff an on-going program of evening and weekend events and activities held on-campus (i.e., billiards tournaments, open microphone nights, movie nights, dances) that offer alternatives to drinking.

• The Residential Life department also works cooperatively with many other campus departments and community agencies to provide services, programs and support to residence hall students. These entities include UMC departments (Admissions, Health Service, Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Program, Student Activities, Counseling & Career Services, Multicultural & International Programs, Athletics, and Dining Services) and community agencies (Crookston Police Department, Crookston Fire Department, Glenmore Recovery Center, and Polk County Sheriffs Department).

Retention/Student Satisfaction

In the past several years the department has experienced an average return rate (from fall to fall) of students residing in on-campus housing of approximately 60-65%.

A campus satisfaction survey conducted Spring 2002 yielded the following results for students residing in campus housing:

• “Residential life (on-campus residence halls & apartments)” was rated by 43% as “Excellent or Very Good” and an additional 49% rated it as “Fair or Good”
• “Residence hall rules and regulations” was rated by 32% of residents as “Excellent or Very Good” and an additional 59% rated it as “Fair or Good”
• “Residence hall services, programs, and social activities” was rated by 30% of residents as “Excellent or Very Good” and an additional 61% rated it as “Fair or Good”
• “Living conditions in the residence hall (space, lighting, heat, cleanliness, etc.)” was rated by 30% of residents as “Excellent or Very Good” and an additional 60% rated it as “Fair or Good”

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