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Taking the Pulse
staff to feel that their concerns were validated. We recommend that institutions regularly
assess the emotional well-being of their student staff and make the necessary
adjustments to support them. Through the pandemic, and as supported by the focus
group data, campus administrators learned that communicating very clearly about job
duties and providing frequent updates about policy changes helped reduce anxiety for
student staff. We recommend that institutions use a variety of communication modes
to connect with student staff including allowing time for engagement with professional
staff and administrators. Sending emails and newsletters or cascading information
through a supervising resident director is not enough.
Another valuable institutional practice is to provide accessible mental health support
for student staff. This campus's residential life program partners with its counseling
center to have a therapist who is solely dedicated to supporting campus residents,
including live-in staff. The qualitative data showed that this served as an important
resource for students' well-being during the pandemic.
Retention of professional staff should also be an important consideration. The
qualitative data revealed that the rate of full-time staff turnover had an impact on the
morale and well-being of student staff. Students were not the only ones impacted by the
challenges of the pandemic. Professional staff were impacted as well, and this campus
experienced a higher level of attrition than usual. In an effort to recruit talent and retain
them, this campus raised the annual salaries of live-in professional staff as an added
incentive since the cost of living in this geographical area is one of the highest in the
country. As validated from the focus group data, the accessibility and stability of the fulltime
staff have a direct impact on the overall experience and well-being of student staff.
CONCLUSION
The mixed methods approach used in this study provided rich data that can be used to
improve the experience of hall staff at this institution. The quantitative data from the
pulse surveys and the qualitative data from the focus groups enabled the authors to
gain a more complete understanding of the challenges experienced by hall staff during
the pandemic. While the level of depression for live-in student staff increased during
the 2020-21 academic year-due to social isolation, the challenge of enforcing pandemic
policies, and helping students with mental health issues-their level of anxiety
decreased. This may be due in part to their enhanced knowledge of COVID-19 and the
fact that they received priority for the first dose of vaccines provided by the university.
Providing regular outlets for student staff to engage with high level administrators
and professional staff to share concerns and ask questions provides valuable feedback
and data for decision making. Student staff appreciate transparency, empathy, compassion,
and honest and direct communication from their administrators.
At the time of this writing, colleges and universities are still managing the ongoing
effects of the pandemic. It is important that institutions reflect on lessons learned in
order to improve the experiences of student hall staff, as they are critical in enabling
institutions to meet their educational missions. 
122 The Journal of College and University Student Housing

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