Talking Stick - January/February 2009 - 55

South Dakota School of Mines &Technology (Rapid City, South Dakota) Maureen Wilson, Director of Residence Life and Surbeck Center Built at the school itself, the Webbased system was created in 20032004 and has been improved each year since. In using the system, returning students submit applications in the spring (new students submit applications starting October 1) and select their room from the presented options. Students can conduct a general search for a roommate or can simply request a specific person. The system will even caution students who select a “bad match” according to several criteria. Throughout the process, RAs can log in and see who is assigned to their floor – complete with pictures – so they can begin matching names and faces. “It has really decreased the amount of data entry our office has,” says Wilson. “The immediacy of our answers and the students’ abilities to get answers has increased.” The system also helps with maintenance as end-of-year room reports can be filled out online and signed with an electronic signature, which allows tracking of persistent maintenance issues and of the room’s condition over time. Ohio University (Athens, Ohio) Beverly Wyatt, Director of Housing possible. “Look at lots of different systems. Choose the one that’s closest to what you’re doing currently. I needed to know it could do what we were already doing.” She also feels that her conversations with other housing professionals were helpful, as she could gauge the company’s customer service. “I called 20 other institutions with this system. I wanted to know we were picking a company we could work with. We did a couple of site visits. That wasn’t as helpful because everybody does things differently. Focus on what you do.” Student input also was important in initiating the system: “We went to the student senate and asked them ‘What questions would you like to ask a potential roommate?’” Wyatt says. The students came up with ten questions, some of which Wyatt thought the housing staff would not have considered. continUes 56 Is your university housing keeping up with students’ technological needs? Ohio University recently purchased Adirondack Solutions’ The Housing Director software. It allows students to select rooms online, has manual and automatic roommate functions, and can handle administrative issues. OU’s housing staff considered several options before making their choice, and Wyatt advises taking the time to look at as many choices as Believe it or not, students occasionally use their Internet connection for applications besides Facebook, YouTube and online gaming. Today’s students need access to electronic publishing, collaborative studies and online courses to keep up academically. Unfortunately, all of these demands can put a serious strain on your school’s network. There is a solution. By partnering with Connexion Technologies, you can upgrade to a fiber-optic network that is ready to support students’ Internet, video and telecommunications needs. Find out more at www.connexiontechnologies.net or contact us at 919.535.7329.

http://www.connexiontechnologies.net http://www.connexiontechnologies.net

Talking Stick - January/February 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - January/February 2009