Talking Stick - March/April 2014 - 62

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conTinued

BUSINESS OPERATIONS

assigned to students. Let's look at how
this can work in a real life example.
A review of practices in colleges and
universities across North Carolina
revealed a trend that is fairly common:
Most institutions (private and
public) still house first-year students
in traditional double rooms or in
suites with double rooms. In terms
of bathroom types, most first-year
students were assigned to spaces with
traditional or suite-style shared baths.
In a few cases, some living-learning
communities (LLCs) such as honors
programs gave first-year students
access to apartments or suites which
might not be generally available to
the general student population, and
given what the data is telling us, this
move might also require more efforts
to enhance student interactions. It is
clear that room type and roommates
play critical roles in students' personal
and diverse interactions. Supporting

41

their decisions with EBI data, staff
can make informed choices about
what type of housing each student
population should have.
The push by new students
and their parents to have access
to apartments and singles can be
countered by sharing data revealing
that student success is often driven by
living with a roommate. Armed with
this knowledge, housing professionals
may rest assured that giving the
customer what they want may not be
the best way to give them what they
really need. tS
Aaron Lucier

Editor's note: The information
presented in this article originated
from a presentation delivered at the
2013 ACUHO-I Business Operations
Conference with co-presenter Darlena
Jones, director of assessment and research
at the Association for Institutional
Research, formerly the director of
education and program development
with EBI MAP-Works.

is the director of housing
operations for campus
living and dining and offcampus student services at
East Carolina University in
Greenville, North Carolina.
Email: luciera@ecu.edu.

conTinued

COMPELLING CONVERSATION

member (no matter the institution)
to stay in the conversation with the
resident and help the resident see
how religion and/or their faith can be
used as a potential outlet or resource
for them. Professionalism and ethics
should keep any staff member from
forcing their views and beliefs on any
other staff member or student."
At the University of Otago in
Dunedin, New Zealand, each college
makes its own decision about where
and how to engage students in
religious conversation. Scott Walker,
head of the university's Aquinas
College, explains how they attempt
to accommodate students who share
the same religious beliefs as well
as to facilitate productive dialogues
among students of all faiths. "At
Studholme College for example the
Head of College runs a Christian
group one night a week that any
student can attend. If a resident from
another religion wants to set up a
62

Talking STick

similar model for their faith, they are
welcome to do so. At Aquinas College,
I invite church leaders from many
different faiths to talk to the residents
at the beginning of the year. Services
around the city are advertised, and
we welcome student groups into
the college to eat and talk with our
students over dinner. Students will
often organise and run their own
'faith groups' which we encourage
and support. Throughout all of this
we are very mindful of not offending
people who are not interested in
religion or who may be of different
faiths."
A study conducted by Alexander
Astin and colleagues in 2011 confirms
that religion and spirituality are
important issues for college and
university students, not only helping
them adjust to new experiences and
counter the stress in their lives but
also having positive impacts on their
academic experience. Their spiritual

growth during this time "enhances
other college outcomes, such as
academic performance, psychological
well-being, leadership development,
and satisfaction with college." Given
the fact that residential staff wish to
promote the same outcomes, it is
only natural to provide them with
the competency required to engage
residents in conversations about
religion and spirituality. Professional
development programs can allow
Jared to have a similar positive
impact on students by providing the
confidence and competence needed
to respond in an open and welcoming
way to students' requests to engage in
religious conversations. tS

Ben Huelskamp

is the community director
for Cobb Community at the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
Talking Stick - March/April 2014

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