Talking Stick - May/June 2008 - 44

MANAGING MOVE-IN MADNESS resident process online, and the hope is to move the incoming process online in the near future.” While many institutions are moving processes and information online in the name of sustainability, some institutions, like the University of Minnesota, are taking a different route, recognizing that the physicality of hard copy is useful in some cases: “Last year, the [student advisory board and focus groups] recommended that we continue to send the paper assignment letter and movein guide,” says Clark. “They liked it for reference, and their parents really liked it. Iowa State residence life staff and volunteers are eager to welcome new and returning students to their Cyclone home. The residence department added the “Welcome to Your Cyclone Home” theme to shirts and banners during the 2007 move-in weekend to spotlight school spirit around campus. PHOTOS: BOB ELBERT They said parents put it on the refrigerator. We also try to print the move-in guide on recyclable paper.” The University of Alberta now puts most of its information, such as student handbooks, online, but still has hard copies available to ﬁrst-year students and new residents. “We anticipate that once we re-vamp our Web site we will have less information in hard copy,” Krawchuk says. “We are also working towards an automated assignment system with our housing management software, which should make assignments less labor intensive for our housing staff.” Improving communication between the university and the students and their parents is obviously an important part of making the transition to college as easy as possible. Communication within the university – in terms of communicating internally with the departments primarily responsible for move-in, as well as with the greater campus community – is also 44 Talking Stick essential. Consistency of message is the key. “It is important that the students and their parents hear the same message,” Clark says. “Have a post mortem right after move-in with all the players to get feedback to improve the following year while it is fresh in people’s minds.” For the University of Minnesota, Clark explains that this post mortem includes conducting focus groups with students and parents in order to get feedback about how the assignments process went, from the very beginning to the very end – from application to move-in. Berthold also notes that it is vital to organize as many of the details in advance and then learn how to manage the unexpected that inevitably occurs: “You have no control over the weather, the homesick student, or the missing moving cart. It is how you react to the situation that makes all the difference.” E THE THINGS THEY CARRY ven with all the changes made to minimize the chaos and confusion of move-in day, housing professionals are still faced with the sheer volume of personal belongings that arrive on campus with the students. Robinson notes that, at Georgetown, his staff has seen a signiﬁcant increase in the amount of personal property students are bringing to campus, as well as the number of vehicles used to transport these items to campus: “Approximately 40 percent of our students are coming to campus with two and sometimes three vehicles ﬁlled with personal items. There is also an increase in the number of trailers and U-Hauls.” It’s not just the comforts of home – a beanbag chair, an assortment of throw pillows – that students are moving into CONTINUES 96
Talking Stick - May/June 2008

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