Division of Student Affairs
Assessment and Planning | Executive Summary Report
Student Housing & Residential Life Exit Survey–Spring 2013
Department Name:
Student Housing & Residential Life
Individual Completing Report:
Rebecca Szwarc
Contact Information:
rszwarc@uh.edu
713-743-6030
Program or Service Being Assessed:
Student Housing & Residential Life Department; specifically, reasons for leaving on-campus
housing.
Learning or Program Outcome(s):
It is expected that all residents will leave on-campus housing at some time. During the time that
college students live on campus, Student Housing & Residential Life tries to address their
needs. Specific learning have yet to be determined as ultimate outcomes from students living in
on-campus housing.
Purpose of Assessment:
Determine why students choose to leave on-campus housing.
Time Frame of the Assessment:
The survey was sent out to all residents who lived on campus during the Fall semester, but did
not return for the Spring semester. It was live from January 30, 2013 through February 28,
2013.
Outline the findings from the assessment activities:
A link to the survey, via Campus Labs, was sent out to 303 former residents who did not return
to on-campus housing this Spring Semester. We received 20 responses (four email addresses
were not recognized) with respondents from the following residence halls: 13 Calhoun Lofts, five
Moody Towers, and two Cougar Village (6.7% response rate). Six respondents stated they
graduated and four individuals transferred to another institution. Of the 14 non-graduating
residents, “Financial considerations” was the most frequently cited reason for leaving. Feedback
received included concerns about Student Housing & Residential Life staff, housing was too
expensive, there was too much noise, and roommate issues.
Describe what you will do with the information learned from the assessment activities.
The Assistant Housing Manager and Residence Life Coordinators will be asked to review staff
training curricula to emphasize positive customer service principles and timely resolution of
noise and roommate issues/concerns.
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Division of Student Affairs
Assessment and Planning | Executive Summary Report
Student Housing & Residential Life RA Performance Survey – Spring 2013
Department Name:
Student Housing & Residential Life
Individual Completing Report:
Rebecca Szwarc
Contact Information:
rszwarc@uh.edu
713-743-6030
Program or Service Being Assessed:
Student Housing & Residential Life RA performance
Learning or Program Outcome(s):
The objective of this assessment is to assess RA performance as perceived by their
residents. It is also to compare RA performance over time, as the survey was
conducted at the end of both Fall and Spring semesters. While specific learning or
program outcomes related to this assessment process have yet to be developed, the
end goal of our residential life program is for residents have meaningful relationships
with their RAs, are familiar with campus resources, become engaged with their
university experience beyond the classroom and residence hall, and persist to degree
completion.
Purpose of Assessment:
To assess RA performance related to how they build and maintain meaningful
relationships with their residents; connect residents to UH, and support student
success.
Time Frame of the Assessment:
This application of the survey was administered between April 22, 2013 and May 3,
2013. The first application of the survey was at the end of the Fall semester (December
5-22, 2012).
Outline the findings from the assessment activities:
Given the Educational Benchmarking Incorporated (EBI) instrument administered in
November gauged resident satisfaction with particular behaviors or circumstances, this
survey assessed RA performance directly related to relationship development,
interpersonal communication, and connecting students with campus resources. 840
residents across our residential community responded to this Campus Labs survey,
resulting in a 1.25% increase from the Fall semester survey administration (772
responses).
Overall, resident “agreement” (combining “Strongly Agree” and “Agree” responses) to
statements related to RAs building relationships with them, connecting them to campus
resources, and helping them through interpersonal conflicts declined slightly from Fall
semester responses. This is likely due to the ‘nature’ of Spring semester where
students are more acclimatized to campus living, have learned how to process through
and address interpersonal conflicts, and have been seeking out campus resources. This
survey showed that almost 80% of residents were satisfied with the relationship they
had with their RA (and over 11% of residents did not want a relationship with their RA).
Describe what you will do with the information learned from the assessment activities.
Based on the data from this survey, the following actions were/will be taken:
Supervisors followed up with RAs during 1-1 meetings in May, reviewing
performance over the semester and residents’ perceptions based on data from
this survey.
The data collected will be utilized by the Training & Development committee as
they plan Fall RA Training in August, Winter Training in January, and the
schedule of in-services to occur throughout the Fall semester. Based on these
results, more focus will be placed on in-services and Winter Training to ensure
RAs are still connecting with residents over the Spring semester and actively
connecting them to each other and the institution.
The new Associate Director for Residential Life and RLC team will explore the
current Intentional Interaction Model and seek ways to increase ongoing support
for RAs to connect with residents – during both Fall and Spring semesters.
The Assessment & Evaluation Committee, in conjunction with the department
Assessment Committee, will explore ways to further understand residents’
perceptions of their RAs’ performance during the Spring semester.
Division of Student Affairs
Assessment and Planning | Executive Summary Report
Student Housing & Residential Life RA Self Assessment–Spring 2013
Department Name:
Student Housing & Residential Life
Individual Completing Report:
Rebecca Szwarc
Contact Information:
rszwarc@uh.edu
713-743-6030
Program or Service Being Assessed:
Student Housing & Residential Life RA performance via self-reflection.
Learning or Program Outcome(s):
Based on the RA Position Description, there are over 50 learning outcomes RAs will be
able to demonstrate as a result of training and the direct application of information
learned over the course of the academic year. These outcomes fall into four areas:
General Responsibilities, Community Development, Safety and Security, and
Administrative Tasks.
Purpose of Assessment:
Assess RA retention and application of knowledge, skills, and abilities learned during
training, as well as information learned from peers and Residence Life Coordinators.
Time Frame of the Assessment:
This application of the survey was administered between April 22, 2013 and May 3,
2013. A similar survey was administered at the conclusion of August 2012 RA Training
and the end of Fall semester.
Outline the findings from the assessment activities:
Of the 21 questions addressing training content and four questions seeking information
about the RA experience, 72% of RAs completed the survey. As the goal was 100%
participation, a growth area for Residence Life Coordinators is to encourage all RAs to
take the instrument while holding RAs accountable who did not take the survey.
Overall feedback gained from this instrument:
The overall tone of data collected indicates that most respondents were satisfied
with their RA experience.
Some questions may have been confusing, as some respondents confused
“programs/events” with “department services.”
The survey may have been too long, as responses shorted (or stopped) as the
instrument progressed.
Responses regarding RA committee experience indicated that there was
confusion on the purpose, goals and structure of the committees.
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Describe what you will do with the information learned from the assessment activities.
Based on the data from this survey, the following actions were/will be taken:
Supervisors followed up with RAs during 1-1 meetings in May, reviewing
performance from the semester in conjunction with the data from this survey.
The data collected will be utilized by the Training and Development committee as
they plan Fall RA Training in August and the schedule of in-services to occur
throughout the Fall semester.
Due to its length, the Assessment & Evaluation Committee will review this
instrument and explore other ways of garnering data about RAs’ self-perception
of their-performance.
o An alternative plan would be to break the survey into sections and
administer the separate sections at various times during the academic
year.
This type of instrument will be used at the end of RA Fall Training and the end of
the Fall semester in order to gauge learning and application.
The new Associate Director for Residential Life and RLC team will have time
during RLC training in July to review the committee structure and provide more
direction, consistency, and accountability throughout the year.
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