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Residence Life Plan

Mission and Vision

Residence Life is driven by student feedback, strives to realize its vision, and is committed to enhancing the student experience.

Vision

Residence Life strives to create a strong sense of belonging such that students identify living on campus as a pivotal piece of their success. 

Mission

Residence Life fosters a community of care through adherence to our commitments.  We collaborate with University partners to nurture a safe, inclusive, and engaging environment that supports student success and growth inside and outside of the classroom. 

Commitments

Our Residential Education framework is comprised of four commitments that we make to our residential students.  These commitments enhance the student experience and provide a model to guide our programs, activities, interactions, and supports to ensure that residential students demonstrate measurable growth and development in the areas of inclusion & belonging, interpersonal communication, wellness & personal development, and future planning.  

Creating Communities

  • Building relationships based on respect for self and others.
  • Creating opportunities to identify and mobilize on-campus resources.

Cultivating Connections

  • Organizing events that bring students, faculty, and staff together.
  • Developing personal connections with students, faculty, and staff.

Inviting Inclusion

  • Creating opportunities for authentic engagement with diverse people, beliefs, and ideas.
  • Fostering acceptance and promoting understanding.

Welcoming Wellness

  • Promoting self-awareness, self-worth, and well-being among residents.
  • Enhancing residents’ goal identification, pursuit, and attainment.

Goals

The Residence Life Plan has four goals, each with eight accompanying actions. Key Performance Indicators include (a) Retention, (b) Persistence, (c) Satisfaction, and (d) Ambassador training completion.

Actions

  1. Increase student voice and buy-in by engaging in listening sessions at least once per semester to understand and meet student needs.
  2. Incorporate inclusive topics into programmatic and engagement opportunities that encourage a sense of belonging.
  3. Incorporate MSOE Mindset and Common Learning Outcomes into programmatic and engagement opportunities to support student learning and development.
  4. Implement activities and programs that foster community and promote pride in Residence Life.
  5. Review existing Living-Learning Communities and themed communities to align with student interests.
  6. Identify and implement new Living-Learning Communities for first-year and sophomore students.
  7. Enhance student social, collaboration, and study spaces in residential buildings.
  8. Achieve a 90% student satisfaction rating with on-campus living.

Actions

  1. Commit to $2,000 per professional staff member for annual professional development.
  2. Implement a professional development plan for each professional staff member and student employee.
  3. Implement a Residential Fellow Program to support experiential education opportunities for students and support Residence Life operations and programmatic needs.
  4. Achieve 100% completion rate for Ambassador training among professional staff.
  5. Achieve 85% completion rate for Ambassador training among student staff.
  6. Identify and foster staff recruiting efforts that reflect the demographics of the building population.
  7. Partner with Public Safety to strengthen emergency response training and planning among Residence Life communities.
  8. Develop a fund to support student staff travel for professional development.

Actions

  1. Examine and revise Residence Life policies, practices, and assessment plans to support mission, vision, and strategic plan attainment.
  2. Review community standards and conduct processes to promote developmental and restorative justice approaches focused on education, accountability, and responsibility (i.e., minimize punitive approaches in favor of developmental and educational approaches).
  3. Create and implement a comprehensive maintenance plan to enhance the appearance and maintenance of residential buildings.
  4. Implement a single application and assignment process across all residential buildings.
  5. Increase Residence Life capacity by aligning student or professional staff positions with student and department needs.
  6. Implement a 5-year program review cycle to assess and address organizational effectiveness and continuous improvement (e.g., self-study, external review).
  7. Retain 90% of first-time, first-year students living on campus.
  8. Achieve a 95% persistence rate among sophomores, juniors, and seniors living on campus.

Actions

  1. Strengthen the relationship with University Advancement to support student/staff needs, facilities improvement, and program development.
  2. Partner with the CREATE Institute to enhance leadership and MSOE Mindset development among Residence Life students and programmatic activities.
  3. Partner with Marketing and Communications to review and revise the Residence Life website to enhance user experience and content
  4. Co-lead event planning and activities with Campus Life to enhance the student experience (e.g., Welcome Week, spring movie night).
  5. Broaden engagement and strengthen communication with campus departments, programs, and services through intentional collaborations and events.
  6. Create partnerships with student and professional organizations to enhance engagement and the student experience.
  7. Strengthen relationship with Athletics and Wellness Center to support student health and well-being.
  8. Strengthen partnerships with Academics to increase faculty involvement in Living-Learning Communities, educational activities, and events.