by Collegeboxes,Vendor
8 Ways Housing Officers Can Help Students Move to School
-
Moving to school is an exciting yet stressful time for many individuals. Students, parents, and campus housing professionals all play a crucial role in ensuring a smooth and successful transition. While parents and students undoubtedly have an influence, campus housing professionals can have the most significant impact on moving day.
As professionals specializing in college move-in services, Collegeboxes has had the opportunity to visit numerous campuses and witness countless move-ins. Through our experiences, we have gathered plenty of successful ideas that we are eager to share with you. If you are seeking innovative move-in strategies, here are eight effective methods to assist students as they transition into their new campus residences.
1. Offer Move-In Resources
There’s a good chance you already provide some type of move-in resource for students to help them get settled. But if not, it’s something we highly recommend. It could be a welcome packet containing detailed information about moving procedures, essential contacts, campus maps, and tips for settling in. Or it could be online guides, FAQs, and helpful PDFs posted on your website or distributed via QR code that help students prepare for the move. If your campus already provides this service, perhaps it’s time to review your content and determine whether there’s room for improvement.
2. Host Orientation Programs
Many schools utilize orientation programs to help students and parents get comfortable on move-in day. Typical orientations include campus tours to help students familiarize themselves with key locations such as dorms, dining halls, libraries, and health centers. Not only do orientations familiarize students with their surroundings, but they also give students the opportunity to meet other students and start the settling in process.
You can take this a step further by developing some “welcome” events, such an ice cream social, BBQ, or game night to help students acclimate and feel welcome. Be sure to invite the parents and current residents as well. Although this may not directly ease the stress of move-in day, it can help reduce some of the other anxieties students and parents experience during this time and foster a healthier atmosphere for the weeks to come.
3. Establish Move-In Day Support
One of your primary goals as a housing professional is to not only get students moved in, but to also keep things organized and on schedule. Unfortunately, you can’t be there to lend a helping hand to every family, but you can take steps to make things easier.
Clear, helpful signage is a simple, yet effective way to point people in the right direction and cut down on confusion and congestion. If possible, we also recommend providing loading and unloading assistance, either via volunteers or staff members, to make the process easier on families. Finally, set up information booths to hand out your move-in resources, answer questions, and give directions.
4. Provide Moving Equipment
Does your campus have dollies, carts, or any kind of moving equipment readily available? If not, it’s time to acquire some and make sure families know they are available when moving to school. These tools will go a long way toward helping families get their items through the hallways, up the elevators, and into their dorms more efficiently and with less effort.
5. Be Flexible with Move-In Scheduling
The fewer students moving in at one time, the less congestion and confusion there will be. Seems simple enough but can be one the more impactful strategies we recommend. If you can, stagger move in times and offer flexibility to accommodate more schedules and reduce traffic jams and overall stress. We also recommend offering early move in. A few days before your official move-in, allow some students to get their things moved to avoid the rush and give them extra time to settle in.
6. Follow Up and Improve
Think about past campus moving days. Were there any specific hang-ups or areas that caused confusion? Try to identify these and other areas that need improvement. Call on your own experiences to improve upon your existing moving strategies and help build new ones. In addition, strategize a way for students to leave feedback so you more easily identify stressors moving forward and make improvements accordingly. This could be as simple as comment cards, or it could involve something more interactive, such digital surveys. This feedback will be vital to enhancing your operation and ensuring future success.
7. Stay in Constant Contact
We encourage you to keep your incoming students in the loop as best you can leading up to move-in. Send regular emails or messages with updates and any essential information that they might find useful. This can also be a great time to distribute maps, instructions, rules, or anything else that would be helpful to review before things begin.
Pro tip: campus emergency contacts can come in handy in an unexpected situation. Be sure students are prepared as best as possible for a variety of situations.
8. Direct Students to Additional Services
Not all moving help needs to come from you and/or campus staff. There are additional, external resources out there that can help students with their moving journey. For instance, Collegeboxes provides services that streamline the moving process for college students. Professional movers do the heavy lifting so housing officers and their staff can focus on keeping things running smoothly.
Collegeboxes partners with campuses across the U.S. and Canada, aiming to provide a low-cost solution that helps students and colleges alike. Learn more about our partnership program and how we can help student housing officers. By offering comprehensive support and resources, you can help make the transition to school as smooth and stress-free as possible for students and their families.
