Students Rate Their Campus Homes in Residence Hall Surveys

In an effort to learn exactly what aspects of Rensselaer’s residence halls need to be improved — and what features don’t — the Auxiliary Services Department distributed student surveys last fall to those living in campus residence halls.

Thomas Griffin

Overall, 39 percent of the students sounded off on issues such as building upkeep, repair, pest control, and safety, among other things.

“The response was incredible,” according to Norris Pearson, who coordinated the polls and is manager of conference services and the Houston Field House. Pearson said his group have been busy attending several follow-up meetings with residential student leaders and are continuing to implement improvements in all of the halls. Many requests—like new carpeting, more washers and dryers, and blinds—are currently being evaluated by the Auxiliary Services staff.

The vast majority of residents in BARH said they are satisfied with the cleanliness of the buildings. In that same poll, however, some students asked for more whiteboards in the facility. Several have been slated for installation this fall.

“We consider all of the feedback, both good and bad, essential in creating a residence experience that is as enriching as possible,” Pearson said. “By helping us understand what we are doing right, we can make the buildings even better—and also learn where we need to make improvements.”

He added that now that all of the single-student housing residence halls have been polled, more discussions with students and administrators will be held and upgrades in the buildings will continue to be made.

For the full results of the surveys, go to http://www.rpi.edu/dept/administration/survey.html.