Missions And Learning Outcomes

Missions And Learning Outcomes
Students Arriving to Hall

STUDENT LIFE DIVISION MISSION STATEMENT

Student Life is committed to facilitating student learning, holistic development, and overall well-being. Access, belonging, inclusion, and engagement are at the center of our work to foster a welcoming, safe, and caring campus community. Through student-centered, co-curricular programs, services, resources, and partnerships, we strive to enrich students’ education and support their personal growth to reach their potential at UNH and in the future.

University of New Hampshire's
Diversity Statement

The University of New Hampshire is committed to building and nurturing an environment of inclusive excellence where all students, faculty, and staff can thrive. We also are committed to providing open and inclusive access for all alumni, volunteers, learners, employees, and visitors seeking to participate in our programs and activities. We venture to sustain a campus environment that fosters mutual respect and understanding. We believe diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are foundational values inextricably linked to achieving our core educational mission and embrace the many characteristics of our community members that make them uniquely themselves. Here, you belong and all are welcome.

HOUSING'S MISSION STATEMENT 

Our departmental mission is to provide residents and University guests with a safe, comfortable, and affordable environment that promotes learning, social interaction and personal growth; to effectively and efficiently maintain facilities, advance technology and provide services that are attentive to resident needs and concerns.

Housing's Guiding Principles

  • Provide consistent superior customer service
  • Practice ethical behavior at all times
  • Embrace flexibility, forward thinking, and continuous improvement
  • Foster a collaborative and diverse community through inclusion and respect
  • Work in cooperation and partnership with all parts of the University
  • Value sustainability through the responsible use of resources

Housing Student Learning Outcomes

Description: This process will enable students to practice self-efficacy, time management, planning, and provide an opportunity to utilize enhanced housing technology through an online self-selection process for the upcoming year's on-campus housing. It will also provide leadership and communication opportunities through the process, as students perform the function for their intended housing group.

Expected outcomes: Knowledge acquisition, construction, integration and application; Intrapersonal development; Practical competence;

Methods of Execution: Documents/handouts; Events and programming; Individual student meetings; Presentations; Social media content; Videos; Webinars; Website content;

Plans to Measure Progress: UNH Housing measures retention year over year, parsed out by class standing, college, and housing location. We seek qualitative student feedback via email communication solicitations and through a Qualtrics exit survey shortly after room selection conclusion. We pay special attention to metrics involving our Gender Inclusive Housing options and housing chosen/offered to students living in on-campus housing that we partner with SAS to accommodate.

Description: Students living in on-campus housing are asked to report maintenance concerns as they arise in their halls and spaces to help contribute to a safe community of care and encourage respect for campus facilities. Various platforms exist for reporting both urgent and non-urgent issues, and education is done to help students identify the difference in those issues and requests. There are additional opportunities to provide feedback or bring attention to long-term concerns. In addition to ongoing reporting, students enact self-checks of their space for adherence to state-issued Fire Safety policies. Participation in the mandatory Fire Safety checks promotes self-efficacy. It enables our core mission of providing a safe and comfortable living environment that promotes learning, social interaction, and personal growth.

Expected Outcomes: Knowledge acquisition, construction, integration and application; Intrapersonal development; Interpersonal competence; Practical competence.

Methods of Execution: Campus partnerships; Documents/handouts; Events and programming; Individual student meetings; Social media content; Student employment; Videos; Website content.

Plans to Measure Progress: Several platforms exist to gather feedback from students on their experience with self-reporting maintenance concerns, response time, etc., including resident satisfaction surveys distributed in the Fall semesters and visits to Hall Council meetings. These Hall Council visits are opportunities for Housing staff to ask for direct feedback from area residents. Pending COVID safety guidelines, these visits may be organized via an alternative platform to avoid in-person gatherings. Compliance for Fire Safety reporting is expected to be at 100%, and survey response rates are monitored via Qualtrics; in-person inspections by trained student staff will be completed if necessary.

Description: Our department's mission is to provide students with a living environment "that promotes learning, social interaction, and personal growth." Through our live-in professional and student staff, we provide active and passive programming in many forms to give residential students the opportunities to connect with their peers and grow in areas they may not be exposed to inside the classroom. Areas of content include independent living, diversity and social justice, health and wellness, occupational prep, and many others. These programs also provide us with many opportunities for cross-campus collaborations and promote a community of care across the university.

Expected Outcomes: Knowledge acquisition, construction, integration and application; Cognitive complexity; Intrapersonal development; Interpersonal competence; Humanitarianism and civic engagement; Practical competence.

Methods of Execution: Campus partnerships; Documents/handouts; Events and programming; Social media content; Student employment; Videos; Website content.

Plans to Measure Progress: Individual residential areas collect data year to year regarding attendance at planned programs. Additionally, every fall semester, we disseminate student satisfaction surveys and gather data on staff programming efforts. Finally, student staff members are asked to complete program evaluations to reflect on what went well and improve specific programs.

Description: The Housing Leadership Development Initiative (HLDI) is offered to any student employed on one of Housing's many crews throughout the summer months. The program consists of several sessions that include various speakers, activities, and discussions that will help students identify and develop leadership qualities that will serve them in their work or employment. Topics include mentorship, communication, team building, and more.

Expected Outcomes: Cognitive complexity; Intrapersonal development; Interpersonal competence; Humanitarianism and civic engagement; Practical competence; Leadership Development.     

Methods of Execution: Campus partnerships; Courses/classes; Documents/handouts; Individual student meetings; Mentorship; Student employment; Videos.

Plans to Measure Progress: Program participants are asked to provide feedback on their experiences in HLDI. Evaluations have come in the form of pre and post-self-assessments as well as general feedback forms.

Description: Our residential areas offer an elevated level of independent living, especially in our apartment areas. As a result, conflicts between roommates or neighbors can occur in these spaces. Professional and student staff work with these individuals to appropriately express their feelings and concerns, see the situation from multiple perspectives, and ultimately try and help the individuals involved resolve any tensions and be able to move forward in their relationships. 

Expected Outcomes: Cognitive complexity; Intrapersonal development; Interpersonal competence; Humanitarianism and civic engagement; Practical competence.

Methods of Execution: Documents/handouts; Individual student meetings; Social media content; student employment

Plans to Measure Progress: Each conflict is unique, so success and progress in each situation are also unique. Our ultimate end goal in conflict mediation is to make each individual's living environment more comfortable and ease the impact of the conflicts. We are often successful in helping students gain the skills they need to communicate more clearly and continue to resolve issues. However, if a situation is deemed too harmful or unsafe for any individual, the resolution may result in an occupancy change.

 

RESIDENTIAL LIFE'S MISSION STATEMENT 

Residential Life is dedicated to creating engaged communities and supporting individual student development. We challenge, nurture, and support our students and community through our educational goal areas: involvement & leadership, academics & career, inclusion & equity, and health & wellness. All of these goals are accomplished through active and passive delivery methods, casual and directed developmental contact with students, and intentional supervision of professional and student staff. 

Residential Life's Vision

Residential Life plays a central role in helping students make the most of their academic experiences while successfully navigating the often-unmarked developmental roads that exist outside the classroom. Students are provided a well-maintained living environment, so they feel safe, have a chance to grow individually and have a sense of belonging as part of a vibrant residential community. 

Students in our community learn about their own identities, difference, the concepts of inclusion and equity and the importance of overall well-being. At times, we will enrich the growth process in which the student is already consciously engaged, while at other times, we will establish conditions to prompt the growth process. 

Residential Life's Values

  • Creativity
  • Whole student centered
  • The courage to embrace growth and development
  • Respect for and love of the college development process
  • Serious about fun
  • Sense of responsibility and hard work
  • Building upon concepts of inclusion, equity and anti-racism
  • Sense of belonging within Residential Life Department
  • Care and Compassion
  • Open and productive dialogue
  • Intentional improvement led by focused assessment and feedback
  • Positive Collaboration within our department and with stake-holders

Residential Life Educational Goal Areas
And Learning Outcomes

We strive for every student to feel a sense of belonging by feeling accepted, feeling an affinity towards the floor/hall/University, and feeling physically and emotionally safe to be their best and true selves.

Creating engaged communities and supporting individual development are important goals and can stand on their own. However, they also intersect and impact each other. We challenge, nurture, and support our students and community through our educational goal areas: involvement & leadership, academics & career, inclusion & equity, and health & wellness. All of these goals are accomplished through active and passive delivery methods, casual and directed developmental contact with students, and intentional supervision of resident assistants and assistant hall directors.

ACADEMIC & CAREER

Residential Life strives for all residential students to participate in their academic lives in reflective, intentional, and proactive ways aimed at maximizing academic achievement, learning, and career development. Our staff encourages students to explore Academics & Career resources and to seek out opportunities that complement their academic and career goals.  

  1. HOW DO I LEARN? Students will develop skills to maximize academic achievement. 
  1. WHO IS HERE TO HELP? Students will be able to identify several academic and career resources and services.  
  1. WHAT RESOURCES ARE BEST FOR ME? Students will access relevant academic and career resources and services.  

INCLUSION & EQUITY  

Residential Life strives for all residential students to feel a sense of belonging in their community.  We work towards this goal by using inclusion, equity, and antiracist lenses in our curriculum.  Students are provided opportunities to reflect on and develop their understanding of the impact of their identity, privileges, biases, and their role within the community around issues of inclusion and equity. 

  1. WHO AM I AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? Students will demonstrate knowledge of their own identity, how it intersects with the identities of others, and how it impacts their lived experience. 
  1. HOW DO I TALK ABOUT THIS? Students will be able to identify and define inclusive language. 
  1. HOW CAN I LEARN FROM OTHERS? Students will engage in conversations that develop their ideas of inclusion and equity. 
  1. HOW AM I ENGAGING WITH THE WORLD? Students will evaluate their participation in systems of oppression, privilege, and power while seeking to understand others’ perspectives. 

INVOLVEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

Residential Life strives for all residential students to experience a sense of belonging and social connectedness. We do this by providing opportunities for active engagement and leadership development in their communities.  We know benefits of student involvement are strongly related to retention, institutional satisfaction, and social and intellectual development.  

  1. WHY SHOULD I DO THIS? Students will identify the benefits of engaging in their community and recognize the importance of their role impacting a community.  
  1. WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE? Students will engage in their residential community and the UNH community. 
  1. HOW CAN I BE BETTER AT THIS? Students will act as an intentional leader in formal and informal ways in the UNH community. 

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Residential Life strives for all residential students to take an active, reflective approach to making positive choices that contribute to their health and well-being while in college. While Residential Life understands there are multiple dimensions that comprise Health & Well-Being, we have chosen to focus on areas frequently relevant to succeeding emotionally and academically while in college. 

  1. WHAT DO I DO TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF? Students will be able to identify ways they can achieve physical and emotional health. 
  1. WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS OF SUBSTANCES ON ME AND MY COMMUNITY? Students will learn about the impacts of substances on bodies, minds, and communities and use this information to reflect on past and future substance use. 
  1. WHAT WILL I DO TO DEVELOP BALANCE AND TAKE INITIATIVE IN MY WELL-BEING? Students will practice an active and reflective approach toward developing balance in their health and well-being.