Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1101409
Subscribe at careercollegecentral.com 34 MH: What are the biggest struggles that schools face when considering student housing? DN: For those schools that take a hands-off approach to housing, they can find that a tarnished reputation in nearby apartment communities is not easy to correct. Ultimately, recruiting can be affected as the students get pushed further away from campus to find housing. Schools that coordinate housing themselves may find an inordinate amount of staff 's time being spent on coordinating or mediating issues between roommates and advocating for the students with apartment communities. Some schools take financial liability for apartment leases and find that the seasonality of their student base, or attrition and the resulting vacancy loss, can be very costly. In addition, there are fair housing guidelines to navigate, habitational liability risk, and Clery Act reporting requirements associated. MH: How can CHS help both students and schools? DN: CHS is a strategic partner for the school and an advocate for the student. For our school partners, our goal is to assist in maximizing class start and graduation percentages. We strive to do so within the culture—and even the marketing brand—of the local campus. For each of the students we support, our goal is to ease the burden of housing complexities and assist them in navigating their way to graduation. We hope that the features of our housing program and the customer service commitment of our associates allow our student residents to better concentrate on their classes and studies. CHS cannot control roommate behavior and other frustrations inherent in cohabitation housing, but by advocating for the students and taking a caring approach, hopefully we can effectively ease those pain points. MH: What support does CHS provide beyond move-in day? DN: CHS provides local staff in its client schools. We try to become integrated in the culture and routine of campus administration. For school partners, we provide attendance at recruiting events, attend appropriate admissions and student services staff meetings, and provide reporting on all contact with prospective and current students. For the students, our local staff take on somewhat of a counselor's role. We understand many of these students are away from home for the first time and that they may also be the first in their family to attend college. So, we make it a point to keep parents informed, mediate roommate issues, become a conduit for communication with financial aid departments, etc. Our resident assistants live in the apartment communities among the student resident population. e RAs are a peer resource to the students for spontaneous issues as they arise in the dwelling units, and they coordinate social activities in the hope of providing a sense of community. MH: Do you have any success stories or testimonials you can share? DN: We are very proud of celebrating our 30th year in business this past year. Over this time, we have achieved national service agreements or multi-campus agreements with several of the largest for-profit education companies. We are very thankful for all of our school partners and we are proud to be a part of their success. Being a landlord can sometimes feel like a thankless proposition. It seems the perception is that rent is oen too high, landlords cause roommate conflicts, damages spontaneously happen, and contractual lease obligations are expected to be excused. However, at CHS our thanks comes in watching our student residents graduate and begin their careers. Our success stories are really in the thousands of students that have come through our housing programs and have graduated. We oen receive letters of thanks from parents aer assisting in a roommate conflict or troubling situation. ose are unpublished testimonials that keep our associates energized and validated in their commitment. is interview has been edited for clarity and length. For more information about College Housing Services, visit www.housingservices.com. Collegiate Housing Services (CHS) is a strategic partner for schools and an advocate for students. Mallory Herrmann is a writer and editor whose work has also been featured in Unity Magazine and the Lee's Summit Tribune. She can be reached at mallory@malloryherrmann.com. MALLORY HERRMANN EDITOR