Benchworks Launches Assessment and Impact Award for Residence Life, Announces Winners

[MarisaBluestone]

New York, NY; June 17, 2019 -- Today Skyfactor Benchworks announced the winners of its first, annual Assessment and Impact Awards. The award was created to highlight colleges that are successfully using data to improve their housing programs, helping to retain students.

Housing is an important part of the overall college experience, with national housing data over the last decade revealing that 52% of students living on-campus felt that their housing experience significantly contributed to their academic performance. It is one of the most important attributes predicting student success and retention, which is why Macmillan Learning partnered with The Association of College and University Housing Officers (ACUHO-I) to better understand student experience, satisfaction and learning in the residence halls.

The four institutions selected to be the inaugural Assessment and Impact Award for Housing and Residence Life winners were: John Carroll University in Ohio, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Southwest Oregon Community College. The winners were selected using a multi-step evaluation process that included an analysis of multi-year assessment data that identified programs that either had the best results or best increases in performance in areas like student staffing and diverse interactions as well as interviews and with housing and residence life leaders by members of the Benchworks Analytics and Research Team.

“Housing and residence life is such an integral part of the college experience, and our research shows that it significantly impacts how students feel about attending college. The award recognizes colleges that are successfully using assessment data to improve their students’ experience with housing and their overall success,” said Craig Bleyer, General Manager of Skyfactor.

The Benchworks assessments are the most widely used programs in higher education housing, and have been available for nearly 20 years. The ACUHO-I/Benchworks Residents Assessment is used by nearly 300 institutions each year, and is one of more than 50 different assessments from Benchworks on topics important to college success, including housing, orientation, and student affairs and service. The survey includes questions about student happiness, safety, diversity and inclusion, facilities, costs, sense of community, and time management, among others.

Assessment and Impact Award for Housing and Residence Life winners will be acknowledged during a luncheon at the upcoming ACUHO-I conference being held in Toronto, Ontario later this week. To learn more about how housing facilities relate to student perceptions, view this free webinar.