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University of Massachusetts Amherst
SARIS - Student Affairs Research, Information and Systems
Housing Services Survey (S98-A)

Executive Summary: Over 80% of surveyed students feel that the residence hall security systems are effective, that residence hall policies are consistently enforced on their floors, and that alcohol and drug policies are addressed satisfactorily. More than one-half of the respondents believe it is not important that residence halls be kept locked 24 hours a day. Two-thirds of students have attended at least one program or activity in their residence hall. The Housing Assignments staff was described as effective by 69% of respondents, the Residential Life staff by 73%, and the Cluster Office staff by 92%. Over 85% of surveyed students said that their rooms were clean when they moved in, and that bathrooms, halls, and public areas of the residence halls are usually clean. About three-quarters of the residents are satisfied with maintenance, study spaces, and the mail system in their residence halls.

On Tuesday, February 10, 1998, Project Pulse conducted a telephone survey for Housing Services investigating quality of life in the residence halls. Pulse interviewers attempted to contact 890 on-campus residents who were randomly selected by computer from the University’s database. Of these, 552 were successfully contacted and 466 (84.4%) agreed to be interviewed. See Table 1 for the final disposition of the sample and Table 2 for a demographic summary of the respondents. The response rate for the survey was 52.3%.

First, all respondents were asked if they had lived in a UMass residence hall the previous semester. The 9% (n=39) who said they had not were asked no further questions. In addition, sixteen of the remaining 413 respondents reported that they are currently Resident Assistants. These sixteen students were also asked no further questions. The remaining 396 students have lived in UMass residence halls for a mean of 2.3 semesters.

SECURITY
When asked to rate the effectiveness of the security systems in their residence halls, 83.5% of those surveyed said that the systems are effective (see Figure 1). Respondents were asked how important it is for residence halls to be locked twenty-four hours a day: 9.7% (n=38) thought it was very important, 28.0% (n=110) thought it was somewhat important, 27.5% (n=108) thought it was somewhat unimportant, and 34.9% (n=137) thought it was very unimportant. The vast majority of those questioned (86.8%, n=342) reported that night security workers consistently enforce hall access and guest sign-in policies.

Figure 1. Students’ perception of the effectiveness of residence hall security systems

RESIDENCE HALL LIFE
One group of questions focused on programs and activities scheduled in the residence halls. Almost one-third of the students (32.7%, n=128) reported that they had not attended such a program this year. Students who had attended such activities this year reported attending a mean of 3.1. The majority of students (55.2%, n=218) find out about programs and activities from fliers or other printed sources, while 37.7% (n=149) find out through their RA and 5.6% (n=22) through friends. Two-thirds of students (62.3%, n=240) reported that their RAs present social programs somewhat or very often, and 42.2% (n=161) said that educational programs are presented somewhat or very often.

Most students (91.5%, n=356) agree that their responsibilities as floor members were clearly outlined at the beginning of the semester. Over three-quarters (78.8%, n=299) say that they have an opportunity to give their opinions on programs and activities planned for their residence hall floors. About four-fifths (82.9%, n=242) report that they feel comfortable confronting other residents if their own rights are being infringed upon, and that Residence Life staff members make diversity issues a priority in their work (83.5%, n=309). Almost as many students (78.3%, n=296) state that their residence hall experience has been helpful in their education on issues of diversity (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Helpfulness of residence hall experience in your education on diversity issues

When asked how consistently residence hall policies are enforced on their floors, 84.6% (n=324) said that enforcement is consistent (see Figure 3). Roughly the same proportion of students (83.6%, n=316) said that they are satisfied with the way alcohol and drug policy violations are addressed in their residence halls. Men were significantly more likely than women (48.2% v. 34.1%, c²=12.19, p=.0068) to express themselves “very satisfied” with substance abuse policy enforcement. If an alcohol- and drug-free residence hall were available in their preferred area of campus next year, 17.2% of respondents (n=66) said that they would choose to live there.

Figure 3. Students’ perception of consistency with which residence hall policies are enforced

Almost three-quarters of those questioned (72.1%, n=284) said that they know who their Residence Director is, while only 43.9% (n=173) can identify their Assistant Residence Director. Almost equal proportions of students report that they speak to their RA daily (29.6%, n=117) or 2-4 times per week (28.6%, n=113), while 7.3% (n=29) say they never speak to their RA.

HOUSING ASSIGNMENTS
If faced with a problem with a housing assignment, half of the respondents (51.8%, n=204) said that they would go first to the Housing Assignments Office, and one-third (32.2%, n=127) said that they would take it up with the Residential Life staff. Students were then asked to rate how effectively staff at the two offices have responded to such problems in the past: Housing Assignments Office staff were described as somewhat or very effective by 68.6% (n=159) of the respondents, and Residential Life staff by 72.6% (n=146). Most students (92.2%, n=358) said that Cluster Office staff respond effectively when their assistance is needed with issues such as key checkouts and maintenance requests. Over three-quarters of the students (78.1%, n=246) surveyed said that they find the Residence Hall Manual very or somewhat helpful.

FACILITIES
Pulse interviewers read respondents a series of statements about the physical condition and maintenance of the residence halls, to which students could respond with “agree strongly,” “agree somewhat,” “disagree somewhat,” or “disagree strongly.” Over seven-eighths of the students agreed that their rooms were clean when they moved in (89.4%, n=354), that the bathrooms are cleaned regularly (88.4%, n=350), that the hallways are usually clean (87.6%, n=347), and that the public areas of the residence hall are usually clean (92.7%, n=366). About three-quarters of those surveyed (74.2%, n=162) agreed that they know who to contact with maintenance problems, and that such problems are usually repaired in a timely manner (79.4%, n=197) (see Figure 4). Similar proportions of respondents are satisfied with the study spaces available in their residence halls (72.3%, n=278), the current mail system (74.7%, n=295), and the response to problems with mail service (71.5%, n=163).

Figure 4. Student opinion of the maintenance of residence halls

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