Introduction
The student residence at Village Green is a secure and safe community that provides access to various kinds of basic services and amenities. It is situated on the campus of a small university in northern Ontario and was established in 2010. The dormitory can accommodate 120 students and has been designed impressively in different ways, including the common rooms with stereo and big-screen TVs and entirely furnished rooms with adjoined washrooms. The day-to-day cleaning schedule is well taken care of by the housekeeping staff. Rose George is the coordinator of the residence, and her duties include ensuring social services are provided, registration of students, and taking care of fees. The dormitory has four floors, each with a residence advisor. However, there have recently been issues in residence, including the rising cost of maintaining the facility and the partial occupation of its accommodations.
Recommendations
The management of the facility needs to attract more students from abroad since there are currently 25% of rooms that are available for occupation. About 13.5 percent of the current international students occupy the facility. The remaining percentage of international students prefer to live outside the facility in separate houses or apartments. More so, the few who live in residence leave to other local houses and apartments after their first year. These students have different reasons for living outside the residence. These reasons include relatively fewer events organized by the management of the facility for the students, expensive but slow internet connections, as well as noise inside the residence.
Informal research about international students indicates that International students perceive the $30 monthly payment for the internet as too expensive. Despite being expensive, the internet connection is slow (Brown et al., 2019). The management of the residence could think of other cheap internet providers to source the internet connection. This would, in turn, cut down the cost of internet connection to the students hence attracting them. The management also has to find alternative sources of faster internet providers so that students can enjoy faster browsing and surfing of the internet. Young adults like to spend much of their free time on the internet, especially on social media. Hence the management of the residence cannot afford to take the issue of internet connectivity for granted. The management of the facility should also reduce the noise around the facility. Considering most of the students complain of noise around the facility, the management could put measures in place that cut down the noise in residence, say controlling the volume of the stereo system and TVs, especially during the night when most of the students want to sleep.
Additionally, while the management cannot lower its prices due to increased running costs, the international students consider the facility unaffordable. The management could ask the University to subsidize the cost of running the facility so that the price of living in residence is slightly reduced (Brown et al., 2019). Such a step could attract more students hence keeping the facility to be fully occupied throughout. It will also reduce the number of those students who leave the facility after their first year of schooling. Another important thing to do is to increase the number of organized events for international students. Most international students and young adults value the experience of live events, concerts, and entertainment programs; hence the management could set aside enough funds to cater to such programs. Such a step would be useful in retaining every student who enters the residence until they wind up their studies.
Since the government of Canada has a vibrant program aimed at increasing the number of immigrants in the country, the management of the facility could consider providing some space to the immigrants. If at all the number of students who occupy the facility cannot increase, then the immigrants could occupy the remaining space (Brown et al., 2019). Therefore, the management has to sort out such concerns to meet the needs of the international students and to make the environment conducive for them. The management could take advantage of Canada’s immigration program, which invites more immigrants into the country due to the probable drop in the rate of population increase. The government of Canada also plans to initiate programs aimed at alluring skilled personnel from other countries to work in minor urban areas. Due to the increased operations in the country, such immigrants would get employment opportunities (Brown et al., 2019). This would in turn lead to revenue generation for the government of Canada and hence a win-win situation.
Control and feedback
Other officials work in the facility other than Rose George, the residence coordinator. The security officer, Aldo Trabant is to ensure safety within the residence and enforces the residents’ code of conduct within the facility. Additionally, the Village Green Residence’s operations are sometimes affected by major decisions taken by the Director of Ancillary Operations and Sales, Mr. Bill Wells. The director currently attempts to change the policies and procedures that exist after observing the activities and operations in residence. The resulting challenge, however, is that his approach impedes cooperation between him and the rest of the team. The management has to invent ways of developing teamwork among the personnel and the staff. This would prompt smooth running of the operations within the residence. The management also has to invent ways of sorting out issues of damages and breakages in the facility. Where the students are charged highly for damages and repair, they are likely to be scared and would prefer to in other facilities such as apartments and local houses.
Contingency plan
Apart from Rose George, Aldo Trabant, and Bill Wells, the residence needs advisors as well. They have a significant role in putting things in place, planning events, and taking care of the needs of residents. The resident advisors get access to a yearly budget of $2000. They are expected to prepare log sheets and submit them to the coordinator of the residence. Rose, Aldo, and Bill approve any event or entertainment programs organized for students by the advisors since most of them are expensive to organize. Such events and entertainment programs include comedy performances and live concerts. The management of the residents has to consider the immigrants who are likely to increase as a result of the government’s program. The government of Canada has a vibrant program aimed at increasing the number of immigrants in the country, the management of the facility could consider providing some space to the immigrants. If at all the number of students who occupy the facility cannot increase, then, the immigrants could occupy the remaining space.
Reference
Brown, J., Volk, F., & Spratto, E. M. (2019). The hidden structure: The influence of residence hall design on academic outcomes. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 56(3), 267-283.