Introduction
The Village Green Student Residence at Northern Ontario University was opened in 2010. The residence can accommodate up to 120 people. The place is a generally safe region of communal living that offers access to a few community festivals, outdoor activities, and basic facilities. The Village Green Dormitory has been well-maintained, including wholly furnished apartments with adjoining toilets and common areas with a giant TV screen and stereo. The housekeeping crew handles the cleaning process in the residence daily. However, the residence has encountered a few challenges, some of them ensuring that the rooms have students and increasing the cost of running the residence.
Recommendations
First, the recommendation is that Rose George revise the student’s meal plan and lower the cost of accommodation to a reasonable price. She should identify new suppliers who will offer their services at a lower cost. The decision to lower the accommodation fees will enable the management to generally lower the high cost of running the residence, thus cutting the students’ cost to pay for their accommodation. The current cost, which is about US$2400-2700, is too much for students, and this discourages them from continuing to reside in the premises until they finish their 4-year time. Therefore, rather than having a meal plan, students should be free to choose and pay for their meals as they live in the dorms while also pursuing a college education.
The school internet is very slow, and it is offered at a higher price of around thirty US dollars. Thus, the second recommendation is for the school to find another internet service provider offering a better internet connection at a lower rate. Lowering the fees required to acquire internet while maintaining a faster internet bandwidth will reduce the expenditure by the student on the internet. The faster the internet is also increasing the productivity of the students while in residence. It will also be better when the school includes the internet fees in the residence fees.
Third, the residence should coordinate and advertise their place of residence to reach many students who are yet to join the school. They should also focus on bringing more international students, which is estimated will increase the number of occupants because, at this time, only 75% of the accommodations are occupied. They should offer reduced hotel packages, complimentary services, and high-quality amenities, so they feel comfortable and at ease and do not leave. Immigration to Canada is encouraged throughout the country as a result of the predicted demographic reduction due to the recent retirement of many baby boomers. As a result, immigration is required to maintain its current operating efficiency and prevent it from stagnating.
Another recommendation is to have a survey done between the students so that the management can hear of the problems the students are encountering currently at the residence. This survey will help the management to address most of the problems effectively. With most of the problems solved, the overall rating of the residence will increase, thus also encouraging more students to continue living at the residence.
In order to enable smooth planning of events, the residence advisers should agree and assign one of them to manage the events to be hosted in the residence precisely. The events that are carried out at the village green residence should be assigned to one person. Currently, an event to hold has to go through Rose, Aldo, and Bill; this makes it difficult for either one of the people responsible for approving does not agree. This may lead to a much-anticipated event by the students living at the resident to be canceled and might cause a student to be disappointed, lowering their chances of staying at the residence.
Aldo Trabant, responsible for the residence security, should implement effective security measures that will ensure a secure environment for the residents. The security measures should be more reasonable in order to cover the students’ well-fare at the residence. The measures should not be stricter in that they should not make the student uncomfortable. Good security rules and level of security are offered to encourage new students to stay at the residence since they feel they are secure.
Control And Feedback
Rose, Aldo, and Bill, who are the Village Green Student Residence’s top management, need to take drastic actions to get control of the deteriorating situation. Otherwise, individuals risk losing their eligibility to live and work in another country. They should devise new procedures and policies that will ensure that the management of the residence runs smoothly without hassle. Once the problems have been resolved, students should be requested to complete surveys to give management helpful feedback on whether services have improved and how many complaints there are concerning international students in general.
In addition to Rose George, the resident coordinator, additional officers are stationed to work in the residence who should be responsible for offering quality and meeting the residence needs. Aldo Trabant, a security officer, should always ensure the student code of behavior is followed and keeps the dorm safe for its residents. Another official, Bill Wells, who is now the Director of Ancillary Operations and Sales whom his actions and decision-making can impact Village Green’s day-to-day operations. Bill is now attempting to adjust the current procedures and policies after observing the management’s operations and activities. However, Bill’s methods of operation are not going so well with His colleagues at work. Thus, the surveys and feedback provided by the residence should act as a guide to understanding the student’s needs.
Further, as they cannot attract overseas students, attracting domestic students is a challenge. However, because these students are already in Canada, they have a plethora of possibilities. They need to persuade the international and domestic students who have stayed to help them out by becoming volunteers. They should know that having three people approve a single event and methods for having more than one person complete the paperwork. It is a fact that going to class may be stressful, and international students especially miss home when they are away. Students can relieve tension by participating in these activities in the dorm, which helps them adjust to life outside of school and prepares them to share their knowledge with other prospective students. The events that are offered during this event may also assist the residents in attracting additional students.
Contingency Plan
The administration needs to exert pressure on the residents and conduct a survey with them directly to move forward. There must be a poll conducted by the management to determine what improvements residents want, what adjustments are needed, and the estimated costs for those services before a final decision can be made about how to proceed with the work once more. The poll results should prompt management to convene a meeting and begin making changes at the apartment complex. To begin, a survey would be an excellent idea, and management should then employ different techniques.
Rose George, the residence coordinator, is responsible for residence operations, including fees, registration, and social services. She should develop a strategy that addresses all aspects of residence expenditure. The university is implementing a cost-cutting approach for housing and meal cards to attract more students, both domestically and abroad. This will assist in attaining the reduction of the remaining 25% of the rooms that are not currently occupied to be realized. Bill Wells, who has been recently hired as the Director of Ancillary Operations and Sales, needs to devise new procedures and policies to enforce them to the staff members. These procedures and policies should cover how the major decision about the wellbeing of the student is made, expenditure cost to be revised.
Additionally, Village Green has resident advisers who are in charge of attending to student needs, organizing activities, and putting things in place. They use log sheets to keep track of their progress, which they then turn in to Rose. They have access to a yearly budget of $2000, which they can utilize to organize student events. Live concerts, stand-up comedy shows, and other forms of entertainment necessitate approval from Rose, Aldo, and Bill because they cost a lot of money to organize.