Living on a college campus can have a profound impact on student persistence and engagement. The latest research from The Association of College and University Housing Officers - International found that students who live on campus are more likely to engage in academic activities, which positively impacts retention rates, academic engagement, and feelings of belonging. To recognize the impact that data-driven programs have to support on-campus living, Skyfactor Benchworks, a Macmillan Learning company, has named the 2022 Assessment and Impact Award for Housing and Residence Life.

“In-person events and gatherings have been quite limited for the past few years, resulting in an atypical college experience for many students. But housing has helped lessen the impact by connecting students to educationally beneficial activities, amenities, and people. Some colleges are upping the ante even more by using surveys and data to enhance these experiences, and each year we recognize those who excel at doing that,” said Steven Ray, Vice President of Enterprise Solutions for Macmillan Learning.

The impact of the pandemic on student experiences has been a focus for many schools over the past few years, with many schools focusing on the role played by residence life. Several studies have documented the connection it plays in building community and ensuring students' success in college; research from Skyfactor found that the students who reported that their housing experience helped them make connections with other students in their courses were more likely to report that their housing experience contributed to their overall learning.

Now in its fourth year, the Assessment and Impact Award for Residence Life recognizes colleges that demonstrate intentionality in using insights from data to improve their residence life programs. Skyfactor Benchworks recognized ten housing programs during the pandemic, including seven housing programs in 2021, three in 2020, as well as four housing programs in 2019.

This year’s winners are:

• Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville - Improvement - Satisfaction with Community Environment
• University of Southern Alabama - Improvement - Satisfaction with Dining Services
• St. Catherine University - High Performance - Satisfaction with Community Environment

The winners were selected this spring through the company’s data-driven process. Macmillan Learning’s Analytics & Research Team analyzed multiple years of data from the ACUHO-I/Benchworks Resident Assessment to identify programs with both consistently high scores and significant improvements in survey scores. The team then interviewed staff from these campuses to learn about the efforts and initiatives in place at each program. Each finalist was given a blind review by an external team of experts to determine final scores.

Skyfactor also has an Assessment and Impact Award for nursing education programs, with the call for these nominations open until July 15. The self-nominations for next year’s housing and residence life awards will launch in early 2023.

About Skyfactor Benchworks

Benchworks provides research-based program assessments and benchmarking for a variety of Student Affairs programs, as well as Business Education, Engineering, Nursing, Teacher Education. The robust analytics Benchworks empowers programs to identify areas of improvement for maximum impact on program success. Benchworks assessments are rooted in research and mapped to accreditation and professional standards.

About Macmillan Learning

Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family-owned company that improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that are highly effective and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or join our Macmillan Community.

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