Presentation from the Student Accommodation World Development Conference, Melbourne, August, 2017

1. The Student Experience
as a Driver of Success
Laura Burge
Student Experience Manager
Deakin Residential Services

2. Outcomes
Why The ‘Student Experience’ Matters
4 Critical Ingredients
The Deakin Residential Services Approach

3. “Students who live within PBSA do something
that very few of us will do at any other time in
our lives.
They move away from their homes into vast,
temporary communities of complete strangers.”
Paul Harris, Unite Students

6. ‘Life happens beyond the 9 – 5
and our commitment has to be
24-7.’
Risk
Management

7. Satisfied students are more likely to:
 Be involved
 Obtain higher levels of personal growth
 Develop a greater sense of belonging and connection
 Persist through to graduation
(Audin 2003, Garrad 2006, Leach & Zepke 2004, McKenzie & Schweizer 2001
and Naylor 2009) Retention

8. Recruitment“…the most effective and efficient
means of recruiting students is
through word of mouth promotion
which comes from current satisfied
students.”
(Elliott and Healy 2001)

9. The Essential Ingredients
Shared
Spaces
Service
Standards
Social
Frameworks
Supportive
Communities

10. Deakin Residential Services

11. Shared Spaces

13. “Well designed spaces encourage students to
engage in interactions that are not merely social,
they also create opportunities for them to
interact with diverse peers, engage in
intellectual conversations, and work on group
projects.”
(Stein, S., “Collaborative Community Spaces,” Talking Stick Magazine, 2017)

14. Service Standards

15. (Douglass 2005, Hardwood et al 2012, Paltridge et al 2010, Unite Living Insight Report 2016 and
ULiving Research Report 2015)
Service Delivery
NOT product
Support Services
more important than
“bricks and mortar”
Safe, Secure and
Protected = Priority
Security = Visibility
& Accessibility
Management Actions
& Policies Critical

16.  Resident Handbook
 Resident Induction
 24-7 Operations
 Compulsory Orientation
 Uni Service Level Agreements
 Links with Uni Support Teams

18. Social Frameworks

20. Supportive
Communities

21. Residential Leader Role
• Provide Support/Contact
• Uphold RESPECT Values and Rules
• Recognize & Refer Student
Concerns
• Facilitate and Promote Events
Residential Leader Training
• Drugs and Alcohol
• Mental Health First Aid
• Leadership Development
• First Aid
• Sexual Ethics and Consent
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Behind Closed Doors Scenarios

22. “…any approach to improving the student
experience that elevates the reach and
effectiveness of the people who work directly
with students will have the biggest effect.”
(Stein B., “Four Key Principles For a Positive Student Experience,” 2016)

23. Next Steps
The ‘Student Experience’ = Product
Define Your Critical Ingredients
Deliver on Expectations