Benchworks Opens Nominations for its Assessment and Impact Award for Residence Life

Springfield, MO. February 18, 2020 --  Skyfactor Benchworks, a Macmillan Learning Company that provides research-based program benchmarking and assessments to help colleges identify areas of improvement, announced today it is accepting applications for its annual Assessment and Impact Awards for Residence Life. The award was created in 2019 to highlight colleges and universities that are successfully using data to deliver high quality housing experiences. 

A 2013-14 study of more than 330,000 undergraduate students revealed that the housing experience can have a significant impact on student outcomes. Macmillan Learning partnered with The Association of College and University Housing Officers (ACUHO-I) to better understand student experience, satisfaction and learning in the residence halls - and recognize housing programs that effectively use data to improve the residential experience. 

College and university housing departments can self-nominate by completing an online submission form by March 31, 2020. All submissions will be reviewed by the Skyfactor Benchworks Analytics and Research Team who will also analyze multiple years of data from the ACUHO-I/Benchworks Resident Assessment to identify best results or significant improvements in areas like student staff and diverse interactions. Following the quantitative analysis and review of applications, finalists will be interviewed.  Winners will be notified in late May and publicly announced at a special luncheon during the  June 2020 ACUHO-I Conference in Portland, Oregon.

“Residence life is such an integral part of the college experience so we are excited to continue recognizing housing and residence life programs that are leading the way in using insights from assessments to improve students’ on-campus experiences,” said Craig Bleyer, General Manager of Skyfactor. 

Benchworks assessments are the most widely used programs in higher education housing, and have been available for nearly 20 years. The ACUHO-I/Benchworks Residents Assessment is used by nearly 300 institutions each year, and is one of more than 50 different assessments from Benchworks on topics important to college success, including housing, orientation, and student affairs and service. The survey includes questions about student satisfaction with facilities, programs, dining, safety, room assignment, and roommates, as well as learning related to personal interactions, diversity, sense of community, academic success, transferable skills, sustainability, and healthy habits. The inaugural winners of the Housing and Residence Life were John Carroll University in Ohio, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Southwest Oregon Community College.

About Skyfactor 

Formerly known as EBI, Skyfactor Benchworks is a Macmillan Learning company that provides research-based program assessments and benchmarking for a variety of Student Affairs programs, as well as Business Education, Engineering, Nursing, and Teacher Education. The robust analytics Benchworks provides 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 see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or join our Macmillan Community.