Dorm isn't a word you'll hear in most conversations when anyone from the Office of Housing and Residence Life is present. The preferred term is "residence hall," and the upcoming Park Hall is shaping up to be just that.
As any Resident Assistant or Housing staff will tell you, a dorm is a place where people sleep and perform basic day-to-day activities. A residence hall is more of a living community.
There are multiple features that will make the soon-to-be opened Park Hall fit that description. A fireplace, plasma television and large community area are just a few of the amenities future residents have to look forward to.
And students' opinions brought these luxuries to campus.
In a university setting, where academics usually take preference over everything, it would be easy to forget customer service. In this case, it's the students who are the customers.
Housing wanted to make sure that Park Hall would be a place where students want to live, so they brought their customers in on the planning phase. Students participated in focus groups and gave their opinions on what would make Park Hall and the upcoming North Hall the best residence halls.
The focus groups covered everything students wanted to see in future university residence halls. No doubt the ideas for an indoor pool and full basketball court might have been discussed, but the realistic suggestions were obviously not taken for granted.
This cooperation shows that Park Hall is truly a product of combined thought - not just what administrators decided would be best.
Ball State University has shown that customer service is a priority. It should continue to be a major factor in the future as well.
Park Hall has set the standard for amenities, and North Hall needs to live up to the same standard - if not a higher one - when it opens in 2010.
This means the university, and Housing in particular, is going to have to continue polling students about what they really want. Where living conditions are concerned, finding students with helpful opinions and suggestions should be no problem.
That also requires students to be vocal about such information. Such customer information is invaluable to a business - even a university.
Park Hall is a standing testament to that.
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