To the Editor of The Meredith Herald:
Following The Meredith Herald’s recent series of articles about Residence Life, I am writing to provide information to help ensure that resident students’ concerns are addressed in a responsive and timely manner.
There are several ways in which residents can share their feedback, concerns, requests or needs.
We recognize that it has not always been clear that there is a team of campus offices working in concert with each other to maintain residence living spaces. The experience of resident students is important to each and every member of our team.
Below is a reference guide that can assist resident students in communicating and resolving their concerns:
Experiences with Staff Members
Providing clear communication and quality customer service is essential to our mission. The Residence Life team is committed to continual improvement based on student feedback. As Director of Residence Life, I encourage students to reach out to me directly with any concerns they may have regarding their interactions with a residence life team member so that we can address them effectively.
It is important to note that we have a rotation of our Residence Directors and Apartment Manager who serve on an after-hours Critical Response Team. The on-call team member can be contacted by calling (919) 612-6350 in case of an emergency. This is specifically designed to allow our team to share the responsibilities.
As a supervisor, I value the work-life balance of my team members, which is difficult to achieve when they are living and working in the same location. Allowing staff members to have time to rest and step away from work is critical to the success of any work culture. For this reason, you may not be able to contact your specific residence director or apartment manager at all hours of the day. During business hours, you may contact the Residence Life office. After hours, residents can contact campus security and the critical response team if they are in immediate need of assistance.
Maintenance Repairs (i.e. repairs that are non-emergencies)
For repairs that are not impacting immediate safety, resident students can submit work orders through the facilities website. If you have not received a follow-up from facilities staff during the stated time frame, please contact facilities@meredith.edu for next steps.
Non-repair Maintenance Requests (i.e. issues regarding the cleanliness of communal spaces, pests, temperature controls, etc.)
A resident student who has a non-repair maintenance request should submit a work order and the request will be routed to the correct team for addressing it. If a request has not been addressed in a reasonable timeframe, please contact the director of facilities or facilities@meredith.edu.
Policies and procedures (i.e. rules and regulations)
As Meredith prides itself on providing avenues for student self-governance, please consult with your Residence Hall Association (RHA) representative(s) at rha@email.meredith.edu to share your questions, feedback and concerns about resident policies. If needed, the Dean of Students or Student Leadership and Service team members are also available to help students navigate the processes for student advocacy on campus.
Residence Life strives to provide a community that promotes an engaging, safe and inclusive environment. Thank you for this opportunity to clarify Residence Life processes that will help students enjoy an environment where they can thrive personally and academically.
Sincerely,
Carrie Barhart, Residence Life Director