UON Student Living winner for excellence in student experience

Friday, 22 April 2016

UON Student Living has received the Asia Pacific Association for Student Housing award for Excellence in Student Experience.

UON Student Living winner for excellence in student experience

The award recognises an innovative initiative that has positively enhanced the student experience in both academic endeavours and personal wellbeing.

UON was also highly commended for University Housing Operation of the Year and Excellence in Customer Service.

The contribution of the Student Living team, Residential Mentors, ResLife Program Officers and Academic Mentors that are dedicated to the promotion and implementation of the ResLife program played a crucial role in the achievement.

Associate Director, Campus Services Jennifer Smith, said the team were honoured to be recognised by an international institution for student housing.

“We’re absolutely delighted, it’s so pleasing to know that our efforts to enhance student experience through our ResLife program, facilities, customer-support services and ongoing refurbishments are commended on a global scale,” she said.

The ResLife program incorporates a range of leadership, academic, sustainability and health initiatives to enhance resident experience.

The program is unique to The University of Newcastle and Jennifer believes that UON is a leader in residential community initiatives.

“The ResLife program creates a sense of community, allowing students from across the globe to connect, share experiences, develop skills and showcase their strengths in our residential community,” she said.

Jennifer believes that the ongoing refurbishments to existing buildings and the construction of new residences along with improvements to customer service, the development of an e-induction module and the introduction of a self-selection module that allows students to select their own living preferences contributed significantly to create a positive student experience.

“Our students are provided with 24-hour support by the Student Living team and the option to preference their living environment by gender, alcohol-free, lifestyle, and post-graduate study areas means that living on campus is an attractive option for far more students. We are a leader in this area, there are only a handful of other universities in Australia that offer this service,” she said.

Student accommodation at The University of Newcastle is now one of the single largest providers of accommodation in Australia with more than 1700 rooms across nine residences.