Housing Services
Housing Services has approximately one thousand students yearly every September through April. Students have the ability to stay in Housing year-round. Student’s expectations are to have a clean home when they move into residence.
Caretaking cleans all the open common spaces on a regular basis this includes all hallways, lounges, common shared washrooms, showers, meeting rooms, entertainment rooms, stairwells, elevators, laundry rooms, study rooms, and offices.
Caretaking is responsible for the cleanliness of each space after move out and before move in. Caretaking uses preventative maintenance rather than reactive cleaning. The primary goal of preventative maintenance is designed to preserve furniture, walls, floors, carpets, and ceilings from being replaced or having to renovate. Caretaking employees are to report any deterioration or deficiencies in their specified areas of responsibility so that the proper replacement or repairs can be done sooner without significant damage. The ideal preventive maintenance program would prevent all damage before it occurs. Graffiti and or vandalism however would not be completely avoided using the preventive maintenance program. Caretaking shampoos all Housing common spaces, apartment spaces, and furniture in apartments once the apartments has been vacated and cleaned by Caretaking staff.
Cleanliness Inspections
Every semester Caretaking conducts Bi-weekly cleanliness inspections they are done on all first-year students’ residences to help pinpoint deterioration and cleanliness of the occupied student spaces. Bi-weekly, and Monthly cleanliness inspections give Housing an opportunity to assess deterioration and cleanliness of the occupied student spaces. Inspections are conducted by two employees on all first-year students’ residences. Caretaking Services will provide employees for the required inspections. These inspections will assess common spaces; living room, kitchen, and washrooms to see if there is any long-term neglect to cleaning of the spaces. Any of these inspections can have a pass or needs improvement. Caretaking Services will discuss the “needs improvement” items with the students and leaves a carbon copy of the items to be fixed. Caretaking Services will put a return date two days later expecting the needs improvement areas to be fixed. On the return date if the areas have not been improved, the manager of Caretaking contacts Residence Life to assist in the cleaning of the student space. During these Bi-weekly inspections these employees are looking for any unsafe items in the common areas such as candles, any items covering life safety equipment. Candles are confiscated, logged and taken to the Housing Office. The students can pick them up as they move out after the semester. Any items causing unsafe situations, such as blocking egress etc. are brought forward to the Residence Life team to discuss with the student(s).
Mid-term cleaning inspections are conducted once per semester and every occupied student space is inspected including all bedrooms. Two employees from Caretaking Services inspect the spaces in every Housing unit on campus. The same philosophy as above - looking for long term neglect in all spaces. Caretaking works with a Housing maintenance staff to check the Village and Town home locations.
During the move in/out process in the fall semester break and spring semester break, there is a need for students to change rooms or move in/out. Throughout a typical year there are about twenty to thirty such moves. The Caretaking staff must work quickly to turn over unoccupied suites and rooms for new students in a short period of time.