Insights
Jun 13, 2023 _ insights
They have to come out to eat
The classroom and the dining hall share an important goal: Keeping students engaged and providing a sense of belonging and community to positively impact student persistence. This engagement can help propel students toward their degrees and lead to more memorable campus experiences, which ultimately may create engaged alumni. As hubs for student activity, dining facilities play a key role in keeping students (and their dining dollars) on campus.
University housing officers understand the imperative to get students (particularly first-years) out of their rooms and into spaces where they connect with peers, make friends, and build relationships. In this article, for the May/June issue of Talking Stick, the publication of the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-i), I outline three key strategies that can help institutions get the most out of student dining facilities:
Students want options and options drive revenue. They have to eat somewhere. We help your campus dining options align with what new generations of students expect.
Read the full article in Talking Stick
Check our previously published insights about campus residence life, using data to adapt your campus masterplan, and the repurposeability of campus facilities.
See how these insights to come to life in our higher education projects here.
Zachary Zettler AIA, LEED AP is a principal and director of higher education at GBBN. With over 20 years of experience on a wide range of higher education projects including projects for the University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, and Case Western Reserve University.
Zach balances multiple stakeholder viewpoints while advancing design and moving projects forward. He has led the development of GBBN’s HomeBase app, a predictive analytics tool for campus housing. Zach’s thought leadership on the issues impacting the future of higher education are regularly featured by national media outlets and he is a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences.
