Introduction
The global crises brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic had far-reaching implications in all aspects of life, and, in consequence, it shifted the focus to all facets of higher education. From these, there was the most severe unsolved problem of university organizations – ensuring conditions for students to attend in-person, social, and academic gatherings. In this regard, the paper will carefully delve into security, mental health facilities availability, and how flexible they are to accommodate these changing demands, specifically emphasizing these critical areas university accommodations should take care of during this pandemic period.
Dorms, libraries, and other general areas surrounding a university have become very silent since the dawn of remote learning. Such a change invites reconsidering how higher learning institutions provide students with a holistic physical and academic experience (“College dorms in central Texas are overcrowded. Schools and students are getting creative,” 2023). All these have been critical places throughout history to assist students in developing community and belonging, all adding to their study purposes. This newfound focus on belonging has been tested by the epidemic, reiterating the importance of looking beyond dorms not just as homes but as a critical community support infrastructure that forms a part of the need for student wellness.
While the issue of security within university accommodations has always been one of the significant debates, it has increased in complication since the arrival of the pandemic. The predicament associated with university accommodation was not just health-safety measures to ensure social distancing but also new security issues that the students staying at university accommodations had faced, starting from health-safety measures and going all the way up to ensure social distance (Paltridge et al., 2010). These practical concerns had an impact on students and have also led to extra anxiousness and tension within the community, even more intense than before, a raging debate on mental health support by university policies.
The pandemic has further increased mental health issues among students, with most of them reporting stress, anxiety, and loneliness levels. As closing physical campuses reduced access to traditional mental health resources, universities are scrambling to find innovative ways to offer some form of solace. Teletherapy sessions, online wellness workshops, and mental health hotlines have come into play as part of a more general strategy to combat student mental health crises in a way that is both accessible and effective (“College dorms in central Texas are overcrowded. Schools and students are getting creative,” 2023). That means these universities have variable needs in their student bodies because of a person’s need to be stranded by international travel bans and closure at the border. This has seen universities move fast in an attempt to reconfigure accommodation policies with measures like deferred housing fees, the creation of quarantine facilities, and flexibility in lease terms. Such adaptations can be seen as representing a growing realization that accommodation needs to be conceived more holistically within the panorama of student needs and circumstances.
Current extraordinary COVID-19 conditions have provoked universities around the globe to respond with multifaceted approaches to aiding their student populations through their studies. For example, some universities make use of hybrid accommodation models. This comprises the whole experience of living on campus yet accessing off-campus support services available online, such as academic resources, counseling, and community engagement activities. This strategy will protect the students’ space for living, ensuring that they may also. However, this only happens through co-location, getting a sense of belonging within the university community.
Tertiary institutions have also established strict health protocols among their residences, including entry contactless systems, regular sanitization of common areas, and adherence to health guidelines for people dwelling there. More attention has been shifted towards mental care, including teletherapy services offered in most tertiary institutions, apps developed for wellbeing, and many other features.
The preliminary objective of this research study is to present an overview of how student housing at universities has been adapted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This study seeks to expand the inquiry into varied responses made by higher education institutions to these unprecedented problems by delineating primary areas of attention: adaptability of accommodation and student safety, if not mental health services. The study encompasses a complete statement of what findings the literature review should reveal, a measure of where the gaps lie between what is known and unknown at this time, and how the recent developments may have a bearing on future practices within the university accommodation sector. This study has tried to draw concrete insights and give meaningful recommendations for implementing accommodation policies that are resilient, responsive, and student-centered after the pandemic. This has been made possible through the careful approach in the present study.
Literature Review
This literature review concentrates on three areas of utmost importance that have been brought into focus through the global crisis: their influence on higher education, drawing attention to the flexibility universities can offer in terms of student accommodation, students’ sense of safety and security; and mental health services during COVID-19. This study aims to provide an overview of data pertinent to research investigating actions taken by universities and responses made by traditional campus life, taking the problems of a pandemic caused by coronavirus into account. It requires a reassessment of the balance of public health and safety in relation to an inclusive and enabling atmosphere for learning and personal development. This section is designed to inform the identification of promising strategies in use today by organizations across the globe in light of recent research and developments. It also provides the basis for understanding how relevant the strategy is to future policy or practice in university housing.
Thematic Analysis
The pandemic put unparalleled change pressure on the underlying set of rules concerning university accommodation that had to be matched with physical accommodation and digital enablement to maintain the identity and welfare ethos of the university. Direct involvement through digitized support enablers was easily hybridized, instantaneously imbibed, and adopted by the institutions in a revolutionary change (“Poor air quality in campus housing is hurting students. How can higher education institutions help?” 2022). It made room for the students to carry on with their educational course in almost all the ways possible, taking proper concern for the residents and mental health, even lighting up the necessity of flexible accommodation arrangements. Most of these terms allowed a student’s educational journey completion with minimal hassle, and this occurred due to advancements such as online dormitory events and reduced lease terms. Changes like these have proven to hold universities at heart for sustaining normalcy and community even when any unique challenge comes across.
However, in response to the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19, universities undertook extraordinary measures for enhanced safety within the lodging space. The procedures went much beyond what the then-already existing standard security regulations were like. This is evidence because more than the idea of health and safety was provided through the intense and regular cleaning of common areas underlined. The act of living itself communally was adversely affected as the community tried to stick staunchly to physical remedies recommended by public health standards that became the new normal. In this light, through their adoption and practice, despite their initial disturbances, the measures were found necessary to limit the prevalence of spread within student bodies. Particularly, this holistic model of student safety that further reinforces a compositeness of public health with technology indicates an apparent alteration in consideration that universities have made for the wellbeing of their student populations in continuing health crises (“Housing headaches for the University of North Texas led to students living in hotels,” 2023).
This model, having changed to online education, has also translated to the need for better comprehensive mental health care, as higher education institutions now have to up their game in relation to the services they offer. These now include teletherapy services, online workshops focused on the wellness of mental faculties, and the importance given to various hotline services being offered (Toutain, 2019). These digital adaptations are one of the solutions to the high level of worry, tension, and loneliness that had previously been recorded amongst students amid the pandemic. Expansion of these services then continues to put it straightforward: assistance concerning mental health is mandatory, not just for the academic ecosystem, but rather as part of strategic moves. This helped to preserve an educational atmosphere that is both supportive and resilient.
Critical Analysis
The methodologies applied in the key studies allow for an understanding of the rigorous nature through which the authors are trying to comprehend multiple implications. Consequently, doing so gives a broader and statistical view of the efficiency of measures adopted through quantitative surveys, while qualitative interviews supply rich and deep information upon experiencing the measures individually by students. On the other hand, bias will be introduced through the use of self-reports. Mixed methodology research will, therefore, integrate both approaches for complete knowledge and, therefore, can be concluded.
The conclusions drawn by previous research studies underlined the critical relevance of adaptation, safety precautions, and mental health support given the area of focus, university accommodations. These results are very informative for driving policy change in terms of necessity regarding flexible housing policies, solidly undergirded by existing safety measures, and readily accessed mental health resources (Johnson, 2000). On the contrary, this suggests that research often focuses on quick fixes for the epidemic and needs to pay more attention to the long-term sustainability of these practices in the mainstream functioning of universities.
The need to move toward far more adaptive and student-centered systems of accommodation is extremely urgent due to the massive implications of university policy. Higher education institutions are greatly encouraged to be proactive, adopt a digital mental health perspective, embrace flexible housing choices, and wholeheartedly embed this into permanent infrastructure (Worsley et al., 2021). Furthermore, safety standards improvement does not need to be carried out, focusing solely on issues related to the pandemic but also broader security concerns to ensure that all learners undertake their work in an environment that assures them of comfort and safety. In addition to mitigating impacts associated with the current crisis, this holistic approach will be critical in general resilience achievements for the university community at large. This will pave the way for an academic climate that is more adaptable and supportive in the face of future problems.
Identification of Research Gaps
Despite the research studies conducted on the accommodation of students in universities across the world, gaps still loom large in the extensive body of literature, more particularly on one hand of the literature review performed on the effects of the pandemic on university hostels of accommodation, student safety, and mental health services. The literature on unique influences, such as those faced by students coming from marginalized areas and international students, is next to nil and barely touches on how the pandemic affects students. A useful addition would be to include a longitudinal approach in the study that would determine the long-term effects of the pandemic on the academic and wellbeing trajectory of university students in studies that would be done later (Worsley et al., 2021). Some of the passing of time could also be useful in the assessment of the effectiveness of such support services taking place virtually, as it would give insight into the function of such services in the world after the epidemic.
Recent Developments
The current prevailing circumstances, a very gradual transition back to in-person education, and an introduction of hybrid models of learning may bring into focus an important time for what kinds of accommodation universities extend to their students (Toutain, 2019). In such a transitional time, policy-making needs to be kinetic and adjustable to the unpredictability introduced by new COVID-19 variants (Lederer et al., 2021). Now, the main focus has become creating education models that bear resilience and innovativeness to show that the strategy employed towards health promotion and provision of accommodation has changed. These changes will mean the incorporation of an approach that will provide a firm foundation to support the academic community in future crises. This will ensure that higher education will continue to function effectively and without interruption.
Summary of Literature Review
The necessity for adaptation, provision of safety, and mental health help in university accommodations during COVID-19 has been highlighted and reviewed in the literature review. The literature review in this research study explicitly reveals that holistic approaches that target the underlying issues of children in the long term must be adapted instead of short-term solutions. With such gaps being noticed and changes occurring, it has thus become increasingly clear that the status quo in higher education is inexorable. This illustrates the need for responsive, student-centered, inclusive policies. These findings will give the basis for future research and policy formulation with the aim of creating a more resilient and better environment for university members concerning problems existing at present and those that are bound to occur in the future.
References
College dorms in central Texas are overcrowded. Schools and students are getting creative. (2023, September 17). KUT Radio, Austin’s NPR Station. https://www.kut.org/education/2023-09-13/college-dorms-in-central-texas-are-overcrowded-schools-and-students-are-getting-creative
Housing headaches for the University of North Texas led to students living in hotels. (2023, May 19). KERA News. https://www.keranews.org/news/2022-11-21/housing-headaches-for-the-university-of-north-texas-led-to-students-living-in-hotels
Johnson, E. S. (2000). The effects of accommodations on performance assessments. Remedial and Special Education, 21(5), 261-267. https://doi.org/10.1177/074193250002100502
Lederer, A. M., Hoban, M. T., Lipson, S. K., Zhou, S., & Eisenberg, D. (2021). More than inconvenienced: The unique needs of US college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Education & Behavior, 48(1), 14-19.
Paltridge, T., Mayson, S., & Schapper, J. (2010). The contribution of university accommodation to international student security. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 32(4), 353-364.
Poor air quality in campus housing is hurting students. How can higher education institutions help? (2022, March 23). Housing Matters. https://housingmatters.urban.org/articles/poor-air-quality-campus-housing-hurting-students-how-can-higher-education-institutions
Toutain, C. (2019). Barriers to accommodations for students with disabilities in higher education: A literature review. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 32(3), 297-310.
Worsley, J. D., Harrison, P., & Corcoran, R. (2021). The role of accommodation environments in student mental health and wellbeing. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1-15.
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