Turn season demands efficiency. Prepare your team to handle the logistics with an organized move-out inspection checklist.
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When turn season hits, hundreds of rooms need checkout inspections in a vanishingly small amount of time. Each move-out inspection must be fast and accurate. Checkout forms also need to be easy to complete, as they’re often filled out by an RA or other student employee.
During turn season, different student housing inspections help with all of the logistics of getting rooms ready for new occupants.
This move-out inspection form should be completed with the student(s) present to ensure the room is ready for turning and that issues that require follow-up are flagged. This form is set up for single occupancy; edit as needed to add left/right sides for dual-occupancy rooms.
To set students up for success, provide a move-out checklist ahead of time. These can be sent via email and posted up in the residence hall so students know what they’ll be responsible for.
The following tips will help you prepare for a smooth end-of-term inspection season:
For extra-busy times, such as residence hall checkout, the Northwestern University Residential Services team uses historical data to adjust staffing levels.
“We’ve been able to increase or decrease [staffing] depending on the workflow that’s required for those spaces,” says Johnathan Winters, Senior Associate Director of Residential Services. “We’ve been able to do that from looking back and being able to see the performance and productivity of those times through OrangeQC.”
The biggest benefit to using digital inspection software for auditing student rooms is the ability to add photos to the form. With a paper form, you’re relying only on what your RAs have written down. Photos provide proof and accountability. Timestamps add another layer of transparency to the checkout process, too.
Digital forms also make it easier to flag maintenance and repair needs. Rather than manually reviewing stacks of paper, teams can see tasks come through in the app. They’ll know which rooms have been checked out and are ready for service.
After checkout, the team can review reports on the inspection data to see if certain line items are receiving low scores. This could highlight a useful area for more student education or communication.
For example, if rooms are consistently being checked out with nail holes in the walls, student housing officers may want to post signage reminding students of the no-nail policy, emphasize the policy in student housing move-in checklists, or provide damage-free hanging solutions during check-in.
Student housing officers are no strangers to the difficulties of turn season. Common challenges include:
Turn season inspections are detailed student housing inspections performed at the end of a term. They help residence hall officers manage the transition between the end of one residential cohort’s stay and the new residents moving in. They’re often performed at the end of the school year before summer, in between summer residencies, and at the end of the summer. Some institutions also require some level of move-out during winter break or in between terms.
Look for any issues that will require follow-up before the room is occupied again. That might include damage requiring repair, missing furniture, fixtures that need to be relamped, or cleaning that will take more time than usual. Document any damage that the resident may be responsible for.
A move-in/move-out inspection checklist compares the condition of a living space at the beginning and end of occupancy. It can be used to identify maintenance needs or damage above usual wear and tear. A move-out inspection refers to an end-of-term inspection to be completed when students move out.
Digital inspection software for universities provides a huge benefit of transparency and accountability. Keeping a log of photos documenting each room’s condition during move-in and move-out clarifies whether or not the damage occurred during the resident’s time.
Yes! Giving students the end-of-term checklist ahead of time clarifies your expectations for how the room should look during checkout. You can email a copy of the form, hand out sheets, or post the inspection form in common areas. You should also consider creating a move-in checklist. A move-in checklist is often used by universities to inform students about what they need to do for a move-in.
Yes! Check-out inspections are crucial to ensuring that the room is ready to be turned over, with keys handed back and any billable damages documented before they get fixed.
Student housing inspection form Residence halls are some of the busiest buildings on campus. Organized digital inspection checklists can help your team stay on top of their priorities during the school year and be prepared
