Beyond the Building: What Housing Professionals Are Really Facing in Today’s Residential Communities
Word cloud of responses to our survey question: “What are the Top Challenges You See in Student Housing Today?”
Today’s college students arrive on campus with communication habits shaped by a digital-first world. Texting, messaging apps, and social media have replaced many of the traditional channels universities rely on—particularly email. As a result, housing professionals increasingly report that critical information is often missed or ignored.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may have intensified this challenge. Years of remote learning and reduced in-person interaction limited opportunities for students to develop interpersonal communication skills, conflict resolution, and comfort with faceto-face conversations. At the same time, constant digital engagement can fragment attention and reduce the likelihood that longer messages are read carefully.
Together, these factors are creating a growing communication gap within residential communities that housing professionals must navigate.
When we talk about the future of student housing, the conversation often begins with buildings—amenities, beds, layouts, and facilities. But when we asked housing professionals a simple question at the 2026 Southeastern Association of Housing Officers (SEAHO) Conference in WinstonSalem, North Carolina, the answers pointed somewhere else entirely.
At The Beck Group booth, we asked attendees:
“What are the top challenges you see in student housing today? ”
Housing leaders, residence life professionals, and student affairs staff stopped to share their thoughts. Their responses ranged from operational frustrations to deeper reflections about the evolving needs of students and communities.
What quickly became clear was that the biggest challenges housing professionals face today are not primarily about buildings—they are about people, communication, and connection.
The responses revealed a set of themes that reflect the changing nature of residential life on college campuses.
24.6% of the responses mentioned the issue of communication as their biggest challenge.
The Communication Challenge
The most frequently mentioned issue—representing nearly onequarter of all responses (24.6%)—was communication.
Many participants referenced a familiar challenge:
• students not reading emails
• missed information
• lack of communication with residents
For many housing departments, email
remains the backbone of operational communication. Yet students increasingly operate in digital environments where communication happens through multiple channels— messages, apps, social platforms, and push notifications. The result is a growing gap between information sent and information received.
Missed communication can create ripple effects across residential communities: policy misunderstandings, missed deadlines, confusion around expectations, and frustration for both staff and students.
The issue is not simply one of volume, but of communication design. Housing teams may need to rethink how information is structured, delivered, and reinforced in order to meet students where they are.
Roommates, Conflict, and Community Living
The second most common theme involved interpersonal conflict and community conduct, accounting for 21.2% of responses.
Housing professionals described the ongoing challenge of helping students navigate shared living environments. Many referenced:
• roommate conflicts
• conflict management
• conduct concerns within residential communities
Shared housing has always required compromise and communication. However, some professionals noted that students may arrive on campus with limited experience resolving interpersonal conflict independently.
Several attendees also raised a related concern: an increasing number of situations where parents, rather than students, are contacting housing staff to address roommate issues, conflicts, or day-to-day concerns. Housing professionals described the added complexity of managing these conversations while redirecting communication back to the student.
As a result, residence life staff increasingly serve as mediators, educators, and community facilitators, helping students develop the skills necessary for cooperative living.
“A resident came to me upset because her roommate ate her Oreo cookie— and now she wants to move into a single room.”
Angela Ward, Director of Housing, University of West Alabama
Attendees emphasized the importance of encouraging students to take ownership of these situations—learning to communicate directly with peers, advocate for themselves, and navigate conflict as part of their personal growth and transition to independence.
These challenges highlight the developmental role of residential communities—not simply as places where students live, but as environments where students learn how to live with others.
The Rising Demand for Privacy
While interpersonal dynamics remain central to residential life, another theme that emerged was the growing expectation for personal space and privacy.
Approximately 8.5% of responses referenced concerns such as:
• not enough beds
• insufficient housing capacity
• demand for single rooms
• privacy within shared environments
Many institutions are balancing increasing enrollment pressures with student expectations for greater autonomy and personal space.
Traditional double-occupancy rooms remain common, but many students now express a preference for single-bedroom or suite-style housing.
For housing leaders and planners, this raises important questions about how residential environments can balance community interaction with individual privacy.
SEAHO conference attendees share their insights at the Beck booth.
Engagement in an Era of Isolation
Another theme—also representing 8.5% of responses—was student engagement.
Several housing professionals described a familiar challenge: getting students out of their rooms and involved in residential life.
Participants mentioned:
• difficulty encouraging students to attend events
• limited engagement in community programming
• challenges involving upper-class student participation
Even within dense residential communities, some students report feeling socially disconnected. This dynamic reflects broader national conversations around student loneliness and shifting social patterns among college students.
Residential communities remain one of the few campus environments where meaningful connections can form organically. However, fostering those connections increasingly requires intentional strategies and environments that support interaction.
Mental Health and Student Wellbeing
As in past years, mental health concerns also surfaced in the responses, accounting for 7.6% of comments.
Housing professionals referenced issues such as:
• loneliness
• homesickness
• academic stress
• broader mental health concerns
For many institutions, residence halls are among the first places where signs of student distress become visible.
Resident assistants and housing staff are often the individuals who notice when students are struggling and help connect them with campus resources.
These responsibilities highlight the role of housing professionals as key partners in supporting student wellbeing.
Other Challenges in Residential Communities
Additional responses referenced issues including:
• substance use and behavioral concerns ( 7.5%)
• student development and life skills (6.8%)
• operational and facility challenges (5.1%)
While these topics remain important, they appeared less frequently than concerns related to communication, conflict management, and community engagement.
Distribution of Key Challenges
Survey responses from SEAHO attendees were categorized as follows:
Implications for Residential Design
While many of the issues identified at SEAHO relate to operations and student life, they also carry important implications for how residential environments are designed. If communication, belonging, and conflict management are central challenges, the physical environment must help support the work housing professionals are doing every day.
Residential architecture increasingly needs to do more than provide beds and amenities—it must help facilitate community formation and student wellbeing.
Designing for Connection
One design strategy gaining importance is the creation of smaller, distributed social spaces throughout residential buildings.
Rather than relying solely on large centralized lounges, many institutions are incorporating:
• floor-level gathering spaces
• shared kitchens or study areas
• informal social zones along circulation paths
These environments encourage spontaneous interaction and help students build connections with peers living nearby.
Balancing Privacy and Community
At the same time, student expectations around privacy continue to evolve.
Successful residential environments often provide graduated levels of privacy, allowing students to move between:
• private rooms
• small group interactions
• larger community spaces
This balance helps support both independence and belonging—two priorities students increasingly value.
Supporting Wellbeing
Design can also reinforce student wellbeing through subtle but meaningful strategies such as:
• natural light and views
• access to outdoor spaces
• quiet reflection or study areas
• environments that reduce sensory stress
These features contribute to a residential environment that feels supportive, comfortable, and conducive to student success.
Laundry room at the University of Georgia’s Black-Diallo-Miller Hall.
Black-Diallo-Miller Hall at the University of Georgia
Osprey Suites at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Conclusion: Housing as a Community Ecosystem
Perhaps the most important takeaway from these conversations is that student housing is evolving.
Residence halls today function as complex social ecosystems where architecture, operations, and student development intersect.
Housing professionals are not only managing facilities—they are cultivating communities, supporting student wellbeing, and helping students learn how to live with others.
The insights shared by SEAHO attendees remind us that the future of student housing will depend not only on how we build residential environments, but also on how those environments support the relationships and experiences that shape student life.
The Beck Group is a leader in higher education planning, design, and construction. We partner with colleges and universities to deliver student-centered environments that enhance learning, promote well-being, and support institutional mission.
We’re grateful to the many housing professionals who shared their perspectives at SEAHO 2026. We look forward to continuing the conversation—and helping to shape the next generation of campus housing.
For more information or to explore how we can support your campus housing goals, contact kenhiga@beckgroup.com or visit beckgroup.com.
