University of Tennessee at Chattanooga plans ‘House Calls’ to connect with first-year students

UT Chattanooga students taking part in the House Calls initiative (Photo by UT Chattanooga),

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is working to support first year students settling into campus this school year to help ease the transition from high school to higher education.

According to a news release, UTC campus volunteers will knock on dorm doors and connect with the first-year students to say “Hi” and engage in conversation as part of its House Calls initiative, which aims to assist students with questions or challenges relating to campus life. House Calls 2024 will take place from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10, with a training session from 5-6 p.m. Dinner will be provided in the West Campus Multipurpose Room.

The announcement said volunteers range from staff members to faculty to upper-level administrators who want to promote connections across the UTC campus. Last year, volunteers conducted house calls during the day, when many students were attending class or busy at work. This year, the announcement said, residence life staff have pushed back door-to-door knocking until the evening when most students are in their dorms.

Jason Harville, assistant director of academic initiatives, said he believes it’s important to connect with first-year students during the first couple weeks of school to help them navigate campus life challenges. Harville also served as a resident assistant during the first iteration of House Calls in 2008.

“I think there is value and that connection during that first couple of weeks. For me as an RA, it was getting to walk around with our associate vice chancellors and vice chancellors and seeing these people come into the halls and knock on doors and get to build those relationships,” he said in the announcement, which noted that a student’s first six weeks of school are often the most important in determining their academic career.

As part of the program, Assistant Director of Residence Education Sabrina Sims said staff will bring students goodie bags and informational resources. She said her favorite part about the initiative is connecting with students across campus.

“My favorite part is when we’re not talking about a resource, they’re just talking about something good that they’ve done so far, how their classes are going or what they’ve already done,” Sims said. “I really like it when they talk about the programs that we put on or their RA … that means these people are doing their jobs, and that the things that we put in place are working. That always is very rewarding, but also it is rewarding when we’re able to solve issues.”

Last year, the announcement said, House Calls had approximately 50 volunteers knocking on doors. This year, the staff hopes to get that number up to 75.

“Any faculty and staff that want to help, the more, the better, because that way they get a longer time to chat with students,” Harville said.