START SMART is the difference that living on-campus can make for students. Residence Services is committed to helping the students who live on-campus develop their Kent State support network of resources, faculty, staff and fellow students in the surrounding Kent State University community. Residence Services hopes that this site helps you and your family START SMART toward developing those connections.

Click on the topics to the right to begin exploring the recommended available resources. As always, the residence hall staff are there to help you. Feel free to contact them for further assistance.

START SMART is an acronym for a series of reference web pages and informative handbills to be utilized by students and staff living in the residence halls. These pages and handbills seek to make students aware of and refer them to preferred on-campus programs and services that are provided by or in partnership with the university. Residence Services’ Security Aides share out this information during their evening community walks with the intention of helping support students living on-campus by connecting them to the most convenient resources available to them at Kent State.

These programs and services are open and accessible to all Kent State students (living on- or off-campus) and are intended to provide students with information about advising, tutoring, safety and security, and resource information important to a student’s living and learning on Kent State’s campus.

The subtle changes in everyday living situations can often be very stressful and challenging for students and their families to overcome, especially in that first year. This added stress can distract a student’s focus from their intended academic purpose. This is why several of these additional programs and services have been made available in the EASTWAY OUTREACH CENTER located in main hallway between Manchester and Fletcher halls. This location was chosen because a significant portion of first-year students attending Kent State University’s Kent campus reside in or very near this area.

First-year students living on-campus can expect to receive information about these programs and services from Residence Services staff (Security Aides, Resident Assistants, Residence Hall Directors, Assistant Residence Hall Directors) throughout the Fall Semester.

As educators and student affairs professionals, Residence Services is concerned with student success and want to do our best to shed light on the paths that lead to academic achievement and excellence. Awareness and use of these resources provides students the level of support they often need to be successful students as well as successful residents of the campus community.

Sincerely,

Joel Bynum
Senior Learning Community Coordinator
Department of Residence Services