The Streaming Success of UCLA’s Resflix Program
Two resident life professionals from the University of California, Los Angeles discuss how their Swank Residence Life Cinema streaming service – Resflix – provides streaming entertainment, an easy social activity, and informative campus updates to more than 14,000 undergrad students.
Josh O’Conner, Assistant Director of Residential Life at UCLA, admits keeping such a large on-campus student population, living in “one of the biggest playgrounds in the nation,” engaged in campus life can be a challenge. But they’ve found ways to spark students’ interest, specifically by employing many activities that help them connect – one of those being their RLC streaming service.
According to Josh, one of the best Resflix’s best features is its ability to tap into the power of streaming to share custom messaging regarding key campus topics, called Campus Clips. Programmable between or before content – similar to a commercial – this unique communication tool makes it possible for school officials to pass on important information to students in a convenient and streamlined way. “The students cannot skip [them] so that they see information that the university really wants to push out to them prior to the movie,” said Mike McCormack, the Leadership & Involvement Coordinator at UCLA.
Campus Clips can cover everything from hall details, like laundry room hours, to more imperative education topics, like the dangers of binge drinking. And with streaming in high-demand, it’s safe to say the messages are reaching students regularly. “I would say that students are connected to some streaming service 90 percent of the time,” added Mike.
But the benefits of streaming platforms on college campuses extends even farther than residence directors and school administration. It provides an easy social activity for thousands of students looking to meet new people on campus. Vanessa Le, student leader at UCLA, shared, “I think movies are a great way to bring people together, especially when you’re meeting people on your floor [for the first time]. It’s just a great way to spend time with people.”
“Everyone I’ve worked with at Swank has great customer service. I’ve never doubted they’re not treating me like the most important person in the world, and I think that just makes this relationship so much better.” Mike McCormack, Leadership & Involvement Coordinator at UCLA
To keep students engaged with the platform, UCLA allows students to choose what movies are featured on the platform. The school also creates custom content to add to the platform. “Our media team, which is completely student run, also does self-content,” said Josh. “Its students speaking to students, so we have a strong belief peer-to-peer communication is probably the best communication. Through this individual service and program, we really provide that to our students.” Once content is added, students are able to log on at any time, from any device to watch exactly what they want.
But that’s not all. Mike and Josh had one more RLC feature to praise before the interview’s close: the customer service. “Everyone I’ve worked with at Swank has great customer service,” said Mike. “Whether it’s [Dan, Alex or Peter], I’ve never doubted they’re treating me like the most important person in the world, and I think that makes this relationship so much better.”
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