Students have new expectations and greater demands when it comes to on-campus hygiene. In fact, 81% of students say they are concerned about becoming ill due to poor hygiene, according to a 2020 research study by Kantar commissioned by Essity. On top of hygiene and health concerns, maintaining a clean and safe campus is key to attracting new students and their families to institutions. According to a survey conducted in partnership with Engine Insights in June 202, 48% of parents ranked campus cleanliness and indoor air quality in the top three most important factors when asked their opinion on college or university selection. (The JLL Higher Education survey was based on a sample of 500 parents of 10th – 12th grade high school students considering higher education.)

Today’s Challenges in Cleaning

With hygiene and health top-of-mind for all stakeholders – including students, parents, faculty, and staff – operations managers must learn to quickly react to hygiene needs and adapt to new ways of learning on campus. Today, many colleges and universities have adopted blended learning, an educational model which includes a combination of in-person and virtual classes – a new reality in higher education. This phenomenon challenges operations managers to effectively maintain a consistently high level of hygiene amid the irregular and unpredictable traffic flows that blended learning models bring. Given campus population variability, long-established and predetermined approaches toward cleaning are no longer enough to meet increasing demands.

As students and staff continue to be on campus on a full-time or blended capacity, operations managers will be put to the test. In order to reduce the risk of outbreak, operations managers need to develop new ways to overcome these challenges while striving to:

• Improve cleaning quality;
• Boost operational efficiency;
• Meet their university sustainability targets; and
• Meet and exceed the hygiene expectations of students, parents, faculty, and staff.

Campus Hygiene Package 

To help operations managers ensure they have the optimal hygiene product solutions in place, we developed the Tork Campus Hygiene Package. The package offers a tailor-made selection of Tork products, services, tools, and support that help operations managers meet new, evolving demands and create a healthy and hygienic learning environment to help faculty and students feel safe and welcome.

With the Tork Campus Hygiene Package, operations managers can be confident they’re addressing all their campus needs and utilizing hand hygiene, wiping, and cleaning products effectively and efficiently. What’s more, services like award-winning Tork Vision Cleaning, empower operations managers and cleaning staff all across campus. Using people counters and connected dispensers to harness the power of real-time data, operations managers can understand product usage and traffic patterns, and identify when and where there are service needs anywhere on campus. Tork Vision Cleaning enables them to meet hygiene expectations by maximizing efficiency and ensuring cleaning teams can work smarter – not harder – as they achieve the highest marks for hygiene.

From restrooms, lecture rooms and common areas to sports facilities and fitness centers to cafeterias and kitchens, the Tork Campus Hygiene Package supports operations managers in keeping up with new standards of cleaning. The package also includes tools and support, like Tork Clean Care – a hygiene program from Tork that includes free, downloadable resources and guidelines for effective surface cleaning and hand hygiene, guidance on hand sanitizer dispenser placement, the benefits of hand towel over air dryers, hygiene signage, checklists and much more.

Expert Consultation

To ensure your hygiene program is delivering on your institution and campus-wide needs – we also offer a free consultation with one of our Hygiene Advisors. The Tork Hygiene Advisor team provides individualized support to help you think ahead, optimize operations and exceed today’s high hygiene standards. Our Hygiene Advisors are dedicated to helping you improve on campus hygiene outcomes, through sustainable hygiene management.

Our hygiene site surveys, which can be conducted in person or virtually, will help identify bespoke opportunities to improve hygiene on campus. During each survey, a Hygiene Advisor  from Tork will:
• Review current campus hygiene practices
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency and hygiene
• Introduce solutions to help meet hygiene needs while achieving a sustainable campus.

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Rachel Olsavicky is regional marketing manager, commercial and public interest for Tork. Tork, an Essity brand, develops, produces, and sells professional hygiene products and services such as dispensers, paper towels, toilet tissue, skincare, napkins, industrial and wipers, and intelligent restroom solutions.. As regional marketing manager, Olsavicky oversees end-customer marketing plans in offices, schools, airports and other commercial and public Interest segments.