Student Life and Experience: Caltech Hosts 2026 SLEC Conference

On Friday, April 17, Caltech held the Student Life and Experience Conference (SLEC) in the Hameetman Multipurpose Room, bringing together students, staff, and faculty to discuss undergraduate life. Several committees presented findings and recommendations based on responses from the SLEC survey sent out in January. To kick off the conference, Joe Ramirez, Institutional Research and Assessment Associate, and Joseph D. Greenwell, Associate Vice President of Student Life, led “A Conversation on Student Life at Caltech.”

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility

The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee’s scope encompassed how institutional practices and campus climate shape underrepresented students’ sense of belonging, and how effectively accommodations are implemented to support student success. The committee found a gap between awareness of resources and feeling supported by them, with 44.1% of students reporting being aware of programs and resources. By contrast, 36.2% said those resources meaningfully supported their sense of belonging. They also noted that 34.8% of students were “very satisfied” with the accommodations process, compared to 31.9% who were “very satisfied” with implementation in the classroom.

The committee issued four recommendations: a centralized, user-friendly website for Student Affairs departments to create transparency and understanding; a stronger institute-wide IDEA strategy with more undergraduate engagement, including quarterly town halls and a formal IDEA Undergraduate Committee; a more dialogue-driven Student-Faculty Conference with Departmental Executive Officers and Option Representatives participation, along with annual departmental listening sessions in off years; and earlier clarification of course expectations, including whether exams will be in person or take-home, at least three business days before Add Day so students, especially those with accommodations, can plan accordingly.

Transition to Caltech and First-Year Experience

The Transition to Caltech and First-Year Experience Committee examined the resources and events involved from pre-arrival through first term, including the New Student Handbook, FSRI, International Student Orientation, and orientation week.

A central recommendation was to make orientation more coordinated between programs to avoid redundancy. The committee proposed separating basic information into an online “Orientation 101,” while using in-person “Orientation 201” programming for getting to know offices, peers, and support systems. It also recommended making orientation more engaging through community-building activities, shorter presentations with a focus on student-presenter interaction, and greater involvement by First-Year Caltech Connectors (FCCs).

The committee also emphasized facilitating relationships between students and faculty/staff by helping first-years explore majors through Option Representatives, creating less formal settings for students to meet faculty and staff, and holding “get-to-know-you” events.

Athletics and Recreation

The Athletics and Recreation Committee presented three main recommendations: helping students better learn about available facilities and how to use equipment, reevaluating the timing and availability of physical education (PE) classes, and improving communication with the campus community.

To improve comfort in using the facilities, the committee suggested more introductory PE classes, work-study opportunities for students to demonstrate equipment use, and facilities walk-throughs for new members. Survey comments included requests for group machine-exercise lessons and introductory skills programming that would not require a full-term commitment or academic units.

For the timing and availability of PE classes, the committee noted that many offerings meet for 90 minutes on Monday/Wednesday, while many academic courses meet for 60 minutes on Monday/Wednesday/Friday. To better match students’ schedules, the presentation recommended adding more PE options from 4 to 6 p.m. and expanding off-campus or outdoor offerings, such as hikes, since campus facilities are often in use by sports teams during those hours.

The committee also noted that athletics facilities users can struggle to navigate recreation information across rec.caltech.edu and gocaltech.com. Its recommendations included making the website easier to use, particularly for finding recreation hours and available opportunities; creating a monthly or quarterly newsletter; highlighting areas of demonstrated interest such as intramural tournaments and recreational clubs; and using physical signage, such as sandwich boards, outside Red Door on game days.

Prompted by frequent comments, the committee also raised several longer-term ideas, including north field lights, a retractable roof for the pool, and a possible student-led lighter lifting club in response to survey comments about discomfort in existing workout spaces.

Community and Alumni Engagement

The Community and Alumni Engagement Committee examined how students connect with off-campus service opportunities, local organizations, and Caltech alumni. Survey data showed that 63% of students reported no involvement in off-campus organizations. The top barriers were time constraints, cited by 80% of students, followed by transportation at 47% and lack of awareness at 45%.

Regarding alumni engagement, survey responses showed strong demand for career-related connections. 79% of students rated career and professional connections as “very important,” while about 50% were unaware of the Techer Professional Network (TPN). Students preferred one-on-one talks and career-path discussions over other formats, and 53% reported feeling more connected to the Caltech community after interacting with alumni.

The committee recommended strengthening alumni-student professional connections through a TPN awareness campaign, monthly micro-mentoring sessions, and expanded job fairs featuring alumni-founded startups and nontraditional industry partners. Based on student comments about community engagement, it also recommended increasing awareness of K-12 outreach, healthcare and pre-med pathways, and faith-based opportunities. To reduce barriers to participation, the presentation proposed a unified calendar and weekly digest, house representatives to broadcast opportunities, and rideshare micro-grants and scheduled shuttles.

A final set of ideas focused on building a more peer-driven culture of engagement. Since “doing with friends” emerged as a major motivator, those proposals included house-based service socials, inter-house challenges, “bring-a-friend” incentives, visible recognition through badges and exclusive Caltech Y gear, and micro-grants for student-led projects.

Housing and Residential Life

The Housing and Residential Life Committee focused on summer storage and move-out logistics, as well as the process for pranks. Survey results showed strong demand for campus-based summer storage, with 40.6% of frosh and 64.1% of upperclass students saying they would be “very likely” to use such an option. The data also showed strong interest in a temporary 48-hour luggage storage space during move-out weekend, with 63.5% of all students saying they would use it.

The proposed solution was a temporary storage pilot using the Hameetman Multipurpose Room, led by staff committee members and student volunteers who register online and sign a liability waiver. Each piece of luggage will require bag tags with contact information, and the results will inform future conversations about on-campus summer storage.

The committee also reported ongoing discussions about possible storage spaces, including the Avery garage and rooms in the SAC, as well as conversations with a potential contractor, Storage Scholars. It emphasized that future storage systems should consider need, equity, and barriers to access.

On pranks, the committee found that the prank form is underused largely because students are unaware of it. Discussion centered on reframing pranks as something “the whole house is proud of,” creating boundaries around house property, necessitating leaving a note after a prank, and making the Conduct Review Committee process more known and approachable. Proposed solutions included establishing a “Prank Rep” in each house, discussing prank policies during orientation, and publicizing untouchable items.

Health and Wellbeing

The Health and Wellbeing Committee examined whether students are able to find, trust, and effectively use health and wellbeing resources. It framed the central problem as navigating the available support systems. A common theme in the survey comments was that students did not know where to start, describing the resources as scattered, difficult to navigate, and often hidden behind complex processes. Approximately 24% of students reported never using any of the listed health and wellbeing resources, with barriers including lack of time, perceptions that resources are not helpful, self-reliance, and distrust.

The committee’s first recommendation was to create a centralized Health and Wellbeing Hub. Rather than organizing information by office, the hub would organize resources by student needs and include flowchart navigation, direct links, and “how-to” guides. This recommendation was supported by data showing that only 44% feel prepared to seek support for their well-being after graduation, and students report low confidence in areas such as stress, sleep, mental health, and nutrition.

To make the hub visible, the committee recommended placing QR codes on residence hall doors alongside emergency evacuation information. The goal would be to give students immediate access to support information in a location they encounter daily.

The second recommendation focused on timing and delivery. Proposals included aligning outreach with student stress cycles, shifting away from one-time orientation exposure, and embedding resources into existing student spaces. One example was moving the annual resource dinner to Weeks 3-4 of Fall term, after students have adjusted but before midterms. Other suggestions included Wellness Fridays and integrating Peer Advocates, Health Advocates, RAs, and house support systems into regular house events.

What Comes Next

The conference closed by outlining the next steps for SLEC. A NAS-style report will be written and published on the SLEC website, and community input will be gathered through a post-attendee survey and future process revisions for 2027-28.