Residential learning communities (RLCs) are residence hall environments designed to deliver academic and social benefits. For decades, many have argued RLCs are an effective means for increasing student success. Yet substantial changes in the defining characteristics of campus housing and student diversity have led to new questions about the…

Presents basic legal issues fundamental to revenue bonds (bonds secured by pledging only the revenues from the facility for the payment of the principal and interest on the bonds) authorized for construction of college and university residence halls and provides reference to, as well as discussion of, court decisions giving specific attention to…

This paper reviews the application of the Fourth Amendment, which protects persons against unreasonable search and seizure, as it applies to the student-college relationship. The topics discussed in terms of federal and state court decisions include warrantless searches, delegation of authority to conduct searches, notice of identity and purpose…

The "Hamilton College community" (New York) is a term which appears to describe those who are students or staff of the college, who are bound by the close housing (set up on a hill, to be further separated), who share a common philosophy (wanting to learn or to teach), and who are familiar with many members of the "community."…

A newer discipline called environmental psychology has begun to study the effects of noise, particularly on task performance and reactional behavior. In the 1970's college dormitories liberalized their living conditions; this led to fewer quiet hours. College students may not move off campus to find a quiet environment for studying. Dormitory…

An evaluation of the Central Michigan University Counseling Center is presented in this document. Parts of the study methods are described, including the questionnaires sent to 1,000 randomly selected students in residence, use of an optical scan answer sheet, and data collection from 112 users and 324 nonusers of counseling services (a 43.6%…

In recent years the college dormitory has become a popular setting for examining chronic effects of crowding and high density in humans. Possible differences between corridor- and suite-type residents were investigated to examine the degree to which corridor- and suite-design dormitories influence assertive behavior of the residents. It was…

Approaches used in marriage counseling may prove effective in resolving roommate conflict since there are many similarities between marriage and roommate relationships. A simple behavioral model for roommate conflict resolution is described based on a model for resolving marital conflict. It is assumed that conflict occurs when maladaptive…

This report presents a strong case for integrating academic advising into the residential setting. It is pointed out that a certain degree of friendliness and informality exists in these settings that encourages discussion and information exchange, and the professional staffs who work in residence halls are specifically trained to address…

Control over environmental events has been shown to reduce the behavioral and psychological impact of environmental stress. To assess the effect of residence hall judicial policies on attitudes toward rule violating behavior, 93 college freshmen (36 males, 56 females, 1 unreported), randomly assigned to one of four dormitories (social contract or…

The principal aim of this study was to investigate the impact of type of college, place of residence, and reference group identification on college environmental perception. An attempt was made to measure the variability in terms of college perception that existed among students in the following subgroups: (1) sophomore male students attending 3…

This conference presentation describes how Virginia Wesleyan College's (VWC) arbitration process, in conjunction with the ideas contained in Ernest Boyer's special report, "Campus Life: In Search of Community", enhances the concept of community at VWC. The paper opens with a brief profile of VWC, a 1,400 student liberal arts school…

A study of college students was conducted to identify academic skill areas in which students were deficient. Dormitory residents were surveyed by questionnaire in the fall post-midterm (N=300), fall pre-final (N=210), winter (N=261), and spring (N=128). The questionnaire measured factors of distractability, concentration, self-concept, difficulty…

This program was developed to help students address how they can create solutions to persistent problems in their residence halls and on campus. Too often diversity programs are inwardly-focused and far removed from practical action that could increase understanding and reduce conflict. This program seeks to combine self-reflection with active…

The information in this report is based on the experiences of Cornell University and the University of South Carolina in responding to the needs of gay students in their residence halls. A starter kit on developing gay issue programming for other campuses is presented which includes a Gay Programming Checklist and a description of a sample…