The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 37, No. 2 - 68

David M. Rosch • Joshua D. Lawrie

east part of the United States. Broadening the sample to include students from other types of institutions may have broadened the ability to generalize results to more institutions. Another limitation to this study was the use of a phone survey rather than face-to-face interviews. An in-person interview might have granted interviewers the ability to follow up more comprehensively on participant statements, possibly through the reading of body language or facial expressions, while phone interviewers are left with fewer indicators that might alert them to probe participants for a deeper understanding of their comments. The other significant limitation related to the research structure. While a diverse pool of alumni participated in the study, there were no follow-up interviews conducted after an initial comprehensive interview. While the data generated from these interviews were relatively comprehensive, the lack of a follow-up interview limited researchers from checking their findings with participants.

cluding alumni who had more experience in supervision, strategic planning, or budget development, for example, might further inform practitioners in the areas mentioned above. Further, accounts of their student leadership experience could be examined in alumni from a variety of higher education institutions and geographic areas. A longitudinal design that employs a series of interviews over time would help strengthen the knowledge base about the types of experiences that are transformative for students holding positions in residential governance organizations. A final suggestion for future research would be to develop a more quantitatively based survey from these findings, with the goal of generalizing these findings to a broader population. The study described here makes an important contribution to understanding the experiences of student leaders within residential governance organizations. Utilizing alumni, who have the benefit of critically analyzing their student learning from a more professional lens than current students can, allowed the researchers to draw significant conclusions regarding the learning gained from residential student governance experiences. Findings include that students gain a number of interpersonal and organizational skills, as well as developing and honing their sense of personal values in the practice of leadership. Perhaps most salient, evidence existed of a number of institutional catalysts to their learning, including effective advising and challenging experiences. These results serve to reinforce the significance of governance experiences for residential students and suggest important areas for future research.

FuTuRE RESEARCH
This research effort was intended to be exploratory in nature, as little research has been conducted in this area. Thus, opportunities and directions for future research are numerous. Arguably the most logical next step in the systematic research of this area of higher education is to expand the types of samples collected. Future research could look at alumni that represent a broader spectrum of age and life experience. This would expand not only the perspective of those participating in the research but could broaden some of the findings herein. Each of the alumni participants held entry-level professional positions. In68

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 37, No. 2

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