The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 1 - 54

Michelle Pidgeon * Chris Rogerson

on-campus students were 3.3% more likely to
persist to their second year than were those
who live off campus. Although studies show
that living on campus increases student retention, the benefits can be viewed as more
indirect than direct (Blimling, 2014; Pascarella
& Terenzini, 2005; Rodger & Johnson, 2005).
In his earlier work on student success, which
involved a meta-analysis of the research on the
effects of living in residence, Blimling (1999)
reviewed 21 different studies and found that
living on campus has a positive impact on a
student's academic pursuits when compared
to those living off campus, but there was no
difference when comparisons were made
to those students living at home. If living in
residence halls has a positive influence on
students' overall postsecondary success, one
has to question the role of housing design on
student success (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005).
According to the best practices for student
housing operations, one of the main pillars of
residence education programs is the diversity
of the social interactions of residents (Association of College and University Housing Officers-International [ACUHO-I], 2015; Council
for the Advancement of Standards in Higher
Education [CAS], 2015). Diversity of interactions can increase student persistence
through increased social contact with faculty
(Ecklund & Terrance, 2013; Schuh, 1999), increased racial openness (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005), increased positive interactions (Pike,
2002), access to leadership and academic
support (Ecklund & Terrance, 2013; Li, Sheely,
& Whalen, 2005), and access to support networks (Blimling, 2011, 2014). Research that
has focused specifically on first-year residential
students found that "racial minorities who live

54

on campus may benefit more from the campus
living environment" (Lopez Turley & Wodtke,
2010, p. 511) due to the sense of community
and support. This sense of community can be
impacted directly by the physical design of a
housing property.
Research from the 1980s found that students spend approximately 70% of their
time in their residence buildings (Schroeder
& Jackson, 1987), and subsequent studies
suggest that the quality of student housing
impacts the student experience from their
choice of an institution to their formation of
social relationships. A 2011 survey of housing
administrators from more than 200 colleges
in the United States found that 91% of them
viewed quality of housing as important or very
important in a student's decision to attend
their institution (Moore, 2011). Another study
demonstrated that room size played a significant role in a student's choice to live on
campus (Sickler & Roskos, 2013). The social
interaction between students living together
on campus has a positive effect on student persistence (Erb, Sinclair, & Braxton, 2015; Sickler
& Roskos, 2013). Given the amount of time
students spend in and around their residences
and the importance placed on the quality of
these spaces, it is logical to conclude that the
design of a residence hall has an influence on
the overall experience of on-campus living.
Although student housing properties vary
from campus to campus, many have similar
designs. In reviewing the institutional websites
of 58 Western Canadian universities' and colleges' on-campus accommodation services, we
found that the majority of properties have one
of the following layouts: traditional style (rooms
with shared facilities, such as lounges and

T h e J o u r n a l o f C o l l e g e a n d U n i v e r s i t y St u d e n t H o u s i n g
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 1
