The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 1 - 78

William J . Zeller

5. They encourage continuity and integration in the curriculum.
6. They build a sense of group identity, cohesion, and "specialness."
The report adds that "the larger the institution, the more critical these niches are in providing a meaningful academic identification
for students" (p. 33). They conclude that "Dormitories can be organized to offer their own
academic programs and are thus one working
model of what we have in mind" (p. 34).
Terenzini and Pascarella (1994) state that
"halls with the strongest impact on cognitive
development and persistence are typically the
result of purposeful, programmatic efforts to
integrate students' intellectual and social lives
during college-living-learning centers are not
only a neat idea, they actually work!" (p. 32).
In 1989, the Department of Residence
Life began a long-range planning process to
refocus the direction of programs and services in the Department. The evolution of
this process has been driven by a number of
campus characteristics:
1. WSU traditionally has taken great pride
in the residential nature of the campus. Nearly
half of our students live on campus, and virtually all freshmen reside in campus living
groups. This setting is, thus, a logical location
for making such connections.
2. A 1989 University planning document
prioritized educational objectives which easily
could be adapted to the residential setting.
From these institutional objectives, residential
learning communities have been developed.
They provide specialized educational offerings
to targeted student populations.
3. These new residential learning commu78

nities include the Freshman Year Experience;
Leadership Education; Math, Science, and Engineering; Wellness; an International House;
and Upper-Level Student Housing. In addition, enhanced computer access and fiber-optic
technologies are being applied across campus,
and especially into the residence hall setting.

. . . most of these initiatives have
been implemented with little
or no additional cost . In most
cases, resources simply have
been "reconfigured" to create
these new opportunities . . .

4. The General Education program has been
undergoing significant reform, and a myriad of
opportunities have become evident in creating connections between these two settings to
provide enhanced educational offerings and
broad access to instructional support services.
During the 1989-1990 academic year, a
departmental long-range planning document
was developed using a planning group of over
100 staff and students within the Department.
As decisions were being made regarding specialized housing options, a major point of
contention arose regarding the clustering of
specialized groups. The discussion focused on
whether students should be "mainstreamed"
where assignments are made randomly and

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

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