Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 2 - 36

Applying the Best Practices Model
The foundation of the Best Practices Model is the infrastructure. The building
blocks that make up the LLC infrastructure, each of which is critical for
the LLCs to thrive, are clear goals and objectives, collaboration between
academic affairs and residence life, and adequate resources.
shared by each of the university's communities. The focus of these three learning
outcomes is integrative learning, the central feature of the university's program. These
outcomes align with three of the learning outcomes identified in AAC&U's Integrative
and Applied Learning VALUE Rubric (2009). Utilizing AAC&U's language to establish
a framework, these outcomes address several areas of connection: to self, experiences,
and courses or disciplines (2009, p. 2).
Students in this LC Program will do the following:
1. Demonstrate " a developing sense of self as a learner, building on prior experiences
to respond to new and challenging contexts (may be evident in self-assessment,
reflective, or creative work). "
2. Adapt and apply " skills, abilities, theories, or methodologies " gained in the dynamic
interplay between the curriculum and the co-curriculum.
3. Observe and articulate connections across LC coursework, disciplines, and perspectives.
Each LC and LLC can add a fourth learning outcome specific to the theme of their
community.
Collaboration Between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs/Housing
Traditional higher education systems showcase a culture in which curricular and
cocurricular learning exist independently of one another, and institutional divisions
such as student life and academic affairs tend to work in functional silos (American
College Personnel Association [ACPA], 1996). Often these divisions are guided
" by the assumption that students require different programs, services, and environments
that are best offered by distinct and separate offices " (Manning et al., 2014,
p. 94), rather than offering a truly integrative experience that challenges students to
consider how their out-of-classroom experiences influence their academic thinking.
Frost and colleagues (2010) argue that this isolation and fragmentation of student
learning persists as one of higher education's greatest threats. Without a strong collaborative
relationship, in the context of an LLC program communities will never aspire
to achieve true integration (Inkelas et al., 2018), and student learning experiences may
become detached from one another.
The structure of Cabrini University's LLCs provides a bridge between the two
domains of academic affairs and student life by, for example, utilizing full-time staff
who have academic areas of expertise to serve as LLC faculty in specific communities.
A prime example of this collaboration is leveraging the expertise of the Dean of Student
Engagement and Leadership in the IMPACT (Leadership) LLC. Student life staff and
faculty collaborate not only on faculty teams within individual communities but also
across communities through ongoing professional development opportunities offered
as LC faculty development days and active participation in monthly meetings of the
36 The Journal of College and University Student Housing

Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 2