The Residential Learning Community as a Platform for High-Impact Educational Practices Aimed at At-Risk Student Success

This paper reports and analyzes the findings of a residential learning community (RLC) project for academically at-risk students piloted in academic year 2013-14 at Indiana University Southeast. Consisting of an array of high-impact practices, and using both student self- reporting measures of our own design and a rubric-based assessment of academic performance, the cohort was retained at a higher rate and performed better on both content outcomes and analytical abilities than their non-RLC peers. These students also expressed a high degree of connectedness to their peers and instructors as well as greater engagement with the university.

Residential Learning Communities Positively Affect College Binge Drinking

Recent surveys demonstrate that college students "binge drink" or engage in high-risk episodic drinking at high rates across the country. This drinking pattern has been associated with most of the serious health, legal, and academic problems faced by students and colleges. This study explored how living in a residential learning community affects drinking behaviors. Students living in three different residential learning communities at a large, midwestern public university were found to binge drink at significantly lower rates than did matched comparison groups who lived in another university residence hall. Further, learning community residents also suffered fewer problems arising from either their own drinking or that of others. We interpret these results as suggesting that new social norms—peer expectations about acceptable behavior— are created within the learning communities that positively affect binge drinking and its associated problems. These preliminary findings are promising indicators that student housing deliberately structured to promote community and academic involvement can reduce problem drinking behaviors, even when no explicit alcohol programming is involved.

An Evaluation of Adventure Education Components in a Residential Learning Community

The intent of this research project was to assess the impact of the out-of-class experiential components in a residential Learning Community Program. More specifically, the purpose of the study was to gain information from the students' perceptions of the impact that participation in an adventure education program (high or low ropes course) had on their in-class learning and their overall experience at the university. Qualitative data indicated that participation on the ropes course impacted the Learning Community students' in-class learning in the following ways: enhancing a connection to other students, faculty and the university; promoting increased self-learning and transferable skill development; and developing a support network for academic learning. The qualitative data also indicated that Learning Community students' overall experience at the university was affected largely by the connection developed with other students, faculty and the university.