Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 2 - 13

Living on campus has tremendous potential to provide the type of emotional support
and academic resources sophomores need to succeed (Gahagan & Hunter, 2010).
Sophomores are more likely to feel a sense of belonging on campus when they are
engaged in the learning process and can create connections between what they are
learning and their desired future (Schreiner, 2009). This sense of belonging is a process
often promoted through intentional yet informal interactions with faculty, such as
in LLC programs. Informal interactions can cover topics related to academic or social
matters, but they are also a gateway to deeper conversations where the content shifts to
potentially include aspects of meaning-making, values, or spirituality.
Emphasis on the content of these interactions is further discussed by Lindholm
(2010), who stated that more than half of the college juniors who participated in the
Spirituality in Higher Education pilot study " said their professors 'never' provide opportunities
to discuss the meaning and purpose of life " (p. 210). Lindholm further
admonishes that colleges and universities are doing little to support students in their
exploration of the sphere of values and beliefs. The interactions students have, however,
benefit from deeper exploration of elements such as meaning and purpose. In
short, institutions should be doing more to address this void identified by Lindholm
and encourage interactions beyond traditional academic and social realms.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF INTERACTIONS
Although researchers often categorize campus interactions according to what occurs in
either academic or social domains of college students' lives (Benjamin & Griffin, 2013;
Kuh & Hu, 2001; Mara & Mara, 2010), recent scholarship (Sriram, Haynes, Cheatle,
et al., 2020; Sriram, Weintraub, et al., 2020) emphasizes the need to more seriously
consider the importance of deeper conversations regarding meaning, value, and purpose,
as Lindholm (2010) suggested. While academic interactions are defined by their
explicitly academic context-often promoting intellectual stimulation through connections
to classes, majors, careers, or support-social interactions are more light hearted
and informal, often occurring through casual conversation or greetings. Sriram and
McLevain (2016) introduced deeper life interactions as a needed third construct to more
fully explain the relationships students have on campus. These interactions add a layer
of clarification and explanation to the traditional academic and social views of the
student experience and are descriptive of encounters that reflect a level of personal engagement
prompting critical thinking about meaning, value, and purpose, often including
discussions about relationships, identity, meaning-making, or spirituality (Sriram,
Haynes, Weintraub, et al., 2020).
Although it is important to study the various types of interactions that students
have, it is also important to consider with whom they are having these interactions.
Most research regarding student interactions has focused on student-faculty or student-peer
interactions separately (e.g., Kuh & Hu, 2001; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980;
Umbach & Wawrzynski, 2005). Studying faculty and peer interactions together can
provide more insight into how interactions influence success. Additionally, student inVolume
48, No. 2 * 2022 13

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