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Making a Location a Place
Type of Accommodation
There are a wide variety of on-campus housing options available to students (Sickler &
Roskos, 2013), and most RCs offer traditional (56%) and suite-style (54%) accommodations
but very few apartment-style, single, double, or triple options. Suite-style rooms
include two adjoining rooms connected by a bathroom, while traditional rooms often
house only one or two students, who share a community bathroom with others. Those
living in suite-style halls tend to develop a greater sense of belonging and increasing
engagement (Rodger & Johnson, 2005) and emotional support (Ballou, 1986). Those
residing on campus tend to be more open to diversity (Pike, 2009) and more engaged
with the academic environment (Astin, 1973), and they exhibit greater personal growth
(Schroeder & Mable, 1994), social interaction with others (Ballou et al., 1995), and academic
performance (Moos & Lee, 1979; Turley & Wodtke, 2010). RCs in general can
offer a strong sense of community (Spanierman et al., 2013; Wawrzynski et al., 2009)
as they represent a smaller cross section of students at an institution while providing
" physical, social, and academic anchorage " (Tinto, 1993, p. 125).
A Sense of Community
There was some variation associated with the community themes across RCs, though
more than 40 did not identify with a particular one (see Table 5, page 99), and many of
these housed first- and/or second-year students. It may be that residents of RCs without
a particular theme are new students, whose identity is linked by `rank` rather than
by academic discipline. In many LLCs, residents are grouped by shared activities or
experiences (Inkelas et al., 2007; Inkelas et al., 2018; Inkelas & Soldner, 2011). Other
RCs were specific to a shared interest or classification, such as honors, sustainability,
or STEM.
Dining Spaces
A total of 33% of RCs in this study offered a dining space specifically associated with the
RC, while 53% did not and 14% share one with others at the institution. Dining spaces
help to foster a sense of community by providing an opportunity for shared meals and
conversation and informal academic discussions with other students, faculty, and staff
(Altimare & Sheridan, 2016; Hsu et al., 2022). This space can also bring a sense of
tradition and ritual to students' everyday experiences and can be used specifically for
special events (O'Hara, 2001) and common dinners. Cox and Orehovec (2007) discuss
the example of one residential college that served weekday dinners that were required
for students and associated faculty members, and these became important arenas for
engagement: " The College-wide dinners were the setting most frequently available for
the faculty and students to interact " (p. 347).
Maps are an important tool for conducting research, but they can also
be accessed directly by higher education staff at residential colleges
to advertise or support their residential college.
98 The Journal of College and University Student Housing
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