The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 42, No. 2 - 41

A Learning Community Revisited

students and have attended and presented
programs. The department's involvement with
the learning community has increased as well;
in fact, without it, the same problems would
have remained. The fall retreat with the staff
and students has been extremely successful in
helping them form a bond that may not have
been created otherwise (or would at least have
taken much longer). The residence life staff
is considering adding a spring retreat prior to
the start of classes. In addition, having student
staff invested in the success of the program

The investment from all
involved from the beginning,
including staff and students,
had a positive impact on the
program and allowed it to
grow, and the community
continues to be something
students want to be a part of.

has had a positive impact and helped bridge
the gap between faculty and staff. Having
student staff at the same level (or in the same
position) as those participating in the learning community allowed for more successful
programs and activities.
Students living in this community were
expected to sign and agree to a wellness ﬂoor

community contract. This contract asked them
to determine why they wanted to be there, what
they wanted to get out of the year, what kind of
legacy they wanted to leave future groups of
students, how to hold each other accountable
for their actions, and what goals they wanted to
accomplish for the year (NDSU, 2010).
The staff and students participated in a
wellness ﬂoor retreat at the beginning of the
school year. It was a way for everyone involved
to get to know one another on a much different level. The goals for the retreat included
providing residence life staff the opportunity
to communicate expectations for the students
and the community, allowing students to get to
know one another, and creating a shared understanding of the meaning of living and participating in the learning community.
After talking with faculty and staff, it was
evident that students need this type of learning
experience, and for it to be successful there has
to be an investment and sense of ownership
by everyone involved. When there is a deﬁned
plan in place and it is carried out efﬁciently,
an environment is created that enables students to develop better communication among
themselves, the faculty involved with the
living-learning program, and the staff in the
residence hall. Learning communities have the
ability to enhance student learning and development; however, there needs to be accountability on the part of everyone involved.
The last item instituted was an assessment
that was completed by each of the participants.
It was a way to gain feedback about the retreat,
their experiences while living in the community, and their interactions with the staff and

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 42, No. 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 42, No. 2