The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 2 - 13

The Help I Didn't Know I Needed

teractions) academic systems and formal
(extracurricular activities) and informal (peergroup interactions) social systems" (Stier,
2014, p. 27). Membership in LLPs can help
students with each of those areas. These communities serve as a facilitator to connecting
first-year students to their peers, faculty, staff,
and supportive programs (Kuh, 2009). Research consistently demonstrates that students
who actively participate in LLPs are more likely
(a) to be more involved with campus activities
and interact with faculty, (b) show greater
gains in critical thinking skills, (c) utilize
campus resources to a greater extent and
(d) to report their communities to be more
academically and socially supportive. (Stier,
2014, p. 40)
LLPs can also have a positive influence on
students' academic development and success,
as living in close proximity to other students
who are taking the same classes creates a supportive and collaborative environment. Previous research has shown that students living in
LLPs have a higher retention rate and a higher
grade point average and spend more time with
faculty than do their non-LLP peers (Adams,
2014; Stassen, 2003).

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The Freshmen in Transition (FIT) livinglearning program has existed on our campus
for nearly 20 years. The program is known,
anecdotally, to be successful-most students,
program staff, and hall staff feel that the
program makes a difference in the lives of
students, and it is known on our campus as
a model for how to run an LLP both within
housing and residential life and within the
academic colleges. The program was carefully

designed to include opportunities for personal
and academic success, and it follows the recommended practices found in the literature regarding partnerships between academic units
and residential life (Inkelas, 2016). However,
due to administrative changes and inconsistent staffing, no study had ever been undertaken to examine the retention rate and GPAs
of students in the LLP (versus those of other
students not in the program), nor had student
experiences in the program been formally explored. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the LLP in increasing
student retention and to understand student
experiences in the LLP related to personal, professional, and academic growth. The following
research questions guided the study:
1) What is the GPA of FIT program
participants, and how does this compare
to those of students in the same academic
college (but who are not in the FIT
program)?
2) What is the retention rate of FIT program
participants, and how does this compare
to that of students in the same academic
college and the overall university?
3) According to participants, which elements
of the FIT program influence their
personal growth, leadership and campus
engagement, academic achievement and
experiences, and career development?

FRESHMEN IN TRANSITION
PROGRAM
The Freshmen in Transition Program is a
living-learning program at a large Midwestern
land-grant, Sun Grant public research university. It is one of 10 living-learning programs
offered in the Department of Housing and

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 2
