The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 2 - 14

Kane P. Mach * Sarah R. Gordon * Katie Tearney * Leon McClinton, Jr.

Students in the FIT program are
required to attend two educational
events, two career events, two
wellness events, two faculty
dinners, and two "broadening your
horizons" events, as well as to
complete 15 hours of community
service each semester .

Residential Life in support of the academic
mission of the university. The program's
purpose is to increase retention by helping students transition into college and to provide an
atmosphere for personal, professional, and academic growth through engagement, service,
and networking. The LLP assists students in
defining and achieving academic performance
goals by providing an environment where they
grow through engagement opportunities; encouraging them to investigate and practice
beneficial behaviors they can incorporate into
their total college career; and providing opportunities and activities that foster autonomy,
independence, intellectual disposition to learning, and interest in new experiences.

Program Structure and Staffing
The FIT program is primarily structured
under the College of Agricultural Sciences and
Natural Resources (CASNR), with a strong
partnership with the Department of Housing
and Residential Life. The LLP was created in
the fall of 2000, and 25 first-year students were

a part of the inaugural group. The program
has undergone revision in programming and
location since it was created, and the current
configuration has 100 student participants that
fill one suite-style residence hall building. The
program is staffed by both academic college
and residential life personnel. The director of
the program works in the academic college and
serves as the lead in organizing all key players,
developing the curriculum, and hosting the
program's activities. There are eight faculty associates (FAs) and eight FIT student academic
mentors (SAMs) associated with the program.
The faculty associates are CASNR faculty
members who assist with programming, engagement, and building a sense of community
both inside and outside the residence hall. The
student academic mentors are upper-division
students who were FIT participants in a previous year and live with the FIT students in the
residence hall. These mentors help in building community by developing and coordinating programming that encourages students
to become involved in academic, extracurricular, professional, and social activities that
promote personal growth and development.
The program director also works beside the
residential community educator (RCE) within
Housing and Residential Life. The RCE is a
full-time housing professional who oversees
all operations and logistics of the residential
hall and is the primary contact for the program
director. Additionally, the RCE supervises the
four community mentors (CMs, formerly
called resident assistants) within the FIT residence hall. The community mentors work with
the student academic mentors to develop community and maintain interactions that facilitate a positive living environment.

T h e J o u r n a l o f C o l l e g e a n d U n i v e r s i t y St u d e n t H o u s i n g

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