Living Learning Communities are common in higher education as intimate, specialized spaces for students seeking to establish community in on-campus residence halls.
“The definition of a living-learning community is a dedicated number of beds that are contiguous to each other and have additional resources dedicated to the needs of that community,” says Kathy Bush-Hobgood, vice president of the Association of College and University Housing. Officers.
The execution of this can vary, from a few rooms to a single floor to an entire residential complex, but all share a common thread of construction belonging to this shared experience. “These types of programs are really important for students but also essential collaborators” for university partners, adds Bush-Hobgood, who is also associate vice president for ancillary businesses at Clemson University.
The majority of LLCs are focused on the academic world: pre-health, engineering, commerce, honors, ROTC or music and performing arts. Some are more ideological and touch on interfaith, sustainability, conflict resolution, leadership or social justice.
Still others are identity-focused groups for students from different communities, including LGBTQ+, Asian and Pacific Islander, Native, Hispanic/Latino, African or African-American and Middle Eastern. Many living learning communities relate to a student’s grade, targeting freshman, sophomore, and transfer levels.
Inside higher education found 10 unique or specialized living-learning communities among U.S. colleges as innovative examples of community building in residential life.
University of Minnesota—FETCH
In this living and learning environment, you’ll want to both sit and stay.
Students at the University of Minnesota St. Paul can join the FETCH — Fostering Education and Training Canines in Housing — LLC program and be matched with a roommate and puppy in Bailey Hall. Minnesota has partnered with Can do dogs offer to the LLC since 2017.
Each pair of students trains and cares for a service dog that lives in their room for part of the school year: walking, feeding and training it, then taking it to class, work and to other exits, if applicable.
While there is no major requirement for FETCH LLC, one goal is to help students learn more about the service animal industry. The university provides supplies, food and veterinary care for the dog, and participants attend bimonthly training sessions while working with the service dogs.
State of Florida—WIMSE
This Florida state LLC comes with a healthy dose of girl power.
Called Women in Math, Science and Engineering (WIMSE) and housed in Cawthon Hall, the LLC promotes the success of women in STEM fields.
At FSU, LLCs are for first-year students and the cohort takes a colloquium together. WIMSE participants can also join the WIMSE Society, which offers the Research Experience Program and other service and research opportunities.
Oregon State University – Munk-Skukum Native Living and Learning Community
Oregon State University is offering students the opportunity to connect with its campus’s first residents through its munk-skukum Indigenous LLC.
munk-skukum means “strengthen” in the local tribal language, chinuk wawa, and as such, living in the community connects students to their own indigenous identity as well as the local history and culture of the indigenous people of Oregon.
LLC students take Ethnic Studies 241, Introduction to Native American Studies, together and attend the Educational Opportunities summer transition program orientation.
OSU also hosts the Nia Black Scholar LLC for black and African American students, the word “Nia” comes from one of the seven Nguzo Saba, the purpose principles of Kwanzaa. Both Munk-skukum and Nia are on the first floor of OSU’s Poling Hall.
Elon University—Polyglot Stage
On this floor, students greet everyone a little differently, in the language of their choice.
Elon University hosts the Polyglot or World Languages Floor as a community for students to explore languages other than English taught at Elon: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin and Spanish.
To be eligible to join a multilingual cohort, a student must have completed a full year of language learning in high school or be enrolled in a language course at Elon.
Most residents study French, Spanish or Italian, and half of the rooms are dedicated to first-year students.
West Virginia University – Substance Free LLC
This substance-free, suite-style living community holds first-year and returning students to a higher standard.
West Virginia University Substance-Free LLC students agree not to possess or consume alcohol, cigarettes, or illegal substances in the residence hall, creating an additional measure of support for those who choose to live their life without substance.
Southern Arkansas University – Mulerider Band Program
At the risk of bragging, Southern Arkansas University offers themes in each of its residence halls, giving every student the opportunity to participate in a program.
Fincher Hall, however, is a little different, as it only hosts members of the SAU Mulerider Band. To be eligible to live in the suite-style co-ed residence hall, students must be accepted into the music program in the music department.
An added bonus: Fincher Hall is located near Oliver Band Hall on campus, allowing musicians easy access for work and play.
Denison University—The Property
Researchers looking for a practical approach to ecological sustainability find themselves at home at Denison’s Homestead.
The Homestead is a 40-year-old experiment to create a self-sustaining agricultural community on campus space. Each semester, 12 students live in two cabins as well as a third common space, called “Cabin Bob” in homage to the project’s founder, Robert Bob Alrutz. In addition to the cabins, the settlers take care of a vegetable garden, a greenhouse and a flock of chickens.
To keep up with the farm, students meet weekly and have Saturday morning work parties to chop wood, garden, clean and complete other tasks.
Faculty and other guests will host weekly Homestead seminar sessions for insightful discussions about Homestead. Cabin Bob also features a Homestead Library, with books related to the lives and interests of Homesteaders, as well as a study space, adding another academic dimension to the living and learning community.
California State University, Northridge—Cinema Television Arts LLC
Lights, camera, LLC, action!
At California State University, Northridge, students majoring in Film and Television Arts or Pre-CTVA can join the CTVA Living Learning Community.
This LLC offers additional equipment, projects, classes and community services intended to help its film and television students improve their technical skills and networking opportunities. While college may not be a movie, this community might look a little like one.
University of Maryland Baltimore County – Discovery Researchers
For students who don’t yet know what they’re looking for in college, the University of Maryland Baltimore County has the perfect solution for them in its residential community.
The Discovery Scholars Living-Learning Community is a first-year community created for scholars who are unsure of their major and career goals. The community offers engagement across all specializations in a multidisciplinary approach through social events, workshops and courses.
DS LLC members attend a first-year seminar with their floormates. Additionally, residents receive guidance and support from faculty, staff, and mentoring from DS LLC alumni who also live on their floor.
Syracuse University—Disability Pride LLC
Undergraduate students interested in disability identity pride and culture at Syracuse University may choose to live in Disability Pride LLC.
The LLC is located in Dellplain Hall, near the Disability Cultural Center, the Disability Resource Center, and the Center on Disability and Inclusion in the School of Education. Students reside on the first floor and have access to a sensory space. Disability Pride residents enroll in the DES 400: Inclusive Design Intelligence for the academic year, examining issues of ableism and accessibility as well as developing solutions to challenges identified by the disability community. In addition to on-campus events, students can participate together in Student Empowerment Day in Albany, NY.
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