The present study examined differential social experiences of international students living in a residential hall called 'Nihongo House' (Japanese language house) at a Japanese university. By conducting social network analysis (SNA), as well as making use of ethnographic data collected through participant observation and semi-structured…

Students in the autism community are a currently underrepresented, yet growing, population in higher education, which strives to understand student experiences on campus and find ways to better support students with autism. This qualitative research study examined the expectations and experiences of seven students on the autism spectrum in…

A multi-institutional study of five Canadian universities was undertaken to examine the impact of living in residence on students' first-year grade point averages (GPAs), retention to the second year, and graduation. While previous studies have linked living in residence to improved academic outcomes, most of the research has been based on…

College students who reside in campus dormitories at public universities have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their dorm rooms that is protected by the fourth amendment; and officials cannot search these rooms for law enforcement purposes without a valid warrant. Non-students, however, have no such reasonable expectation of privacy in…

The resurgence of student activism has yielded dynamic change within university housing departments and beyond on college campuses across the country. In higher education, the social, cultural, and political environment continues to be highly racialized and characterized by a string of protests and public displays of student angst. The threat of…

Construction and new facility decisions regarding student housing remain difficult for many colleges and universities. Challenges associated with these decisions include rising building costs, waning government funding, daunting facility safety codes, and compliance with evolving accessibility legislation, among many factors. One solution,…

The results of recent cases indicate that residences and dormitories owned by higher education institutions should be considered "dwellings," and thus subject to the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act (1968) as amended requires that the providers of dwellings accommodate assistance animals, which includes not only service animals,…

Participatory action research and photovoice was used to examine 20 Black students' perceptions of campus racial climate within residential learning communities. Using a qualitative constructivist case study, we examined Black students' inventories of individual and community assets, as juxtaposed to challenges, within residential domiciles at two…

As University housing offices seek to maximize use of their available beds, it is valuable to understand the factors that are most important in influencing students to choose to move off campus. This study compares importance ratings on a wide range of housing factors for students who planned to stay on campus and those who planned to move off…

College resident halls pose a threat for a catastrophic event in the case of fire, but little research has examined potential influences on students' responses to fire alarms, particularly the role of social influence in affecting their behaviors. In the current study, residence hall inhabitants reported their knowledge about fire safety, their…

The role of student affairs educators is to ensure that students not only obtain an educational experience, but also that out-of-classroom experiences contribute to holistic development. In particular, student affairs professionals often coordinate residential living, student activities, and advising programs. These programmatic offerings need to…

Intervention research is replete with examples of finely crafted innovations showing initial efficacy in tightly controlled experimental contexts only to fail when they are implemented in typical use settings. While the reasons for such failures are broad, implementation science shows a targeted and judicious use of appropriate competency drivers,…

Living-Learning Communities (LLCs) develop and strengthen students' persistence by providing a greater sense of community, opportunities for co-curricular activities, and socially engaging and academically supportive peer environments (Shapiro & Levine, 1999). While researchers have affirmed the rationale, impact, and efficacy of LLCs, very…

Students of Color Experience predominantly White institutions (PWIs) differently than do White students in terms of belonging, support, connecting, and success. While this topic has been explored broadly, there remain gaps in the literature about experiences of Students of Color in the context of residential communities, which provide the setting…

While sufficient methodological training and effective implementation of assessment approaches are essential for successful evaluation in student affairs, those with an interest and passion for social justice may be conflicted. Many of the assessment approaches employed today are misaligned with social justice agendas, lack theoretical grounding…