This study investigates the impact of residence hall architecture on students' academic achievement, also considering the influence of race and homophily opportunity--a tendency to create social bonds with like others. We found that socializing architecture was positively associated with a higher first-semester grade point average, and that…

The "Talking Stick" is published bimonthly, six times a year in January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, and November/December by the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International. Each issue is divided into three sections: Features, Columns, and Departments. These sections contain articles…

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of university housing construction type on psychosocial development of first-year students. Data were collected at a large, four-year, public, research university in the Southeast using the Student Development Task and Lifestyle Assessment. The population considered for this study consisted of…

Although the seven buildings of Harvard's Canaday Hall dormitories are neither programmatically, technically, nor functionally innovative, they are a thoughtful solution to extremely restrictive circumstances imposed by the client and the site. The exterior design was carefully selected to blend inconspicuously with the neighboring 18th- and…

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, college students expressed their feelings toward impersonal, highrise, linoleum-and-formica residence halls by moving off campus in droves. Now, colleges are building more varied and flexible lowrise student housing in an effort to better accommodate students' housing preferences. (JG)

When administrators at Worcester State College decided to build student housing at their formerly all-commuter school, they took pains to involve students and faculty in planning the project. The result was a 500-student village, comprised of 26 different "houses," which has proved very popular with students. (JG)

Describes an award-winning design of a new residence hall at the University of Toronto's St. George campus. The new residence's plan, designed by Saucier and Perrotte Architectes, emphasizes a spirit of communal interaction. Includes design drawings and schematics. (EV)

Social and psychological effects of residing in overloaded social environments are discussed. Data are presented suggesting that the interior architecture of the corridor-design dormitories requires residents to interact with too many others, leading residents to experience stress and develop potentially stress-reducing behavior. (JR)

To hold down construction costs of student housing, Brockport College decided on a fixed-cost competition, in which architects had to team up with contractors. The winning firm used a French industrialized building system and exterior panels of weathered steel to construct a village of 27 four-story buildings. (JG)

Because of a high vacancy rate and widespread vandalism in its highrise dormitories, the University of Massachusetts commissioned an environmental consultant to assess the problem. A two-year study showed that occupancy increased and vandalism decreased in an experimental dormitory where students were allowed greater freedom to arrange their own…

This study sampled 198 studentsin seven dormitories and 55 suites in an effort to elucidate the relationsh ip between social environment as measured by the University Residence Environment Scales, and subject mood states, friendship patterns, and perception of the architecture of dormitories. (JP)

Residence life programs play a key role in recruiting students, helping them make a successful transition to a new institution, and in retaining them, whether students are enrolling for the first time, transferring from another institution, or entering graduate school. Chapters in this book address theories of learning and development, new…