On February 5, a tornado carved a deep gash across the aorta of the dormitory complex at the Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. Along with the university's president, David Dockery, and another dean, this author was among the first administrators to arrive at the disaster, a mere two minutes following the direct hit. As the dorms lay in…

Leaders at Indiana University of Pennsylvania had heard the horror stories: Students would be accepted here, visit the campus, take one look at the outdated dormitories, and decide to go someplace else. Something had to be done. So they made the bold move to replace all student housing, bed for bed--at a cost of $270-million. The public university…

A certain "mythology" appears to exists within higher education that residence halls do not exist at community colleges. The reality is that residence halls do exist at community colleges, and they play an integral role in the fabric of the institutions that have them. This article identifies the number of rural-serving community colleges, and it…

This study evaluates the impact of a college-based dormitory program on transitioning youth with intellectual disabilities. A qualitative study, with interviews at pre and post, was conducted to evaluate the program's impact. Data were collected with semistructured interviews from young adults with intellectual disabilities who participated in a…

This research aims to understand to what extent primary school pupils who stay at the Institution of Social Services and Child Protection dormitories participate in social science lessons. Data were obtained from pupils staying at the Institution of Social Services and Child Protection dormitories and attending primary schools in Istanbul and…

More than 1,700 students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related causes, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). These students succumb to alcohol poisoning, cardiac arrest, or injuries from falls off dorm room balconies or other heights on campus. The problem of binge drinking, defined…

The present study was to examine the effects of personal and university bounded factors in students mental health in north of Fars province, Iran. The effects of these factors on university students' psychopathology within a survey design were investigated among 300 participants--94 males and 206 females, who were selected through random sampling…

The University of Delaware has a zero-tolerance policy for anything remotely resembling "hate speech." As such, the school implemented a mandatory training for all 7,000-odd students in its dorms. The sessions were part of a thorough thought-reform curriculum, designed by the school's Office of Residence Life, psychologically to…

This study of almost 600 students examines the relationship between sense of community and college dormitory architecture on the campus of a small residential liberal arts college in the Northeast. Respondents of all class years completed an online survey that included the Sense of Community Index and the Relationship dimension of the University…

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…

In summer 2005, with two-and-a-half months to convert a nursing home to a 256-bed college residence hall, Philadelphia Biblical University established a fast-track construction schedule. By finishing the project in time for it to house students that fall, the university was able to avoid the high cost of renting accommodations for students.…

Native American students find sources of strength in their families, communities, and culture. This article reviews the experiences of 26 Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) college graduates who lived in residence halls while enrolled in college. These students obtained college educations while remaining culturally centered by going home often, some said…

The purpose of this preliminary study was to explore the residual barriers and facilitators for a selected group of individuals with severe physical disabilities who had been afforded a comprehensive set of strategies and services aimed at meeting their basic personal as well as academic needs. Their perceptions of both barriers and facilitators,…

This study evaluated participatory equity in varying thematic types of living-learning programs and, for a subset of student group x program type combinations found to be below equity, used latent mean modeling to determine whether statistically significant mean differences existed between the outcome scores of living-learning participants and…

It is said that "home is where the heart is." Many colleges and universities are keeping that in mind as they continue to invest in building residential facilities to attract students to on-campus living. Residence hall construction at the nation's higher-education institutions remains strong, as the benefits to students, parents, and the college…