College dormitory residents (n=160) were surveyed concerning their alcohol use, social influences, attitudes and beliefs about alcohol, personality characteristics, and demographic information. Subjects were reinterviewed two years later. Regression equations indicated utility of several variables in predicting self-reports of alcohol consumption,…

Summarizes author's 11 years of experience implementing ecosystems model for assessing resident hall environment at 2 universities. Describes institutionalization of the process, administrative expectations, time commitment, costs, technical problems, student participation, environmental referents, developing change, flexibility, multiple reports,…

Describes how university interior design is responding to increased student demands for wide-ranging services, technological capabilities, and accessibility. Design concepts for dining areas, auditoriums, residential halls, libraries, and computer-friendly classrooms are discussed. (GR)

Presents comparative regional data on school construction activities and costs for 1998 and 1999 projections. Regional data include profiles of new buildings expected to be completed in 1999, college construction completed and projected for starting in 1999, and the types of residence-hall amenities and the percentages of how often they are found.…

Presents data from the American School & University's 10th Annual Residence Hall Construction Report that show dormitories are costing more per square foot to build while also becoming larger accommodations. Data tables are provided as are highlighted discussions that include residence hall design flexibility, environmental concerns and building…

Describes how one university creatively financed its dormitory renovation without imposing undue hardships on students (and with approval from of the university's governing board and elected state leaders). Planners developed a nonprofit foundation to fund the recapitalization and renovation of the dormitories. The foundation owned the…

Grade point average and the development of maturity were examined for 229 freshman males at Pennsylvania State University. The results were used to determine differences among students living in residence units in which the resident assistant was oriented either as counselor or as administrator or in which there were no resident assistants at all.…

A newer discipline called environmental psychology has begun to study the effects of noise, particularly on task performance and reactional behavior. In the 1970's college dormitories liberalized their living conditions; this led to fewer quiet hours. College students may not move off campus to find a quiet environment for studying. Dormitory…

An evaluation of the Central Michigan University Counseling Center is presented in this document. Parts of the study methods are described, including the questionnaires sent to 1,000 randomly selected students in residence, use of an optical scan answer sheet, and data collection from 112 users and 324 nonusers of counseling services (a 43.6%…

The ecosystem approach to environmental assessment of college residence halls asks students to identify issues they feel strongly about, and to recommend action the university might take to enhance or rectify a situation. This approach was used to examine life in the undergraduate residence halls at Indiana University. A forced-choice…

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)

In recent years the college dormitory has become a popular setting for examining chronic effects of crowding and high density in humans. Possible differences between corridor- and suite-type residents were investigated to examine the degree to which corridor- and suite-design dormitories influence assertive behavior of the residents. It was…

Student rejection of traditional campus residence halls in favor of apartment-style living has left colleges and universities with a variety of problems. Research into student preferences has produced some basic requirements: privacy, - interaction, territory, security, safety, a sense of identity, a sense of belonging, and a sense of…

To determine the present adequacy and future trends of the dormitory arrangements on each of Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned higher education institutions, a survey of administrators and students was conducted. The survey instrument, a four-part, 44-item student housing questionnaire, was developed and disseminated to the appropriate respondents at…

In the present study, differences between a group of 69 Arts and Sciences freshmen who participated in a 1-year living-learning residence hall program, and 76 students in a matched control group were evaluated. The LL students, when compared with the control group, were better satisfied with the faculty, thought the campus atmosphere was more…