We used housing assignment data from a college in China to investigate peer effects on college grades. Study results provided some evidence for peer effects in college housing units. First, peer effects through means occurred during both fall and spring semester of the first year in college, with estimated effect much larger than that in previous…

Although younger populations, such as emerging adults, have been shown to be particularly susceptible to food insecurity and housing instability, the current research is predominantly devoid of literature examining these experiences on college campuses. The present study explores the food and housing vulnerabilities that may be barriers to…

Sense of belonging contributes to academic success, persistence, and self-efficacy among students, and is especially poignant for first-generation students who are less likely to engage socially, intellectually, and academically. Residential spaces provide the ideal environment to examine belongingness among first-generation students because of…

This three-article dissertation sought to explore the potential causal link of students' collegiate residence with three broad categories of student outcomes. Using data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, each article employed propensity score matching in an effort to reduce selection bias associated with a student's…

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…

Since the introduction of the post-1992 university, various, and ongoing, higher education (HE) policy reforms have fuelled academic, political, media and anecdotal discussions of the trajectories of UK university students. An outcome of this has been the dualistic classification of students as being from either 'traditional' or 'non-traditional'…

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…

This paper examines the effects of roommates on students' academic outcomes exploiting the randomized roommate assignment system at a selective Chinese university. Unlike earlier studies that could not measure students' academic quality precisely, this paper makes two important improvements in measuring their English proficiency and overall…

U.S. higher education is under pressure to manage limited financial resources and increased expectations (Quintana & Hatch, 2017). As a sector within the 1,587 private, nonprofit institutions, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities' (CCCU) 144 member and affiliate institutions mirror the challenges faced by the broader higher…

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…

College affordability is a significant factor in student access, retention and completion. Tuition and fee rates are a major component of affordability. Another factor is the availability of financial aid programs from federal, state, institutional and private sources. Well-rounded and strategically designed approaches to college affordability can…

A sense of mattering among college students has been found to have positive outcomes, including lower levels of anxiety and depression as well as increased self-esteem, wellness, happiness, and job satisfaction. However, the feeling of mattering among Resident Assistants (RAs) has received little attention in literature. This quantitative study…

Resident Assistants (RAs) are often faced with working and living among residents who are struggling, in distress, and, at times, in crisis. This article provides a primer on identifying residents in crisis as well as the tasks faced when working with students in transition and crisis. A discussion of the prevalence of distress reported by…

The purpose of this study was to examine how Black male students believed their housing status influenced their academic performance and retention at a historically Black urban university. For purposes of this study, housing status is used to identify students who lived in an on-campus residence hall from those who lived off-campus. A qualitative…

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…