2008 Woodie Awards
Residential life to combine learning and living
Next school year, residents can live with like-minded colleagues, including those in their own major
By: Angela Riley
Issue date: 10/11/07 Section: News
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Starting fall 2008, Webster University will implement learning communities on some floors of its residence halls.
Learning communities have been a national trend on college campuses, where students are grouped together by their interests and live together on the same floor of a residence hall.
The way learning communities function and are set up vary from university to university. For example, students can live with those who share their major or department. It can also include floormates taking one or two of the same classes together. Other groupings include hobbies and similar interests.
Residential Life is currently in the process of deciding what type of learning community would be best suited for WU. It is most likely that students will be grouped by their department and not their major, said John Buck, associate dean of students and director of Housing and Residential Life.
Sarah Tetley, assistant director of Housing & Residential Life is working on behalf of ResLife, to implement learning communities on campus. She said students who take part in a learning community could expect to take classes with each other.
The idea for learning communities has been an agenda for ResLife for a few years.
"I've been here since 2000, and I've wanted to implement them since I came here," Buck said. "It just wasn't feasible at the time. Space was an issue, and we had a housing crunch with the only dorms in Maria and Loretto Halls. Now, with the new residence halls and Maria Hall being remodeled, we have the means to do it."
With Maria Hall opening in the fall 2008, it looks to be the best place for the learning communities," Tetley said. There is also a possibility that a West Hall floor will be designated as a learning community.
Tetley said she isn't worried that WU's small size would hurt its chances of successfully executing the idea.
"I've been doing a lot of research and looking at how campuses of our size have done with learning communities," Tetley said. "From what I've seen, they do just as well. It's become such a norm at college campuses, and students have begun to expect them."
Learning communities have been a national trend on college campuses, where students are grouped together by their interests and live together on the same floor of a residence hall.
The way learning communities function and are set up vary from university to university. For example, students can live with those who share their major or department. It can also include floormates taking one or two of the same classes together. Other groupings include hobbies and similar interests.
Residential Life is currently in the process of deciding what type of learning community would be best suited for WU. It is most likely that students will be grouped by their department and not their major, said John Buck, associate dean of students and director of Housing and Residential Life.
Sarah Tetley, assistant director of Housing & Residential Life is working on behalf of ResLife, to implement learning communities on campus. She said students who take part in a learning community could expect to take classes with each other.
The idea for learning communities has been an agenda for ResLife for a few years.
"I've been here since 2000, and I've wanted to implement them since I came here," Buck said. "It just wasn't feasible at the time. Space was an issue, and we had a housing crunch with the only dorms in Maria and Loretto Halls. Now, with the new residence halls and Maria Hall being remodeled, we have the means to do it."
With Maria Hall opening in the fall 2008, it looks to be the best place for the learning communities," Tetley said. There is also a possibility that a West Hall floor will be designated as a learning community.
Tetley said she isn't worried that WU's small size would hurt its chances of successfully executing the idea.
"I've been doing a lot of research and looking at how campuses of our size have done with learning communities," Tetley said. "From what I've seen, they do just as well. It's become such a norm at college campuses, and students have begun to expect them."
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