Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2007 Herman Miller, Inc L is among the registered trademarks of Herman Miller, Inc.
working to address shifts in the student population. according to the survey.2 The stakes are high, then,
Many colleges and universities are building residence for an institution to maintain up-to-date and pleasant
halls as much as to attract students as to house them. residence halls.
Any space on campus can be a learning space, and David Cain & Gary Reynolds. March/April Facilities Manager 2006.
that includes residence halls, says Jeff Vredevoogd Used with permission from APPA.
of Herman Miller, Inc.s Education Solutions group.
The intersection where people, place, and pedagogy The residential experience is what helps link students
come together is where possibilities for learning best to the university community, says Michael Coakley,
take place. This intersection is a mix of characteris- Arizona State Universitys executive director of resi-
tics that define the design as well as the spirit of the dential life. A majority of students who drop out of
place. Effective learning spaces, including those school during their first or second years, Coakley
found in residence halls, are adaptable, social, health- states, attribute their leaving to an unsatisfactory
ful, stimulating, resourceful, and sustainable, says housing experience.3
Vredevoogd.1
The living-learning community model is in part a
response to attrition among upperclassmen. There is
The Impact on Attracting and Keeping Students
growing recognition that when upper-class students
When it comes to attracting freshmen, the residence move off campus, much more goes with them than
hall plays a significant role in a students decision. room-and-board dollars. Janice Kassman, vice presi-
APPAs Center for Facilities Research (CFaR) recently dent of student affairs and dean of students at
surveyed college students across the U.S. to meas- Maines Colby College, says seniors are our best
ure the impact facilities play in the recruitment and product; they give back to underclassmen, both
retention of students. Residential facilities ranked inside and outside the classroom.4
second in importance during pre-enrollment visits,
second only to facilities related to specific majors. The presence of juniors and seniors on campus con-
Along with facilities related to majors, libraries, tech- tributes to the social and academic health of the
nology, and classrooms, residential facilities round school, says Tom Gibson, assistant vice president of
out the most influential facilities in the decision auxiliary and business services at Pennsylvania State
process. University.5 The first phase of Penn States Eastview
Terrace, which eventually will be a large, four-acre
On the other side of the coin, residential facilities complex, is a quadrangle for upperclassmen only.
that werent satisfactory became even more impor- Gibson knows that upgrading housing facilities is one
tant in the decision process. Poorly maintained or of the ways Penn State competes and retains its
inadequate residential facilities was the number one overall reputation as a leader among U.S. research
reason for rejecting enrollment at an institution, and undergraduate institutions.6