Residential Learning Communities as Coalitions: Bridging the Gap Between Customer, Consumer, and Learner

Abstract

Residential learning communities sit at the nexus of various departments and functional areas in higher education. Academic units, housing departments, development offices, admissions, and student support services, for example, might exist at the same institution but pursue very different goals. A mediating mechanism is therefore helpful to ensure divergent areas of interest can achieve their own objectives while collectively pursuing the larger mission of higher education: student learning and development. This chapter argues that residential learning communities, due to their unique position on campus and their feature of bringing departments together in the name of student success, can serve as a mediator between the customer, consumer, and learner paradigms often pursued. This chapter first discusses residential living through a three-campus model. Residential learning communities are then identified as the archetype of residential learning, with historical and modern trends offered. A coalition framework is then used to conceptually situate a residential learning community as an intermediary that helps various departments with limited resources collaborate to reach goals. Residential learning communities are positioned as a point of alliance-building, bringing different areas with different missions together to help students succeed. They foster success by connecting students to constituents represented by individuals or outcomes of different departments on a campus. Implications and future directions are offered.KeywordsResidential learning communitiesResidential learningCampus collaborationsStudent successCoalitions