Benefits for Faculty and Staff Members Involved in Residential Learning Communities

Abstract

Research suggests that residential learning communities (RLCs) provide benefits for members of those communities. Although much research has been done on benefits for students in RLCs, there has been little research done on the benefits for faculty and student affairs staff members involved in RLCs. An unexplored dimension in both these areas is a comparison of the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits for faculty and staff members involved in RLCs. The present study was designed to address this gap in the existing literature on RLCs.

The purpose of this study was to identify the benefits faculty members and student affairs staff members gain from being involved in RLCs and explore any differences between the two groups. Data were collected by administering the Residential Learning Community Faculty and Staff Benefits Survey to faculty and staff members involved in RLCs at institutions listed in the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International Institutional Database as offering learning communities.

Results revealed that faculty and staff members report gaining intrinsic benefits more often that extrinsic benefits from their involvement in residential learning communities. The results also indicated statistically significant difference between faculty members and student affairs staff members on 2 of the 30 benefits examined. Student affairs staff members were more likely to have received opportunities to participate in professional conference presentations than their faculty member counterparts, while faculty members were more likely to have shared research interests with students outside of the classroom than their student affairs staff member counterparts.