Adam French stuffed his laptop into his backpack and locked his Graham Hall dorm room on his way to statistics class. Despite the near-freezing temperatures outside, he left his coat.
That is because his class is downstairs.
The Department of Residential Life began its Residential College program with Herget Hall in fall 2000. East Laville Hall soon followed as an honors residential college, and Graham Hall was converted into an Information Technology Residential College in fall 2002.
“The big universities have been doing this for a long time,” said Saundra Granger, faculty coordinator for Graham Hall’s Information Technology Residential College.
The University of Maryland and University of North Carolina both have strong residential college programs, said Mimi Lavalle, communications manager for Residential Life.
“It’s a way to integrate first-year students into university life,” Lavalle said. “It makes being a college freshman a lot easier.”
The residential college’s most popular aspect is the presence of classrooms inside the dormitories.
“It’s pretty much dorm life,” French said. “Except that I have a smaller commute to my classes.”
The students, not surprisingly, find it easier to get to class on time.
“I can just roll out of bed and go to class,” said TaByron Tillis, a Graham Hall freshman. “It helped me adapt to college life.”
Granger said the next 10 years will bring a lot of changes to the University, one of those changes being residential life.
“I think we will move away from the barracks-style living arrangements,” Granger said.
The biggest advantage, according to Residential Life Coordinator Beth Elbert, is the community building that comes out of living in one of the residential colleges.
“They’re taking classes with students that live across the hall from them,” Elbert said. “This breaks down one of the initial walls that freshmen face.”     
This sense of community has several rewards for students in the residential college, Granger said.
Satisfaction goes up, retention rates are higher and the faculty and staff ensure safety, confidence and success, she said.
With the success of the colleges, Granger said the department has plans for more on the horizon. Most of these plans are for more theme-styled residential colleges, like the IT Residential College currently in Graham Hall.
“Why couldn’t there be a performing arts college?” Granger said. “Or a ROTC college?”
According to residential life’s newsletter, Graham Hall will be taken down in fall 2004 to provide the site for a new residential college complex. Broussard Hall will be renovated to provide a home for the IT Residential College during that time.
Plans are also in the works for an Economic Development Residential College in which students would work with community leaders to solve problems, Lavalle said.
Since the program is available only for freshmen, French cannot participate in the IT Residential College next year, but he said the experience has helped him adjust to college life.
“It’s a little community,” French said. “It’s nice to walk into a classroom and know people.”