New dorms at University of Iowa aim to keep more in ‘living learning communities’

IOWA CITY - A majority of the students living in University of Iowa residence halls are freshmen grouped into 'living learning communities” aimed at connecting pupils with similar interests and goals.

But the dormitories aren't dominated by first-year students due to lack of interest among those returning to campus. In fact, more than 1,200 returning students in 2013 signed contracts to live in the residence halls.

And interest persists, both on the part of students and administrators who want to see those returning to campus continue to reap the benefits of the residence system's living learning communities.

But space issues have forced the number of students returning to the halls to drop since 2013. In 2014 and 2015, the university took the uncommon step of allowing returning students with binding housing contracts out of their obligations to make room for larger first-year classes.

That's because housing freshmen on campus is the priority, and the university has been enrolling record-breaking first-year classes, said Von Stange, assistant vice president for Student Life and senior director of University Housing and Dining.

'With first-year students …

the research tells us they will be more successful if they live on campus,” Stange said. 'Those who are coming back, they have proven they can make the transition from living with their parents to living on their own.”

Still, he said, the university wants as many students with interest to be able to live in the residence halls - which, in part, is why the campus is building more.

'As the first-year class gets larger, the number of students who want to remain on campus gets larger as well,” Stange said, stressing the importance of retaining students not only from year one to two, but beyond.

'Those who live in campus housing their second year tend to have more success academically - and in other satisfaction areas - than those living off campus,” he said. 'So the opportunity to keep more returning students on campus is valuable to the university.”

‘It's a culture change'

Among the social and academic benefits of living on campus is the relatively new mandate that all residents participate in 'living learning communities,” which house students based on common interests, identity, or major. The university in fall 2013 became the first school in the Big 10 - and perhaps the first of its kind in the nation - to require dormitory residents to choose a community.

The 33 communities range from Hawkeye Pride, a generic group for new students wanting to explore the campus, to Well Beings, for those interested in physical and emotional health, to STEM Scholars, for 'high ability first-year students pursuing degrees in science, engineering or mathematics.”

Data requested and analyzed by The Gazette shows the UI's Hawkeye Pride community is the most popular with 2,259 students in 2014, followed by the Health Science community with 345 participants, and the BizHawks group with 313 students.

In addition to being housed together, students in each community are invited to participate in group activities, outings, and even study sessions - which is especially relevant for those groups with academic associations. The communities connect students with faculty and provide opportunities to build associations that can lead to job prospects.

When applying for housing, students rank their top five community choices and then receive information about each, including residence hall options. Stange said administrators want them to choose housing based on their community preference - not residence hall or roommate.

'But it's hard to control that,” he said. 'It's a culture change, and some will not (pick by LLC), but pick by building instead.”

Retention rates

The university began offering the living learning community experience more than 30 years ago but served no more than 30 percent of its residents, according to Stange. UI officials committed to involving 100 percent of its residence hall dwellers based on local and national success rates.

The Gazette's request for retention rates by community - the proportion of students in each group who returned to the university after their first year - showed seven with rates above 90 percent in 2013.

Communities with the highest retention rates included Popular Literature and Honors Research, both of which had 95 percent. Standing Ovation, which celebrates the arts such as dance, theater, and music, had a 93 percent retention rate, and Personal Impact, which caters to 'students aspiring to be leaders” had a 92 percent retention.

Only three communities had retention rates below 80 percent.

The Road Less Traveled, for transfer students, had a retention rate of just 33 percent.

The university has about 6,700 students slated to live on campus in some capacity this fall - about 21 percent of its total student body. That's why the university added a 501-bed Mary Louise Petersen Residence Hall on the west side of campus this fall and is building a 1,023-bed Madison Street Residence Hall on the east side of campus, expected to open in 2017.