How do and should students develop--emotionally, socially, intellectually, morally, and spiritually--on a college campus and, more particularly, as members of a residential learning community? What advantages does a learning community offer over the more fragmented and specialized cafeteria of courses in place on most campuses? What new structures…

Examines the question of how to restructure college campuses to encourage the new kinds of collaborative and contextual learning vital for the future of higher education. Because these new forms of learning draw on the interplay of both the university's and community's resources, this quest is described as the search for a college commons.…

Recounts personal experience of moving from a faculty position to a residential learning community position. Discusses how components of the residential college model of education (community, integration, cooperation) make for a very different student experience. Suggests this model represents a viable educational experiment that prizes…