Those from marginalized populations, many of whom are first-generation college students (FGCS), often face barriers to accessing secondary education (Pitre & Pitre, 2009). Additionally, when students from such groups do successfully enroll in post-secondary educational opportunities, their graduation rates remain low (DeAngelo, Franke,…

In this chapter, the authors share insights from a dialogue project focused on intersectionality within a residential life setting and discuss additional strategies for helping students understand intersectionality.

S.I.S.T.A., suffering in silence to be acknowledged, is an acronym that symbolizes the hidden voices of Black women in higher education and abroad. This study examined the experiences of a graduate student woman of color impacted by university housing policies and practices as a judicial student conduct officer at a historically white institution.…

This issue of "New Directions" provides an overview of the increasing numbers of students who are experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, and food insecurity. College presidents are in a unique position to lead campus efforts to identify students in need and to develop strategies for supporting this increasing, often invisible,…

Promoting staff well-being has been a challenge for many residence life departments long before the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decrease in the mental well-being of the general population as well as in residence life staff. The stressful work environment and demanding work hours in residence life have been linked to burnout and intentions to leave…

The well-being of college students can be impacted by aspects of the physical environment, especially during key life transitions such as beginning college during a pandemic. This repeated cross-sectional study investigates the influence of a newly constructed living-learning neighborhood on first-year residents' mental well-being, specifically…

Objective: This study aimed to identify the types and frequency of acute medical events at a university with a collegiate-based emergency medical services (CBEMS) agency. Participants: Patients who requested assistance from the studied CBEMS agency, which provides emergency medical services coverage at a medium-sized urban university. Methods:…

This chapter analyzes research of gender-inclusive housing policies at four-year institutions and current policies at two-year institutions using open systems theory to provide recommendations on how practitioners can best utilize these policies to create a greater inclusive campus environment.

In the UK, students are more likely to live away from home than students in other countries, which affects the nature of the student experience in profound ways. In this paper, the Oxford historian William Whyte considers why the residential model is so dominant, looks at what it means for students and poses some important questions about the…

Policymakers have been debating the Bennett Hypothesis--whether colleges increase tuition after the federal government increases access to student loans--for decades. Yet most of the prior research has focused on studying small changes to loan limits or Pell Grants for undergraduate students. In this study, I examine whether business schools (the…

Mid-level managers have the difficult task of juggling needs and direction of entry-level staff with the demanding outcomes from their supervisors and senior leadership. To be successful, they must maneuver through demanding expectations from their supervisors while simultaneously garnering buy-in from those they directly supervise in order to…

Housing and residence life has identified the need and priority to recenter the purprose and role of our work in a post-COVID world. Housing and residence life has not, in the same way, identified the need and priority to critically examine how the systems and models of our work are founded within an oppressive system, steeped in whiteness and…

Many students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience substantial difficulties with socialization and independence, and college campuses often lack appropriate support services in these areas. Residential advisors (RAs), who are trained to support all students living on campus, could be uniquely prepared to positively contribute to the…

Even though a postsecondary degree can offer economic, social, and civic benefits, many community college students leave without earning a degree--including some who have performed well academically and made substantial progress toward graduation. To better understand the factors contributing to early exit, we surveyed a number of former students…

Using findings from a national study of trans* students' experiences in gender-inclusive housing, we argue student affairs educators must move toward gender-inclusive housing as an intentional--rather than best--practice. We frame this innovation in the practice of gender-inclusive housing through findings related to the need to perform ongoing…