Employees in service-oriented, relationship-based jobs are prone to experiencing feelings of burnout. As such, paraprofessional staff in college housing environments, resident assistants (RAs), are not immune to its effects. Since navigating relationships is the root cause of burnout, it makes sense to focus on the relationships between…

There are many factors that occur outside the classroom to impact a student's college experience. In fact, positive residential experiences have often been linked to greater persistence and graduation rates. This qualitative study examined the experiences of Black students in residential housing. Unique to this study, a student of color,…

Previous literature demonstrates the widespread impact of on-campus living for Black college students in terms of a sense of belonging, community building, and campus engagement. In contrast, this study specifically explored within-group differences (e.g., gender identity, sexual orientation, and ability status) in Black undergraduates' housing…

International students' experiences of multicultural living-learning communities were explored using consensual qualitative research. Fifteen female international students attending a university in the mid-Atlantic region were interviewed in five focus groups. Participants reported that the benefits of multicultural living-learning communities…

The residential community is a key part of the college experience simply because students spend a large majority of their time in the places where they live. Given this fact, a student's interactions and engagement with their community can positively impact their learning experience. We utilized a constructivist, qualitative, phenomenological…

Examining the role of inclusion assistants as part of a redesigned residential life curriculum at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) in the Midwest served as the impetus for this qualitative case study. The inclusion assistants program was designed to increase the support provided to students with underrepresented identities (e.g., students…

Students in the autism community are a currently underrepresented, yet growing, population in higher education, which strives to understand student experiences on campus and find ways to better support students with autism. This qualitative research study examined the expectations and experiences of seven students on the autism spectrum in…

LGBTQ+ supportive practices in college and university housing must extend beyond cursory policies and practice. Applying a critical framework, The Traditionally Heterogendered Institution (THI), this study explores the experiences of 16 LGBTQ+ students navigating college and university housing. Findings illustrate how colleges and universities…

Disabled students may face ableist challenges in the campus residential environment. Although campus housing plays a critical role in retention by promoting social integration, little is known about what promotes the engagement of disabled students in campus living environments because the literature about these students focuses on legal topics or…

Bias-related incidents targets students from historically marginalized populations regularly. These experiences may have emotional, physiological, and even physical consequences causing these students to have lower retention rates in higher education. Through individual interviews and a follow-up focus group, eight participants shared their…

Though lauded as a best practice, gender-inclusive housing has engendered little empirical attention. This study explored the experience of genderinclusive housing from the perspective of trans* students. While they were overwhelmingly positive in their appreciation for the existence of this housing option, issues of access, training, and the…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) student perceptions of their residence hall environments are influenced by interactions with peers, resident assistants, residential life administrators, and campus policies. Using the tradition of storytelling and drawing upon the experience of 11 LGBTQ participants, this article provides a…

Various state and federal policies and regulations have made higher education more accessible to undocumented students over the past few years. As undocumented students continue to enroll in colleges and universities across the country, higher education professionals must be equipped with knowledge and skills to provide them with equitable…

Students from low-income families consistently trail behind their peers in retention and degree attainment. Research on college student experiences suggests that low-income students experience "cultural mismatch" at college--they feel that their backgrounds are at odds with the middle-class values dominant on campus (Armstrong &…

The experience of second-year students has been the focus of many studies that have identified the broad concerns of the second-year experience, but limited attention has been given to how the experience differs for African American students. This study attempts to fill that gap. The research described here was part of a larger study examining the…