Abstract
This program will discuss the University of New Orleans'
newest approach to collaboration: Affinity Housing.
Affinity Housing opened in Fall 2013 with four new
affinity wings: iLEAD *(involvement/leadership), New
Orleans Culture, Transfer Experience, and Honors.
Affinity Housing was created and implemented through
campus partnerships: Housing, Student Involvement
and Leadership, Orientation, and First Year Experience.
Through reviewing theories centered around
Transformative Learning, this presentation will focus on
campus partnerships that create a holistic on campus
living experience for new students.
Overview
• Introduction
• Affinity
Housing
Overview
Background
• Theoretical Framework
• Implementation Process
• Student Response
• Future Growth
•
• Collaborations
Other UNO Successes
• Lessons Learned
•
• Discussion
AFFINITY
HOUSING
Background
• University
of New Orleans
4 year, urban research institution in the heart of New
Orleans, LA
• Primarily a commuter campus
• Three housing options: Pontchartrain Hall, Lafitte Village,
Privateer Place
•
• Factors
Impacting the Need for Affinity Housing
First year live-on requirement implemented Fall 2013
• Poor retention rates
• Need for community building
• Budget limitations
• “Do more with less”
•
Theoretical Framework
•
Astin’s Theory of Involvement
•
•
•
•
•
•
Investment of psychosocial and physical energy
Involvement is continuous
Involvement has qualitative and quantitative features
Development is related to quality and quantity of involvement
Educational effectiveness related to student involvement
Tinto’s Theory of Student Departure
•
•
•
•
•
Pre-entry attributes
Goals and commitments
Institutional experiences
Integration
Outcomes
Departmental Roles in
Implementation
•
Student Housing
•
•
•
•
•
•
Adding Affinity Housing
wing options to student
housing application
Coordinating rooms by
themes
Oversee the maintenance
and day-to-day operations
of each wing
RA training
Policy implementation
Student Involvement &
Leadership
Serve as professional staff
liaisons for affinity wings
• One-on-one guidance to
RA’s
• Provide materials to assist
•
•
Orientation and First Year
Experience
Serve as professional staff
liaisons for affinity wings
• One-on-one guidance to
RA’s
• Promote Affinity Housing to
new students
•
•
Shared Responsibilities
Marketing Affinity Housing
to new students
• Selection of affinity wing
RA’s
• Programming costs divided
evenly across departments
•
Timeline
August 2011 – Announcement of first-year residential
requirement, informal discussion regarding impact of the
new policy.
• August 2012 – Office discussion increased, taking into
account new professional staff with diverse experiences.
• September 2012 – Themed housing research began.
• November 2012 – Affinity Housing survey distributed to
first-year students to determine need and interest.
• December 2012 – Informal discussion and brainstorming.
Redesigning RA selection and training.
• January 2013 – Informal meeting to determine
departmental interest.
• February 2013 – Formal meeting to discuss foundation.
Affinity Housing committee formed.
• March 2013 – RA Selection.
• Summer 2013 – Promotion and implementation.
• July 2013 – Student Housing transitions from Business
Affairs to Student Affairs.
•
Affinity Housing Summary
• Housing
communities centered on special
interest themes
• iLEAD
Leadership Wing
• New Orleans Culture Wing
• Transfer Student Wing
• Honors Wing
• Collaborative initiative sponsored
• Student Housing
• Student Involvement & Leadership
• Enrollment Services
by:
Student Response
• 68%
of students agreed with the statement
“I feel that selecting Affinity Housing has
positively impacted my residential living
experience.”
• building
connections with other students as a positive
outcome of living in housing
• these connections “pushed [him/her] into being a big
leader” and “helped [him/her] to succeed” by being
with like-minded individuals, particularly in the
Honors and iLEAD wings.
• Personal Growth & Development
• Responses were generally positive and students
reported higher levels of growth and development
compared to the responses of all students living oncampus.
Student Response
% AGREE OR STRONGLY AGREE
My campus living experience has contributed
positively to my growth and development in… (Selfreported)
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
relationships with understanding
others.
yourself.
understanding
people of other
backgrounds.
understanding developing your contributing to
people with
personal values
the welfare of
different beliefs,
and ethics.
your community.
opinions, or
values.
AXIS TITLE
Affinity Housing
ALL Housing
Future Growth
• Improved
Theme
Implementation
• Increased Faculty
Involvement
• Sophomore-Focused
Affinity Housing
COLLABORATIONS
Other Successful
Collaborations
• Privateer
Camp – Enrollment Services, Student
Involvement & Leadership
• Transfer Retreat for Leadership (TRL) - Enrollment
Services, Student Involvement & Leadership
• Privateer Plunge – Enrollment Services, Student
Involvement & Leadership, college departments
• StrengthsQuest Committee - Enrollment Services,
Student Involvement & Leadership, Counseling
Services, Career Services, Athletics
• First Year Interest Groups – First Year Experience,
Faculty
• De-Stress Fest – First Year Experience, First Year
Advising, Counseling Services, Health Services,
Student Involvement & Leadership
• Senior Week - Student Involvement & Leadership,
Alumni Affairs
Things to Consider
• Don’t
be limited by your departmental silos.
• You are more than your title. Take into account your
talents, hobbies, and experience.
• Different departments will bring unique insights and
approaches to the same project.
• Successful collaborations involve more than
interdepartmental budget transfers.
• There is a difference between being open to
collaborate and stepping on others’ toes.
• Many collaborations begin as informal conversations
between colleagues before they develop into
implementable programs.
DISCUSSION
Discussion
• In
small groups, please discuss crosscampus collaborations of which you’ve
been a part. What key factors
contributed to your success?
• What potential opportunities for
collaboration do you see on your
campus?
• In larger groups, share some of the
themes discussed in small groups.
Brainstorm possible roadblocks and
ways you might work around them.
References
• Astin,
A. (1993). What matters in college: Four critical
years revisited. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Clark,
M. (2014, March 07). A practical guide to
institutional change. Retrieved from
http://chronicle.com/blogs/future/2014/03/07/apractical-guide-for-institutional-change/.
• Tinto,
V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the
causes and cures of student attrition. (2nd ed.).
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Tinto,
V. (2003). Learning better together: The impact
of learning communities on student success. Higher
Education Monograph Series, 2003-1, Higher
Education Program, School of Education, Syracuse
University.
Questions? Contact us.
•Christy
Heaton, [email protected]
•Dale O’Neill, [email protected]
•LeeAnne Sipe, [email protected]