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-today 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 in
programming
•
•
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.
• Fall 2013 – Continued assessment.
•
Affinity Housing Summary
• Housing communities centered on special
• iLEAD Leadership Wing
• New Orleans Culture Wing
• Transfer Student Wing
• Honors Wing
• Collaborative initiative sponsored
• Student Housing
• Student Involvement & Leadership
• Enrollment Services
by:
interest themes
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
on-campus.
Student Response
% AGREE OR STRONGLY AGREE
My campus living experience has contributed positively to my growth
and development in… (Self-reported)
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 cross-campus
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/a-practicalguide-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, cheaton@uno.edu
•Dale O’Neill, dmoneill@uno.edu
•LeeAnne Sipe, lsipe@uno.edu