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Laila Thurman- Project Four- The Impact On-Campus and Off-Campus Living Arrangements Have on Student Success

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Laila A. Thurman

Professor Weaver

English 1102

21 April 2022

 

The Impact On-Campus and Off-Campus Living Arrangements Have on Student Success

 

When students are accepted into the college of their dreams and are preparing to confirm their acceptance, there’s a certain process they go through. They cancel their other applications, call their parents to celebrate, check their financial aid package and begin to excitedly complete their next steps process.

 

Eventually, they’ll get to a screen that asks a simple, straightforward question, “Will you be living on campus; select yes or no.”

 

It’s an easy question to answer for some. But, for others, a bit more thought must be put into it before they can decide.

 

Some common questions run through their mind, such as:

 

How do the dorms look? Are they modern enough?

 

If they live off-campus, will their home be a reasonable distance away?

 

If they live on campus, will RAs be as big of an issue as they’re made out to be?

 

So many questions, so many outcomes, all hinging on one ‘yes or no’ question.

 

For being such an important consideration for college students, housing is rarely thought about outside of the aesthetics of Greek Life or the dread of a communal bathroom. But why is that? How can something so important be handled with such a blasé attitude? Don’t students know just how deeply housing can affect their college experience? How deeply it can affect their success?

 

The answer is they don’t.

 

At least, they don’t have a deep level of understanding. Most students will choose their housing option based on surface-level information. They don’t consider how the environment they live in will affect the environment school will become.

 

Currently, there are plenty of housing offices that help on-campus (i.e., residential) students make the best of their college experience.

 

Here are some examples of this:

 

They’re provided with Residential Assistants, also known as RAs, whose jobs are to optimize their living experience. Solving issues that pop up between roommates and checking the living spaces of students to make sure they’re being responsible and staying safe.

 

They’re also placed in prime locations that are near school amenities and services such as dining halls, school buildings, faculty offices, and recreation centers.

 

Residential students are cared for in a way off-campus (i.e., commuter) students have not seen since the 1970s.

 

After the 1913 Gott v. Berea College case. Which opened the door for colleges to stand in loco parentis” or in the place of a parent.  Colleges experienced a shift in responsibility. They were given the power to involve themselves with student welfare outside of the classroom, and as this responsibility evolved, most colleges became institutions that strived to literally “be a better parent.”

 

Off-campus housing offices were created, and housing staff worked with students, city and state officials, and locals to find the best places for off-campus students to live. According to Kate Rousmaniere, author of the article, “What Happened to Your College Town: The Changing Relationship Between Higher Education and College Towns,” the goal of these offices was to “designate and maintain appropriate housing lists which would indicate to students that the listed property had passed health and safety inspections and university provisions.”

 

This level of care and involvement from universities in the goings-on of commuter students has not been seen in the decades since off-campus housing offices lost power. Currently, on-campus housing has become the most popular living arrangement, and in the eyes of students and universities alike, on-campus living is the only way to receive a fulfilling college education.

 

America has become enamored with the idea of the dorm.

 

America has become bewitched by the thought of Greek Living.

 

America has become addicted to the idea that the only way for students to take advantage of their education is for them to live on-campus.

 

Students who live off-campus are often accused of being less serious about their studies and less willing to pursue higher education. They are also seen as less valuable members of their college communities, and oftentimes, they face ridicule from the very institutions that make their college experience as unengaging as it is.

 

While it is true that most of the issues that arise with students who live off-campus result in lower grades, less engagement with their universities, less dedication to their classes, and lower retention rates, these results are not solely the fault of commuter students. The lack of attention being placed on off-campus housing has damaged the way these students receive their education.

 

College is not just about going to classes and getting a passing grade, though that is a major part of it, college is about the experience it can give to students. Study abroad programs, movie nights, concerts, playing bingo, all of these different socialization opportunities are very important ways colleges help their students succeed.

 

After all, when a feeling of community is present, students are more likely to remain at a university to pursue higher education.

 

To really understand the role housing has on students’ college success, we must begin by focusing on ‘good housing, ‘i.e., On-campus living arrangements.

 

At most universities, living on-campus looks a little something like this.

 

Let’s assume that our hypothetical student is taking the standard 12 credit hours per semester.

 

Two classes each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

 

Between classes, they give themself several hours to return to their dorm and relax while completing homework. If they run into an issue, it’s no problem. They can just drop by the tutoring center or ask a classmate who happens to live down the hall.

 

Once they complete their work, they could nap or go to the recreation center and work out.

 

A few hours later, before they go to their next class, they head to the dining hall, which just so happens to be less than five minutes away from where they live.

They eat a full meal, prepared by the staff, of course, before heading to their second class.

 

By the time their day completes, they’ll have taken advantage of several different amenities and services provided by the university. All of which are easy to use and locate as a residential student.

 

According to Ryan Bronkema and Nicolas Bowman, authors of A Residential Paradox?: Residence Hall Attributes and College Student Outcomes, living on campus is one of the most important college experiences. Living in a dorm or suite or even a university apartment can contribute to a wide range of learning, cognitive, attitudinal, educational, and psychosocial attainment outcomes.

 

In layman’s terms, living on-campus results in a more well-rounded student. There’s a sense of belonging and integration that has been thought to lead to greater educational attainment. However, this doesn’t mean that residential students get higher grades than commuter students. Instead, greater educational attainment refers to residential students having a larger percentage of their population who attend a majority of their classes, make connections with their professors and other faculty members, and complete the courses they enroll in while continuing to pursue higher education.

 

Now, it’s time to explore what off-campus living looks like.

 

Once again, let’s assume that during the school year, our hypothetical student takes the standard 12 credit hours a semester.

 

They have to take two classes a day, but the way these classes must be organized is a bit less forgiving.

 

Instead of these classes being spread out over the morning and the afternoon, our hypothetical student has to put the classes closer together in order to avoid traffic and make time to study while at school.

 

Before leaving, they must consider the time it takes to get to school in the morning on top of the time it will take them to walk to their class. If they drive, they must consider how heavy traffic is. If they use public transport, they have to run on a very tight schedule to make sure they catch their bus or train at the exact right time. And, if they use rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft, they’ll have to hope that 1.) they have enough money to pay for the driving costs and 2.) that the estimated time on the app is actually the amount of time it will take for that driver to arrive.

 

Once they arrive, they’ll head to their first class of the day, and once that class ends, they’ll give themselves around 30 minutes to find a place to sit and relax and try to do some homework before leaving for their second class.

 

By the time this student finishes their classes, they’ll head to the dining hall to microwave their lunch or buy something from the vending machine. 

 

After they finish lunch, they’ll head to the library or another quiet area and begin to study and try to complete their homework. If they think the work is hard, they’ll go to the tutoring center after they’re completely finished with the work they can complete on their own. They don’t want to lose their good spot.

 

Once they finish, they walk all the way to the tutor, only to find a long line of students already there. And once they check the time, they realize they have to leave in the next few minutes before traffic gets too overwhelming and leaves them stuck on the highway for an hour or two.

 

By the time their day completes, they’ll have taken advantage of very few amenities and services offered at the university, but not for lack of trying. Amenities like libraries or dining halls are easy to enjoy and locate as a commuter student, but it can be hard to fit your school schedule around your life schedule when you have to factor in the extra time actually commuting to and from campus will take up.

 

As you can see from the average day of a commuter student, it is harder to reach greater educational attainment.

 

Unlike residential students, commuters don’t have their entire life stationed on campus. There is no bed to nap in when they’re waiting for their next class; for some, there is no dining hall to look forward to. There is no classmate down the hall to rely on. But most importantly, there is no time to truly relax while on-campus.

 

Unlike residential students, commuters see their school as just that, a school.

 

It’s not home.

 

It’s not a comfy place to nap.

 

It’s not the place to shower and change into their favorite pajamas.

 

It’s just a place to learn, and sometimes, it’s a place where random events take place.

 

Through no fault of their own, and for better or worse, these students lack the ability to take advantage of certain college benefits. Living off-campus makes it difficult to wait things out and to be there when important activities pop up. There’s a level of planning that goes into every interaction commuter students have with their campus, and that can make it difficult to go beyond the bare minimum, especially when that bare minimum is already so difficult for some to commit to.

 

The experiences that college students have depends on them and their school. There is no one size fits all experience that describes all types of students, and what has been described is only meant to create an idea of what these two types of housing options could offer the students who experience them.

 

In the end, living either on or off-campus contributes to student success in more ways than just getting eight hours of sleep vs. none at all. Full range meal plans, access to schools’ resources, quick commutes from home to class, along with several other benefits, are offered almost exclusively to students in on-campus housing. And even when commuters get the option to use these resources, their involvement is almost always an afterthought.

 

Having access to all of these things with little fanfare means that students who live on campus have an already obvious advantage over students who don’t. And, despite going to the same universities and paying for the same level courses, it’s no secret that these institutions are more focused on residential students than they are on commuters. Sure, the resulting difference is less likely to present itself in Grade Point Averages, but GPAs are only one part of why students are labeled as successful. The advantage of residential students is more than just grades; it’s the access they have to the full college experience.

Works Cited 

Rousmaniere, Kate. “What Happened to Your College Town: The Changing Relationship of Higher Education and College Towns, 1940-2000.” History of Education Quarterly, 2021, pp. 320–340., https://doi.org/10.1017/heq.2021.31.

Henning, Gavin. “Is in Consortio Cum Parentibus the New in Loco Parentis?” NASPA Journal, vol. 44, no. 3, 2007, pp. 538–560., https://doi.org/10.2202/1949-6605.1835.

Alfano, Halley J., and Nina B. Eduljee. “Differences in Work, Levels of Involvement, and Academic Performance between Residential and Commuter Students.” College Student Journal, 3 Nov. 2014.

Bronkema, Ryan, and Nicholas A. Bowman. “A Residential Paradox?: Residence Hall Attributes and College Student Outcomes.” Journal of College Student Development, vol. 58, no. 4, May 2017, pp. 624–630., https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2017.0047.

 

Group One Section 298 ENGL 1102

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Hello, our names are, Ayanna C., Alyssa H., Laila T., Keith K., and we are group one!

One healthy thing we did during finals was study in a space that was meant for studying. These spaces included the library and other designated study areas that were located on the Clarkston campus. By studying this way, we were able to leave our stress at school instead of taking it home. We drew a boundary and we stuck to it. This way we didn’t have to worry about our peace being disrupted. (Laila and Keith)

Find time to decompress and intertwine it into your study schedule.
Step 1- identify something that is a stress reliever for you.
step 2 – make time to do this in order to relax and not overwork yourself
step 3 – during your study session when you notice your brain tapping out, know that it is ok to stop and take a break. (Ayanna and Alyssa)

As a group, one thing healthy thing we think everyone should do during finals is to find a designated study space and make time to relax once you’re finished studying there.

This means finding a quiet space, usually a library or another spot in the university that is made for studying, and staying there while you review for finals. You should have all the equipment you would use gathered beforehand and inside of a bag that is easy to place down on the floor. Your bag should have the essentials (books, notebooks, pens, multi-colored highlighters, and any technology you would use to retrieve online information.) and any non-essential items you deem necessary (snacks, headphones, laptop stands, water, pillows, etc.). The atmosphere should be calming and quiet, but if not use the headphones. This should take at least one hour and can last until the university closes. Once you go home, find time to relax. Go into your room, lie down, and sleep, or just take time to complete a hobby. You should get dressed in something soft and comfortable and you should always make sure to find a place you feel comfortable. The only materials you need when decompressing are things that you know make you comfortable. 

SAR Project – Laila Thurman

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Laila A. Thurman

Professor Weaver

English 1102 Section 298 

7 March 2022

 

 

Summary

 

The Fashion Institute of Art and Design looks for students who are innovative and aspire to not only participate in the fashion and design industries but lead them on the global stage. Students with these characteristics should attend this school to connect with industry leaders and network with peers, alumni, and affiliated organizations. This institute structures its website to speak directly to those who appreciate the finer things in life and implements the rhetorical strategy of Kairos to appeal to modern students.

 

 

Analysis  

 

On the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising’s website, there is a lot of information for prospective students to sift through. The website speaks of its Los Angeles campus, its mission to promote sustainable practices, connections to the fashion industry, and alumni success stories. As stated in the previous paragraph, the website’s structure is used to speak directly to the hearts of students who appreciate refined designs. Bold colors and simplistic page components help the institution ‘pop’ and remain in the mind of students who can see themselves as leaders and global influencers within the art, design, fashion, and entertainment industries.

 

At its core, FIDM is an art school. It speaks to those who are creative and who think outside the box. Its advertising reflects this, which is why the FIDM Look Book exists. The Look Book is the best place to begin speaking about structure. According to the FIDM, the Look Book helps prospective students “learn more about what it’s like to be a student at FIDM.” (fidm.edu, Look Book 2021) This Look Book offers a glimpse into life inside the institution and provides well-organized layouts to appeal to those with an eye for design. The aesthetically pleasing pages provide an average amount of information, but it isn’t the information that’s important here. At least not the written kind. The design of the look book, its structure, is organized with several eye-catching components at the forefront. Large photos of Los Angeles, candid photos of students working, and photos of brand collaborations and work opportunities fill the pages and allow students to visualize themselves at the school.

 

All of the information inside the FIDM Look Book can be found on the institution’s website. However, the organization of the lookbook is much more detailed, acting as an advertisement for the benefits of attending FIDM. It is important to remember that this is an institute of design and merchandising. Every decision made on the website and the accompanying materials is likely made by professionals who work at or with the school. These professionals know how to grab an audience’s attention and use their structuring to guide that audience where they need to go. In this case, the audience is directed towards the Look Book and other colorful parts of the website instead of the deeper information such as pricing, education, and financial aid.

 

Moving past the website’s design, the next way the structure is used to influence students is through the organization of the website’s success stories page. For context, the website’s mission statement states, “FIDM Graduates embrace cultural diversity and ethical choice while advancing the well-being of their communities.” (fidm.edu, About) The structure of this page provides evidence that supports this statement. By starting with a graduate named Robin Coté, who hosted the Indigen-US fashion show on March 5, 2022, the web page does its best to highlight the different successes of BIPOC students and alumni along with students from other marginalized groups such as the LGBTQ+ community. Coté, who, according to the FIDM website is, “… from the Cote First Nations, which is located in Saskatchewan, Canada,” is a Native American graduate. (fidm.edu, Success Stories) She, along with other alumni such as James Flemons and Sarah Choi, are able to show FIDM’s fulfillment of their mission statement along with their alumni connection and networking opportunities. (fidm.edu, Success Stories)

 

Outside of structure, FIDM also takes great care to utilize the rhetorical strategy of Kairos. According to Elizabeth Losh and Jonathan Alexander, authors of Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing, Kairos is “a larger rhetorical strategy that focuses on Awareness of the appropriate timing, occasion, or opportunity for a given rhetorical act.” Most examples of this strategy are located within the look book, but a few managed to sneak inside the campus life section of the website.

 

Starting with the sustainability section of the lookbook, it can be assumed that FIDM’s focus on this practice stems from the popularization of sustainable fashion and climate activism. People (both prospective students and others) have begun to criticize the wastefulness of industries involved in fashion and design. By placing information about sustainability on a spread dedicated entirely to showcasing the institution’s commitment, FIDM aims to entice those aware of the damages caused by plastic packaging and exploitative trade. (FIDM Look Book, 32) As of right now, with climate change and other global emergencies, the emphasis placed on sustainability and ethicality has become mainstream.

 

Following the sustainability section of the look book comes the website’s global industry practice. As stated in the FIDM’s mission statement, “FIDM’s engaging learning environment and rigorous programs of study develop graduates who become leaders in the industries of global design and business.” (fidm.edu, About) It is no secret that global trade networks make the world go round, and fashion has always been a field that thrived from globalization. FIDM makes sure to recognize that history as they advertise the benefits of attending their institution. The goal of FIDM is to attract students who have the potential to become leaders in their respective industries. These students connect with FIDM’s alumni success stories and are then influenced by that success to apply.

 

Response

 

 Personally, I would not attend FIDM. Even if the school was affordable and the campus was located in Georgia, it would be a waste of time without an interest in fashion, design, or merchandising. Even if I was interested in the majors at this school, FIDM’s status as a for-profit university makes me wary. While FIDM does a lot more for its students than most institutions like it, they still hide a lot of information behind a difficult-to-navigate website. They invest in internships, scholarships, supplies, and physical campus, and I know they partner with GUESS to study sustainability. But, outside of their brag sheet, it’s hard to find facts like average GPA, graduation rate, retention rate, and classes offered within majors. Overall, they have an impressive catalog of benefits. However, the difficult-to-navigate website is impossible to ignore. In the end, FIDM is an impressive school. The students it promotes seem to be happy and satisfied with their education. Though nontraditional, the alumni showcased on the success stories website lead me to believe that it fulfills and promotes growth for many of those who choose to attend. Finally, FIDM lacks a student community due to its campus living situation. Community is one of my most important values because those who surround you support you. Since there is no community formed at this university, there is no established support group, which is another nail in the coffin. Even in a perfect world, I would continue to have no interest in attending FIDM.

 

Works Cited 

Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. “Your Storybegins Here.” FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, https://fidm.edu/.

“FIDM Home Page.” FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, https://fidm.edu/.

Losh, Elizabeth M., et al. Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. Bedford/St. Martin’s, Macmillan Learning, 2021.

 

 

 

Who is She? The Academic Profile of Mizaan Arshad

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Mizaan Arshad is a student who brings a new meaning to the phrase, “study hard to study harder”.  From her dreams for the future to her biggest motivators, Mizaan gave me thoughtful and thorough answers to every question I asked her. You may be asking, ‘who is she?”, and “what’s so special about her responses?”, well, I’m about to tell you. Welcome to the Academic Profile of Mizaan Arshad.

Mizaan was bullied as a child and often spent time alone. She completed her work and participated in class, but she still felt uncomfortable. Eventually, Mizaan’s family decided to enroll her in an online school, where she would complete her high school coursework in only eight months.

When I asked her why she was motivated to finish so quickly, she responded, “When you’re younger, you’re more ambitious. You have more opportunities, and you have more time. I’m too young to work, and I’m too young to have other things to do, so I feel like I have more energy to put into my education and succeed.”

And succeed, she has. At only fifteen years old, Mizaan has joined Georgia State University’s Honors College. She works hard and has found many different motivations to move forward and receive an education.

The biggest motivator?

The life she says waits for her without education.

“I realize that I’m a minority in many different senses of the word. It’s hard keeping up with studying and assignments, but my background is what pushes me to keep going; it pushes me to prove to people that traditional life is not what I want and not how I have to live,” said Mizaan.

Mizaan has crafted her academic self under insurmountable pressures, and it shows. When I asked what the three words that described her academic self were, she told me that she picked Determined, Focused, and Isolated. These three descriptors are perfectly reflected in the beliefs she shared and the stories she told me during the interview.

Her focus shines through with her ability to complete meaningful work in less than half the time it takes traditionally; even as I write this, she works next to me, focused entirely on the task in front of her.

Her determination was revealed when I asked her about her college journey, specifically, where she would like to take this journey once she graduates with a degree in science.

 “No matter what, I’ve told myself I’m going to an Ivy League. My major is undecided, but it will be something in STEM, definitely … I believe it’s super important to major in something that can go towards your career path,” says Mizaan.

Her Isolation shined through when I asked her how graduating so early influenced the development of her academic self. She answered with this explanation, “To me, my academic self doesn’t describe my social habits. It describes the mindset I bring to school and the purpose of why I’m here. I’m here to learn not to pursue social things. That’s my purpose.”

Not many people finish high school in such a short time, and while Mizaan is proud of this accomplishment, she also explained the downside of graduating so quickly. Her explanation led me to question if any of the class readings or videos helped her combat these struggles. She responded, “Dr. Chew’s ‘How to Study’ series has helped me to understand what I’m doing. It’s difficult keeping up with materials and class prep. This video series gave me a sort of roadmap and helped me get more confident in my time management and my study process.”

Dr. Chew’s study series contains advice that all students can utilize. It introduces methods like deep-level thinking and creating a productive study space. 

Mizaan has shown that she is ready and willing to do whatever she can to stay at the top of her game, but why? What pushes her to remain steadfast? Who builds her determination and helps her remember what awaits at the end of this journey?

When I asked Mizaan who her biggest influence was, she didn’t hesitate to answer, “My mother… she’s so hardworking even without an education. It’s so motivating living with someone who didn’t get the same opportunities yet still wants the best for you.”

Following this, I asked about her mentor, and just as quickly, she answered, “My aunt. She’s shown me how to stay organized, create my schedule, and the best ways to study. She doesn’t help me to be average; She helps me reach for the top and healthily achieve above-average success.”

Mizaan worked hard to get where she is, and the help of those around her has only fueled her resolve. When I asked her about the frustrations she held with college, she responded, “It’s honestly hard to think of any complaints since I’m so thankful to be here,” which is entirely understandable. 

Mizaan Arshad is an anomaly in the best way. She has worked hard to be where she is, and she is not afraid of what is laid before her. Why would she be? Her academic self continues to grow every day, and from this conversation alone, it was evident that the rest of her is growing with it. Determined, focused, Isolated; these words are what Mizaan used to describe her academic self, but let’s add one more: resilient.

 

 

                                                                              Mizaan Arshad

 

Citation

Arshad, Mizaan. Interview. Conducted by Laila Thurman, 24 January 2022.

Chew, Stephen. “How to Study.” How to Get the Most Out of Studying, 25 Mar. 2015, https://www.samford.edu/departments/academic-success-center/how-to-study.