Living and Learning at Elon

Living-Learning Communities were developed over a decade ago at Elon University in order to extend positive interactions between students and faculty beyond the classroom. These intimate, intentional learning-centered communities advance student learning and citizenship by engaging students adn faculty in activities planned around a shared class, academic program or intellectual interest. Living in the residence halls affects your entire experience at Elon by providing you with premier residential and dining facilities, guidance from a wide range of Elon staff and faculty members, and a Residence Life student and professional staff committed to student learning. Residence Life goals include academic achievement, lifelong learning, personal development, and awareness and leadership/communication skills.

To learn more about students' involvement in learning communities, download and view our powerpoint presentation by clicking here.

Our Mission Statement
We are invested in creating environments that engage and support Elon students in active learning and the development of enriched communities. Peer interaction and learning activities foster the student experience to maximize educational opportunities.

As a department we value diversity, respect, responsibility and involvement as students pursue curricular and co-curricular endeavors. We are committed to creating an integrated learning community for our students to grow and become active members of the global society.

To assist in the attainment of these goals, the department endeavors to:

• Build communities that celebrate and support relationships, interactions and the inclusion of students,
• Employ well-trained staff members capable of engaging students in the learning and growth process,
• Provide effective and innovative services to meet student needs, and
• Manage facilities that support the basic needs and safety of students while creating an atmosphere conducive to learning.

Key Facts about Residence Life at Elon
Elon houses 2,700 students in residential housing including on and off campus apartments, Greek houses and traditional and suite-style residence halls.

Elon Residence Life supports a self-governing student leadership model where residents take ownership for their community environment through area councils and various residential leadership opportunities. Elon's Resident Student Association won the 2003 Genie Award for Spirit at a recent NCARH conference.

Residence Life partners with the academic arena by supporting three faculty-in-residence; coordinating Global Studies courses to be taught in each of the residence hall areas; and providing learning communities, such as the Communications floor, the Creative Arts floor, the Math/Science/Engineering floor, the Honors Pavilion, the International Pavilion, and The Service Learning Community.

The Residence Life department maintains a staff leadership model that provides approximately one Resident Advisor per floor to offer support and challenge to the residential community. Residence Life currently employees 34 Resident Advisors, 6 Housing Assistants (RAs for the apartments) and 22 Head Residents. Four full-time live-on professionals supervise these student staff members.

Elon opened the first Academic Village facilities (Honors and International) in fall 2002 along with approximately 130 new spaces in the Danieley Center flats and apartments.

Residence Life kicked off new student leadership initiatives in Fall 2002 by offering all student staff the opportunity to examine and learn from their staff experience as part of the Experiential Learning Requirement and by creating six new student-staff leadership teams (Diversity, Staff Leadership Council, Staff Selection, Training/Inservices, Technology, the Resident Student Association, and Camps and Conferences). Additionally, a group of Head Residents has just created a faculty/staff mentor project to connect Elon faculty and staff to the residential living/learning experience.