The Residential Learning Plan

The Residential Life department at Gustavus Adolphus College believes that learning occurs both in and out of the classroom.  Our residential program facilitates student learning through actively engaging residents in creating community and developing a sense of responsibility for their residence hall environment. These efforts seek to enhance the student learning experience while aligning with the college’s educational mission and remaining firmly rooted in its core values. The educational priority of the Gustavus Residential Learning Plan is that students will gain a deeper understanding of themselves and others in order to develop, lead and serve their local, national and global communities.

Learning Goals:

Each student at Gustavus Adolphus College will understand:

  1. the roles and responsibilities of living in community.
  2. how to build and sustain healthy relationships.
  3. the dynamics of individual identity development and connect that understanding to their personal behavior and choices.
  4. how to recognize the impact of and communicate across difference.
  5. how to develop and demonstrate concepts of effective leadership through service
  6. how to be an actively engaged citizen in their local, national, and global communities.

FY

SO

JR

SR

Individual in Community                                     

X

Healthy Relationships 

X

X

Individual Identity               

 

X

Group Identity                       

X

Leadership and

Service                                          

X

X

Actively Engaged Citizen

 

X

Strategies:

The Residential Learning Plan will be implemented in varying degrees based on the residential community being served. First-year residence halls will have a more intentional focus on developing identity and learning to live in community. Upperclass students will focus more on developing and extending relationships and, ultimately, how those relationships impact life in the broader community.

Strategies include:

  • individual meetings between residents and Collegiate Fellows.
  • monthly community meetings.
  • community calendars.
  • bulletin boards and door decorations.
  • social events and special traditional all-hall events.
  • leadership opportunities within residence halls.
  • Intentional Learning & Service program housing.

The Residential Learning Plan will integrate intellectual engagement with social interaction to create balanced, healthy, meaningful ways for residents to be involved in the life of their residence hall.