Residential Learning Communities
College students spend the great majority of their time outside of the classroom. Many of the life lessons and skills that an undergraduate should develop during his college years must be learned during this vast amount of largely unstructured time. These lessons include: communication skills, conflict management, decision-making, relationship building, organizational skills, project management, stress management, tolerance, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and so much more.
SigEp’s Residential Learning Community (RLC) program was established in 2000 as a guide for chapters to create a more powerful living-learning environment. The RLC concept expands upon traditional residential college models from Oxford and Cambridge, and recent research within higher education. Students in living-learning communities have higher overall grades, are more engaged in on campus activities, and are more likely to spend their time outside of the classroom developing the life skills they need to succeed after graduation.
The RLC program enables an undergraduate’s fraternal experience to complement his academic studies. Stereotypes suggest that fraternities are a detriment to the academic experience of their brothers. For SigEp, the RLC increases collaboration between undergraduates and university faculty to enhance the academic experience.
