Growing an engineering living and learning community

Over the past eight years, Rowan University's Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering has created an inclusive and collaborative living and learning environment for first-year engineering students. The engineering living and learning community uses a traditional residential learning community model that includes living in the same residential housing, cohort cooperative learning, and both educational and social programming and activities to ease students' transition from high school to college. Recently, the programme expanded threefold with student workers used for the first time to facilitate important elements. Data gathered to evaluate the programme after these major changes indicate the engineering living and learning community has an overall positive impact on its participants. Recommendations are provided for institutions interested in creating or expanding similar programmes.