New Engineering Living-Learning Community at the University of Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, OH – Engineering students that live together learn better together. That’s the thinking behind the new engineering living-learning community at the University of Cincinnati (UC).

The engineering living-learning community, which is part of the university’s Department of Engineering Education’s new first-year model, will occupy four floors in Daniels Hall residence hall. These floors will house up to 280 first-year students who have been accepted to UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS).

The overall goal is to create an environment that fosters community, collaborative learning, and campus engagement.

“We’re bringing students together to develop a CEAS identity,” says P.K. Imbrie, Ph.D., professor and head of the Department of Engineering Education. “We believe that identity will help build community while retaining more engineering students.”

The living-learning community groups students from all engineering disciplines together. Since the first-year curriculum is very similar for all CEAS students, students can easily study together regardless of major.

“We’re putting 280 engineering students in close proximity,” says Imbrie. “These students can walk down the hall and work with someone taking the same course as them, even if they’re not in the same section.”

Students that live in the living-learning community will also take part in co-curricular activities. These activities can range from reassembling a lawn-mower engine to constructing a trebuchet.

Imbrie sees the engineering living-learning community growing. He hopes UC eventually can offer multiple residence halls at various price points to include more engineering students. As UC gets ready for another academic year, its new engineering living-learning community will help shape the incoming class of students.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management May 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • Deferred Maintenance Issues Growing at Universities, Gordian Reports

    U.S. colleges and universities are falling increasingly behind on facilities maintenance and repair, according to Gordian’s 13th annual State of Facilities in Higher Education report. The deferred capital renewal burden has reached $156 per gross square foot, an 8% increase over the previous year.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • Vanderbilt to Partner with ABM for Campus Preservation and Modernization

    Vanderbilt University recently announced that it has selected ABM Performance Solutions for a preservation and modernization project at its New York City campus, according to a news release. ABM will deliver its end-to-end ABM Performance Solutions (APS) model to manage critical operations during renovation and maintenance.