Residence life and education, residential curriculum and curricular approaches, student housing, and technology.
I am a major fan of both Hamilton: The Musical and utilizing a curricular approach, and recently presented these topics at the Western Association of College and University Housing Officers (WACUHO) annual conference. My fabulous colleague and I had the opportunity to share a few of the ways utilizing elements of a curriculum can help... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, Host Paul sits down with one of our 2026 Roompact Fellows, Kaleigh Mrowka, to discuss student learning and curriculum, restorative practices, and encouraging campus dialogue. An interesting through-line develops which can give residence hall professionals multiple strategies and elements to incorporate in their work of making meaningful spaces for resident students. (Ledo's Pizza and a kitten also make an appearance.)
In this special episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, we have a rebroadcast from one of our more recent webinars. We started our monthly webinar series back in October of 2025 and if you are a Roompact member, you can participate in these live. For non-Roompact members, we make the recording available after the fact on our website. In this webinar we’ll go over the 3C Framework for Residence Life Practice. It takes from all of the models to help you distill down what’s important for your residents and what’s on campus. As a framework, it’s flexible and draws from best practices across the field.
The Institute for the Curricular Approach in October was more than just a professional development event; it was a reaffirmation of our roles as a community of educators who are fundamentally invested in the holistic growth of our students. Engaging in the Institute provided a vital opportunity to pause, reflect, and collaboratively strategize on how... Continue Reading →
How many different "residence life models" have you seen in your career? Probably a lot. It's time to break the cycle. In this webinar we'll go over the 3C Framework for Residence Life Practice. It takes from all of the models to help you distill down what's important for your residents and what's on campus. As a framework, it's flexible and draws from best practices across the field.
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, guest host Dustin Ramsdell chats with Abby Groth, a current Roompact blogger from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln about her unique journey from art museums to residence life and how she’s using that perspective to reimagine student support. Abby shares how learning communities, peer mentorship, and early intervention surveys are transforming the student experience and contributing to academic success outside the classroom. She also gets candid about what doesn’t work—and why residence life doesn’t need to do it all.
Craft measurable learning outcomes for residence life programs using the Audience–Behavior–Condition–Degree model. A – Audience Who are the learners? Example: Residents, student leaders, first-year students B – Behavior 1️⃣ Choose a Domain: Select a level Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create 2️⃣ Select a Verb: Select a Bloom’s level first 3️⃣ Define the Behavior: Describe... Continue Reading →
I love a good program calendar. Brightly colored posters, grids of events, deadlines, themes. They give the impression of structure, of energy, of things happening. But here’s the question: Do those calendars actually add up to a coherent experience for residents? Too often, I think the answer is no. A busy calendar doesn’t necessarily mean... Continue Reading →
Intentional conversations are a powerful tool student staff can use to foster meaningful relationships in their communities. These one-on-one dialogues, when approached with intention, provide insight into students’ lived experiences, help staff identify emerging needs, and build trust that can carry across a student’s college journey. Over time, however, conversation guides can grow stale. The... Continue Reading →
My current role involves shepherding our residential curriculum and training and advising our professional staff on our goals, outcomes, and strategies. Every year I plan for the fall in the spring and vice versa, aided by an active and resourceful group of individuals on our curriculum committee. During the summer, I tweak a few things... Continue Reading →
This week, Dustin chats with Sarah about her efforts to utilize pod mapping as a way to elevate the curricular approach at her institution. Sarah details the ways to and the importance of building sustainable coalitions at an institution to make sure there is consistent, collective efforts to aid in achieving learning outcomes for students.
I’ll admit it—I’m a Millennial. And while that means I’m not the most credible source when it comes to understanding Gen Z, I have spent enough time in Higher Education to see how student engagement has shifted over the years. Now that I’ve stepped away from the world of learning outcomes and passive programming, I... Continue Reading →
We're pleased to welcome Crys to the show this week as they discuss with Dustin their email newsletter campaign initiative at their institution that seeks to provide relevant resources to students consistently. Crys also details the tools they use to develop the emails and the various strategies they use as collaborates with their colleagues to develop the content of each newsletter.
If you’re anything like me, you’re a big fan of residential curriculum. You love writing facilitation guides, assessing intentional interactions, and learning about creative strategies to engage with your students. But if you are like me, you might also feel like the only person who feels so strongly about curriculum at your institution. To many... Continue Reading →
In last month’s post, we explored some examples of programming ideas that are both fun and educational. However, programming is only one of the many strategies that make up a residential curriculum. For those that are newer to the world of curriculum, a strategy can be thought of as any intentional effort to interact with... Continue Reading →
“We are not here to lecture our students after they’ve been in class all day.” “I think we need to remember how to just have fun.” As someone who has worked with residential curriculum across several different universities, one of my greatest frustrations is hearing phrases like these. On one hand, I totally agree with... Continue Reading →
Or "We’re moving away from curriculum." Every now and then I hear this phrase from a school and I find it strange. What does that even mean? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?! It's almost like I don't even understand it. As I pondered this question, I've come think it's because I have a different understanding of... Continue Reading →
This week we're digging in with LaFarin and DeAndre about what to expect from the upcoming Institute on the Curricular Approach (ICA) happening this October in Chicago. As the co-chair's of this year's event, we explore each of our guests' background with ICA, what they're planning for this year, and how folks can get involved.
