2008 - Marketing Educators' Association

although students might have expectations with
regard to a field trip (e.g., this is what I will see, this
is what I will learn), they can not predict what will
result from reflective discussions with one-another
(which are informally weaved into the trip). Thus, an
effective living/learning program will have some
formal procedures, outlining the various
opportunities and objectives associated with being
part of the program; however, the procedures will
also be carefully designed so as not to limit or
confine student participation or potential outcomes.
Students interviewed in this particular living/learning
program talked at great length about the variety of
planned activities occurring throughout the course of
the year. In addition to academically-based
activities, a guest speaker series and a number of
culturally-based programming initiatives enabled the
students to glean insights into other aspects of their
own lives that they would not have thought about
prior to being part of this program. As an example,
one informant (senior) talked about attending a
guest speaker lecture, where the speaker said
things that enabled the student to engage with the
speaker on a personal level after the event.
Although the programming was formalized from the
beginning (i.e., students knew this particular speaker
was going to be part of the living/learning agenda),
the thought-process and discussions that ensued
from hearing this speaker were very impromptu,
which provided the flexibility for this student to more
seriously discuss his interests and vocation.
H1: Programming that formalizes the living/learning
program, yet that also provides flexibility to interact
with others and engage in a variety of experiences
will lead to greater student satisfaction.
Community-Building
A well-developed sense of community enables
students to more freely discuss (and
compare/contrast) their experiences in the
living/learning program. As a result, the social
climate becomes an important element of a
successful student living/learning program; and in
order to create and maintain a healthy social
climate, programming is again necessary.
Specifically, programming facilitates a positive social
climate, i.e., a community, by providing some
semblance of order (e.g., formalization), being clear
on its expectations, but also being able to facilitate
change when needed (Moos, 1979). The residential,
classroom and social environments must provide
clear rules for students to engage with one another
(e.g., attendance at workshops or social functions,
working in groups for class projects, etc.), as well as
with the various activities and pieces of information
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available in each of these environments; however,
programming must also allow for relationship
development and personal growth (Strange &
Banning, 2001).
Most of the students interviewed in this particular
living/learning program commented positively about
how the programming facilitated community-building
and relationship development. Comments such as
“The program gets you to extend your social circle”
(sophomore), and “It [the program] encouraged
random people who normally wouldn’t hang out to get
together” (sophomore), suggest that careful planning
of activities/events also considered how students could
become more actively engaged with one another.
H2: Programming that formalizes the living/learning
program, yet that also provides flexibility to interact
with others and engage in a variety of experiences will
lead to greater community-building.
Community-building, in turn should lead to greater
student satisfaction. In extraordinary service
encounters involving multiple customers who live
through the same experience for an extended period
of time, the theme of “communion with friends” is quite
prevalent (Arnould & Price, 1993).This “communitas”
occurs as each member of the group realizes that
his/her experience is “shared” with the others, and as
a result, each of the other members is an important
element for the overall success of the experience. A
central theme of living/learning programs is to foster
the realization in students that what one learns while at
college and how one lives when at college should not
be mutually exclusive, i.e., each affects the other.
Likewise, those who choose to participate in the
living/learning programs are likely to have experiences
that are in some way affected by those others who
also choose to participate. As one informant (senior)
stated, he felt “a sense of comfort with the people who
lived there [in the living/learning residential community]
… because everyone was very supportive.”
H3: Successful community-building in living/learning
programs will lead to greater student satisfaction.
Knowing Others
In extraordinary service encounters, one of the positive
outcomes is the community that develops among
complete strangers (Arnould & Price, 1993). Contrary
to this, college students are likely to apply for
living/learning experiences with others whom they
know (the exception being living/learning programs
established for incoming first-year students). As
discussed above, once in a living/learning
environment, one’s expectations, experiences and