When the steering committee released its long-awaited report earlier this month, much of the initial focus centered on the radical reforms to the Greek system it proposed.
But the report contained radical ideas in other areas as well -- calling for an enhanced cluster system and first-year only housing.
Today, The Dartmouth concludes its three-day look at how other colleges and universities organize their residential life systems.
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania began its overhaul of residential life last summer, marking a shift from a standard dormitory system to one with 12 residential colleges. The process will likely last 10 years and will include $300 million of renovation and construction projects.
The impetus for the overhaul came from 30 years of planning reports that recommended a more community-based living system, and was only recently acted upon by Penn's current administration, according to Penn's Director of College Houses and Academic Services David Brownlee.
"There really wasn't a sense that the old system was bad, but that we could do a lot more with it," Brownlee explained. "It was an unrealized opportunity to make use of buildings to enforce the University's academic mission with decentralized in-house academic advising."
Indeed, the new residential college system features many academic outlets. Academic support programs in writing, math, computing and library research are all offered, with resident faculty, deans and graduate students in each college.
"We certainly looked at what went on in Harvard and Yale and Columbia and Princeton, but Penn's system is different because we have four undergraduate colleges," said Brownlee. "We do not have the physical capacity to house more than 60 percent of the student body. We have a system that allows students to move from college houses, so we dealt with the reality that we had."
According to articles printed in The Daily Pennsylvanian, most students have been supportive of the changes, while cautioning against a shift in university priorities from academics to physical and retail facilities. In addition, students negatively affected by the construction process have registered their complaints, though no serious opposition has yet to arise.
Penn's Greek system will retain its role as a center for much of student social life throughout the changes. Out of the 10,000 undergraduates, between 600 and 800 live, and will continue to live, in Greek houses.
"What we have learned from the present expanse is that a diversity of options at Penn is very attractive," said Brownlee, explaining that many students choose to rent apartments off-campus.
Following an alcohol related death last year, however, Penn's fraternities and sororities now face increased supervision. They have to register their parties in advance and arrange for both in-house monitors and university monitors, exercise a "bring your own beer" policy, prohibit the consumption of hard alcohol, and provide approved bartenders.
Although the residential college houses will provide space for computer laboratories, study areas, lounges, classrooms, staff offices, libraries, exercise rooms, and music practice rooms, alcohol will be prohibited from these spaces.
Cornell University
Of the schools surveyed for this article, Cornell's residential life system was farthest from the decentralized residential college model. Instead, most Cornell students " none of whom are required to live in University dormitories during any of their four undergraduate years " live in off-campus facilities removed from University planning.
Although freshman housing at Cornell currently resembles that at Dartmouth, the Ithaca campus is moving towards the construction of freshman-only living units that will be located in a separate part of campus.
This move was prompted by the release of several studies in the last 20 years about residential life at Cornell, all of which recommend such a change.
"Generally, there's been a lot of support for changing, though it of course depends on who one speaks to," Cornell's Associate Director of Campus Life Peggy Beach said.
Following the freshman year, students can elect to remain on-campus, choose to join fraternities and sororities, which often require them to live in their houses, or move to off-campus housing.
According to Beach, "We only house 46 percent of our undergrads, that's all the housing we have. But we generally can make an offering of a room to any student who wants it."
"Our students like having the housing choice," she added, "and not having the mandated on-campus living requirement. Generally speaking, if you live on-campus or off-campus, you're going to spend roughly the same amount."
Middlebury
Beginning 10 years ago, Middlebury College propelled itself along a course towards significant change. In addition to the coeducation of Greek organizations, the school began plans to remodel residential life.
Middlebury's housing system now also resembles the residential college systems of Harvard and Yale, with freshmen-only dormitories and first-year affiliations with living units called commons.
There are now five different commons, each with about 500 students. Starting just this year, activities have become increasingly decentralized and the deans for all the commons have moved their offices into that living area.
"I think a lot of what we were trying to do was to create closer communities, places where people could feel that they were more of a face and have more of an impact on their own environment. It also came to bring more academics to the residential life," Middlebury's Residential Systems Coordinator Paige Budelsky said.
Budelsky added, "the initiative was started 10 years ago, so a lot of students associate the commons with getting rid of the fraternities and sororities. But it's become more than just an activities board, it's where you live, it's where you'll want to live for the next four years, although we're not quite there yet."
While students are not bound to live in any specific commons, fewer are petitioning to switch their affiliations, according to Budelsky.
Each commons has a lounge area, although that space, said Budelsky, could be better utilized. She also said that while a limited supply of alcohol is permitted in the commons, underage drinking is prohibited and College monitors check student identifications.
While Middlebury still has a Greek system, it is now coeducational and only about 300 students are active members.
"They do have a lot of social functions on the weekends, but alcohol policy is the same as in the commons. They govern themselves and do a pretty good job of it," said Budelsky.
While no specific plans have been made to decentralize dining at Middlebury, the administration is considering such an option.
