Collegiate Structure
- Residential Communities
Our residential communities are more than a place to eat and sleep – they are central to the student experience. At Binghamton University, our communities provide support for both living and learning in innovative and unique ways.
You will notice that our residential communities are referred to as “colleges.” The collegiate model was adopted in the 1960's when Binghamton University was Harpur College. This model combines academic opportunities for learning together, both formally and informally while being a part of the community atmosphere. The purpose of our collegiate structure model is to combine living and learning in a way that further develops the identity of each residential college.
- Smaller Communities
The collegiate model fosters interaction and learning within a smaller setting. Each collegiate community has its own personality and its own traditions, its own amenity spaces: athletics fields and courts, dining facilities, and various other unique offerings. Students have the opportunity to gain leadership experience within their residential college as each also has its own student government.
Frequently, the collegiate communities are home to one or more formal learning communities that contribute to the unique personality of the communities. And each collegiate community also has its own dedicated Residential Life professional and student staff to support and provide opportunities to engage within the collegiate community; including an area office where students can find support from room changes to physical space work order needs to meeting with faculty.
The collegiate structure also allows for various specialty opportunities. For instance, in Hinman College there is a performing arts group that puts on theatre performances and in Dickinson Community there is a student initiative that focuses on research.
- Engage with Faculty
Each collegiate community has a “Collegiate Professor.” These Collegiate Professors are committed faculty on campus who also are actively engaged with their residential collegiate community. They have an office in their collegiate community and help students navigate their academics through involvement in new student orientation, academic advising and development of programs around the specific themes of their communities.
The Collegiate Professors give students a unique way to interact with a faculty member outside the classroom, which contributes to student success both in and outside of the classroom. Further the Collegiate Professors engage with other faculty members from across campus through various roles: Faculty Fellows and Faculty in Residence to further bring programmatic learning to the residential colleges.
The Collegiate Professors are important contributors to the unique personality of their respective collegiate communities.
Staff Roles
- Community Assistants (CAs)
CAs follow facilitation guides to implement strategies, which meet the outcomes of each learning goal. Strategies that CAs implement primarily support B-Connected’s learning goal of Belonging, and may provide supplementary support to the other three learning goals of Well-being, Life Skills and Academic Success. CAs work closely with live-in professional staff, who provide support in their implementation of strategies such as: BChats, Community Builders, and Community Gatherings. - Student Support Assistants (SSAs)
SSAs follow facilitation guides to implement strategies, which meet the outcomes of learning goals. Strategies that CAs implement primarily support B-Connected’s learning goal of Well-being, and provide supplementary support to the other three learning goals of Belonging, Life Skills and Academic Success. SSAs work closely with live-in professional staff, who provide support in their implementation of strategies such as Community Gatherings and Roommate Agreements to execute the B-Connected model successfully. Such tools also enhance communication between CAs and professional staff to maximize resident experience. - SSA Oversight Resident Director
There is one Resident Director in each residential community, who provides oversight to SSA shift scheduling and follows up regarding duty log and procedure. - Resident Directors / Residential Education Graduate Assistants
Live-in professional staff primarily support the implementation of B-Connected by guiding and supporting student staff. Professional staff regularly meet with CAs to provide coaching on facilitation guide execution. Additionally, professional staff have their own, distinct facilitation guides for B-Connected implementation. - Assistant Directors (ADs)
ADs ensure that CAs and live-in professional staff understand the strategies and facilitation guides so that they can implement all parts of B-Connected with fidelity. ADs and CDs also coach professional staff and, when needed, student staff.
- Collegiate Professors (CPs) and Faculty in Residence
CPs offer a bridge between the academic and residential experiences for students. CPs actively engage with staff to execute departmental learning goals. CPs assist residents to develop and achieve goals around academic success.
