ENHANCING THE EDUCATIONAL-IMPACT OF RESIDENCE HALLS - THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE EXPERIENCES AND PERSISTENCE

The relationship between residential learning communities and students ' experiences and persistence during the first year of college was exa mined. Analysis of data from 2,678 students (63.6% female and 36.4% ma le; 85.1% White and 14.9% African American, Asian American, Hispanic, or Native American) who lived in residence halls indicated that the re sidential learning communities did not improve students' academic achi evement and persistence directly, but did indirectly improve students' success by enhancing their incorporation into college.