You are cordially invited to join us at the University of Vermont for the sixth National Conference on Residential Colleges and Living/Learning Programs from October 15-17, 1998 in Burlington, Vermont. This conference traditionally provides faculty, student and academic affairs personnel, residential life staff and students with the opportunity to gather in an informal setting to discuss current issues in residentially based education. The theme of this year's conference, "Collaboration in Action," focuses on the strategies we employ to enhance students' educational experiences, maximize resources, and develop innovative curricular approaches.
For more information: (800) 639-3188, Fax: (802) 656-3891 http://www.uvm.edu/ ~llcenter/conf/
Early Registration Deadline: September 4,
1998 September 11,
1998
The first conference was held in 1992 at Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) and brought together an international cross section of faculty and administrators involved in residential colleges and living/learning communities both here and in the United Kingdom. Subsequent years found Michigan State (1993), the University of Virginia (1995), the University of Michigan (1996) and Arizona State University (1997) as conference hosts. Although the name of the conference has varied somewhat from year to year, it annually emphasizes the creation of "learning communities" within the larger university context. Its purpose has always been to bring together faculty, academic and student affairs, residential life staff and students in a small, informal setting for the exchange of ideas, information and discussion of the issues surrounding residentially based education.
The Living/Learning Center at the University of Vermont is particularly proud to serve as host of this year's conference, as we are also celebrating our 25th Anniversary in 1998. We invite you to join us in beautiful Vermont to help us mark this milestone!
Over forty presentations have been selected for this year's conference and they represent a broad spectrum of topics which have been-grouped into six general themes:
A complete list of conference programs can be found on the conference web site, http://www.uvm.edu/~llcenter/conf
We are pleased to present two optional pre-conference workshops for those of you who wish to take advantage of the opportunity to explore these areas in greater depth:
WORKSHOP #1:
Collaborating to Make Our Case: Strategies for Assessing Residential
Learning Communities from Academic and Student Affairs Perspectives.
Karl L. Schilling, Jody Heckman and Ken Wigton, Miami
University.
Creating powerful learning environments in residential learning communities requires an authentic collaboration between academic and student affairs. Therefore, assessing the impact of these programs requires an equally collaborative approach that captures the complexity of the experience of students enrolled in such programs. This synthetic assessment is necessary in order to capture the "seamless" character of such programs, to develop outcomes information that will speak to academic as well as student affairs administrators and faculty, and to bring forward information that can be used internally for improvement purposes. This workshop will engage participants in an exploration of a wide range of approaches that provide this synthetic information and will share samples of results obtained through these approaches. Limited to the first 50 registrants.
WORKSHOP #2:
The Ecology and Geology of the Lake Champlain Basin.
Charlotte Mehrtens, lan Worley and Jack Drake, University of
Vermont.
This morning cruise on the UVM research vessel R.V. Melosira will introduce participants to the natural history of one of New England's finest natural resources, Lake Champlain. The lake, and its surrounding mountains, are an excellent resource for students and faculty. The Living/Learning Center is very proud of one of its most popular and longrunning programs, The Ecology and Geology of the Lake Champlain Basin. During the cruise, an "Eco/Geo" faculty member will describe the natural history of the area as well as discuss the design and purpose of this residential course. Limited to the first 20 reqistrants, must have 15 people reqistered for this workshop to take place.
Pre-registration for the workshops is required and will be handled on a first come, first served basis. There is a $50 registration fee that includes lunch and all course materials.
Several institutions and programs will have materials on display at the Radisson Hotel throughout the Conference. A limited amount of display space is still available. We encourage you to consider bringing brochures and literature highlighting your program.
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Wednesday, October 14 | ||
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6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. |
Registration and Information | |
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Thusday, October 15 | ||
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8:30 - 11:30 a.m. |
Pre-Conference Workshops | |
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7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
Registration & Information | |
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12:30 - 1:00 p.m. |
Conference Welcome | |
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1:15 - 4:30 p.m. |
Interest Sessions | |
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5:00 - 6:30 p.m. |
Cocktail Reception | |
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7:00 - 9:00 p.m. |
Opening Dinner | |
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Friday, October 16 | ||
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8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
Registration & Information | |
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8:00 - 9:00 a.m. |
Continental Breakfast | |
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8:30 - 12:00 |
Interest Sessions | |
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12:15 - 1:45 |
Luncheon | |
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2:00 - 4:00 |
Interest Sessions | |
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4:30 - 6:30 p.m. |
Reception | |
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7:00 - |
Night on the Town | |
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Saturday, October 17 | ||
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8:00 a.m. - Noon |
Registration and Information | |
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8:00 - 9:00 a.m. |
Continental Breakfast | |
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8:30 - 10:45 |
Interest Sessions | |
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11:00 - Noon |
Closing Keynote Speaker | |
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12:30 - 1:30 p.m. |
Planning Luncheon for Future Conferences | |
The Radisson Hotel Burlington is the official conference hotel. All conference activities will take place at the Radisson or on the University of Vermont campus. The Radisson is located in the heart of downtown Burlington, on the shores of beautiful Lake Champlain. The hotel offers convenient access to Waterfront Park, the Burlington Bikeway & Recreation Path, the Church Street Pedestrian Marketplace, and many fine shops and restaurants.
A block of rooms at reduced rates of $115 single or double occupancy, $125 triple occupancy and $135 quad occupancy has been reserved for conference participants at the Radisson Hotel Burlington. All rooms are subject to 9.04% state and local taxes. To reserve a room, call (802) 658-6500 or (800) 333-3333. Please specify that you are attending the "Collaboration in Action" conference to secure these special rates. Room reservations must be made by September 15, 1998 to ensure these rates. The Radisson provides complimentary shuttle service to and from the Burlington International Airport.
You are strongly encouraged to reserve your rooms early; there are a limited number of rooms available at the conference rate, and October is "leaf peeping" season in Vermont! Please refer to "Hotel Information" section of the conference web page for more details.
Burlington International Airport is located four miles from the Radisson Hotel. Major airlines that service Burlington include Continental Airlines, US Airways, United Airlines and Delta Business Express. Currently direct air service is available to and from New York City, Boston, Washington, DC, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Albany and Cincinnati offering over 60 flights a day. The Radisson Hotel provides complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport.
Please refer to the "Getting to Burlington" section of the Conference web site for additional transportation information.
Click here to obtain a copy of the Conference Registration Form that you can print on your printer.