Campus Housing offers Living Learning Communities which has a dedicated upper-year Peer Leader who is focused on enhancing your experience and helping you to achieve your goals while you are in residence.
Living Learning programs are offered by both Campus Housing and the University Colleges. To learn more about University College Living Learning programs, visit St. Paul’s University and Renison University College.
If your academic program does not have a Living Learning Community, you can still enhance your academic experience through Drop-In Tutoring and utilize the study spaces in residence.
What is a Living Learning Community?
Living Learning Communities in Campus Housing are residence communities that bring together students in the same program or faculty in order to help enhance a student's social and academic experience while in residence. Students who live in a Living Learning Community will be able to participate in activities such as:
One-on-one goal setting with their Peer Leader
Academic programming such as study sessions, de-stress events, faculty meet and greets as well as career planning.
Community building events with other students who are in your program or faculty.
Living Learning Communities help students to excel in the three following areas:
Make connections with peers
Living Learning students from the same program or faculty live together in the same area of residence. This means you will live, study, and socialize from other students in your program.
Experience a smooth transition to university
Living Learning students will also live near and be exposed to a variety of other first-year students from different areas of study so that they get the best of both worlds in their residence experience.
Build a sense of belonging to faculty / academic programming
The community provides opportunities to access to great academic and faculty programming that helps students with many of their academic needs in first year!
This Living Learning Community is open to students entering the Arts and Business program.
Activities and Events
As a Living Learning student, you will be able to enjoy events and mentorship that enhance your classroom learning and further develop skills such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, and critical thinking. As a member of the ARBUS Living Learning Community, you will have access to:
One-on-one goal-setting conversations with your upper-year Peer Leader who can help you build your schedule to find time for both your studies and extracurricular involvement
Email newsletters with important dates, event invitations, and tips directly from your upper-year Peer Leader to help you succeed in your first year of studies
Community-building initiatives so you can get to know other Arts and Business students
The community is very welcoming, and they offer numerous resources to help us with our courses
This Living Learning Community is open to students in the Global Business and Digital Arts program.
Activities and Events
As a Living Learning student, you will have access to events that enhance your classroom learning and further develop skills to help you succeed in the GBDA program such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, and critical thinking.
We know the GBDA program is unique, so our Living Learning events are tailored to help first years understand and get the most out of the program. Past GBDA Living Learning Community activities include:
Building a Portfolio Info Night
Living in Stratford Upper-Year Panel
Study sessions for core GBDA courses
Stratford Campus Orientation
Halloween Movie Night at the Stratford Campus
I liked being a part of the LLC because I got to connect with other first years who were learning the same things I was. The LLC gave me an instant study group!
This Living Learning Community (previously Health Hub Academic Cluster) is open to students entering the Public Health or Health Sciences programs.
Activities and Events
Your Peer Leader mentor will connect you with opportunities that will enhance your classroom learning, support building connections within your program and faculty, and help you understand more about the Health field. Examples of Living Learning activities include:
Group study sessions for core Health courses (From HLTH 101 to BIOL 130, and beyond)
Academic study skills and course content workshops
Organized events with faculty and alumni such as Pops and Talks with Profs
Participation with clubs and societies within the Faculty of Health community, including AHSUM and weCONNECTu
I met a lot of great people in my program. I've made amazing friends, and this has kept me motivated to do my work efficiently.
This Living Learning Community (previously Health Hub Academic Cluster) is open to students entering the Kinesiology program.
Activities and Events
Your Peer Leader will connect you with opportunities that will enhance your classroom learning, support building connections within your program and faculty, and help you understand more about the Kinesiology field. Examples of Living Learning acttivities include:
Group study sessions for core Kinesiology courses
Academic study skills and course content workshops
Organized events with faculty and alumni such as Pops and Talks with Profs
Participation with clubs and societies within the Faculty of Health community, including AHSUM and weCONNECTu
I learned about all the tutoring sessions and academic events going on on-campus. I have also been able to ask any questions I have about the program with my Peer Leader.
This Living Learning Community (previously Health Hub Academic Cluster) is open to students entering all Recreation and Leisure Studies (RLS) programs including Recreation and Leisure Studies, Recreation and Sports Business and Therapeutic Recreation.
Activities and Events
Your Peer Leader will connect you with opportunities that will enhance your classroom learning, support building connections within your program and faculty, and help you understand more about the Recreation and Leisure field. Examples of Living Learning activities include:
Group study sessions for core RLS courses
Academic study skills and course content workshops
Organized events with faculty and alumni such as pops and talks with profs
Participation with clubs and societies within the Faculty of Health community, including AHSUM and weCONNECTu
There are a lot of students who are willing and able to help study. It makes you feel more comfortable about not knowing something and getting one-on-one peer support rather than TA or prof support in specific time slots.
This Living Learning Community (formerly Academic Cluster) is open to all students entering into a first-year undergraduate Faculty of Science program.
Activities and Events
Joining the Science Living Learning Community will help you to meet other first-year Science students who share classes and academic interests with you. As a Living Learning student, you will also have access to a Peer Leader. They will connect you to academic resources, plan events for you to engage with peers and faculty, and answer your academic questions as you go through first year. Examples of past Science Living Learning Community events include:
Lab and co-op information sessions
Course specific study sessions
Group trip to the Gustav Bakos Observatory
Science Pathways Panel with Professors
Resume and course planning workshops
[The LLC] made making friends much easier. I was able to find many people on my floor who were in my same classes. It gave me friends to sit with for the first few weeks of first term. It was also very easy to ask for help with homework and lab reports. Having friends that I could ask for help from made my academic experience much less stressful. It was also nice to have a group to stress about midterms with.
Students who are interested in and eligible to participate in one of our Living Learning Communities are encouraged to apply. Students can indicate their interest in a Living Learning Community on the First-Year Guarantee Residence application during the residence application process.
Once you’ve completed your First Year Residence Guarantee Application and you have selected that you are interested in participating in a Living Learning Community, you will be contacted via email asking you to submit a short form where you will answer the following questions (please note there is a 250 character limit):
Why are you interested in being a part of a Living Learning Community?
As part of the Living Learning Community, what types of experiences are you hoping to have? What skills are you hoping to gain?
This supplementary LLC application will close on June 2, 2022 and is required for students who are hoping to live in a LLC. As LLC rooms are limited, the Residence Learning team will be reviewing what is shared in the forms to select the students. Please complete your application at your earliest convenience to avoid missing the deadline to apply. Once the deadline has passed, you will not be eligible to live in an LLC; we are unable to make exceptions as the option to live in a LLC is a popular choice.
Questions?
If you have any other questions about Living Learning Communities, please email our Residence Learning team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITIES look like during COVID 19
Living Learning Community programs will continue to operate for in Fall 2022 with virtual and in person components. We will communicate any modifications once decisions have been made. Know that we are committed to creating a great residence learning experience despite the circumstances. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to the Residence Learning team.
DO I HAVE TO PAY EXTRA TO BE IN A LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITY?
There is no additional fee to participate in a Living Learning Community.
WHAT IF MY PROGRAM ISN’T LISTED ABOVE? CAN I GET ACADEMIC SUPPORT IF I DON'T SIGN UP FOR A LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITY?
Students who are not in one of our Living Learning Communities are still able to access academic resources in residence through drop-in tutoring. Additionally, students who are not living in a Living Learning Community are encouraged to connect with their Don (upper-year student who lives on their floor) to learn about ways that their academics can be supported on campus.
IF I JOIN A LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITY — DOES THAT MEAN I WILL LIVE WITH 50 OTHERS FROM MY PROGRAM?
No. Students who live in our Living Learning Communities will live with a mix of students who are in their faculty or program as well as students who are in other programs. It's the best of both worlds – having support from those in your own faculty or program while also meeting students from other programs.
ARE LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITIES LOCATED IN SPECIFIC LOCATIONS?
Our Living Learning Communities will be housed in a variety of residence communities in order to provide students with different room type options. Students who are selected to live in a Living Learning Community will be in a residence community with other LLC students from their program or faculty.
Students who select a University College Living Learning Community will be placed in the college where the community is based, however, depending on demand, you may be placed in another residence community.
CAN I WITHDRAW FROM A LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITY AFTER I'VE SUBMITTED MY First-Year Guarantee Residence application?
Yes, you can withdraw from the LLC. If you have submitted your application to join an LLC and decide you no longer want to be considered for the LLC, please contact the Residence Learning team to withdraw.
You should carefully consider your options before withdrawing. If you live in the LLC, you'll have a high level of support. While you can still participate in residence-led events and access resources, you will give up extra support included with living in a LLC if you withdraw.
When will i know if I have been accepted into an llc?
Once you have submitted your First-Year Residence Guarantee Application and your Living Learning Community Application, you will have completed the necessary forms in order to be considered to live in a Living Learning Community. All applicants who apply to live in an LLC will be informed if they have been accepted by mid-June and will be provided with information on next steps.
Can I select a Roomate If I am living in an llc?
While some LLCs will be in buildings which host double rooms or suite style accommodations, you will not be able to choose your roommate if you are selected to live in an LLC. When you are filling out the Campus Housing Preference Form in June, you will only be ranking your room preference. If you have a specific roommate in mind unfortunately you will not be able to identify this through the LLC application process.
