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WKU Living Learning Communities Win 2023 ACPA Collaborative Excellence Award

Thursday, February 2nd, 2023

ACPA-College Student Educators International announced that Western Kentucky University Living Learning Communities has won the 2023 ACPA Collaborative Excellence Award.

ACPA–College Student Educators International is a values-centered leadership association that has worked to boldly transform higher education since 1924. The ACPA Collaborative Excellence Award recognizes a program that has demonstrated an exemplary partnership or an innovative, collaborative initiative among academic and student affairs professionals/departments for a sustained period of two or more years. This award recognizes achievements that support and foster college student learning through the generation and dissemination of knowledge. These achievements also inform policies, practices and programs at a college/university.

The WKU Department of Housing and Residence Life (HRL) and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) partnered together to support, heighten and upscale Living Learning Communities at WKU.A WKU Living Learning Community (LLC) is a group of students placed together on a residence hall floor or within a residence hall based on a common major, common interest, or common program affiliation. The students live together, attend common classes, and participate in programs that cater to their academic, social, and personal needs.

“The collaborative dynamic between CITL and HRL is the secret recipe shaping this student-centered program. I have witnessed the various interpersonal bonds the LLC program has generated: student-faculty connections, faculty-staff collaborations, and lifelong student friendships,” said Dr. Robert “Bud” Fischer, Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs.

LLCs provide participants with opportunities to enrich their academic experience through:

Co-curricular programs: peer study groups, tutoring, professional and community leader guest speakers, academic related excursions, and much more
Workshops for personal, academic, and professional exploration and growth
Mentorship and networking with WKU students, faculty, staff, and community leaders
Other experiences and opportunities that extend learning beyond the classroom.

“The WKU LLC program has created a sense of joint mission between faculty and staff professionals that continues to positively impact our students’ academic and personal journeys,” said Dr. Marko Dumančić, Assistant Provost, Faculty Development and Student Success.

LLC collaborative relationships are held among Housing & Residence, the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, the Academic Career and Development Center, the President’s Office, and six university colleges, which represents over 15 academic departments. There are currently over 33 faculty and staff members from each academic college and various university departments who oversee the daily programming and academic areas of each Living Learning Community. Together, LLC Fellows form their own “Professional Learning Community” with monthly “Coffee & Chats” to discuss collaboration among communities, share best practices, develop innovative pedagogy, better assess engagement, and learn from other support areas on campus to enhance student success.

Cierra Waller, Assistant Director, Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning notes, “The unique opportunity to curate a professional learning community of the faculty and staff LLC Fellows has fostered an experience similar to students; where LLC Fellows can connect with colleagues outside of their discipline to share best practices, offer support, learn from each other, and collaborate to elevate the experience for students. Our core planning team, Blair Jensen, Cassidy Counter, and I, work together to leverage our areas of expertise to grow partnerships with units across campus to train fellows and elevate the student experience on a whole.”