Theory to Practice: Applying the Best Practices Model (BPM) for Living-Learning Communities at Cabrini University

Learning community programs, like many other forms of higher education, are at risk from the effects of financial constraints, systemic racism, and pressures from outside constituents that are forcing institutional leaders to face difficult decisions that result in cutting budgets and closing programs. During these tumultuous times, learning community programs should not only be retained, but also expanded and improved to align with best practices in order to create inclusive campuses, strengthen community, increase students' sense of belonging, and foster faculty-student relationships. This intentional approach will result in higher student retention, satisfaction, and persistence rates. In 2018, Inkelas and colleagues developed the Best Practices Model (BPM), which presents a pyramid of what they call the "building blocks" of a successful living-learning community program. The purpose of this paper is to provide an application of this model to a well-established, constantly evolving learning community program. Through a reflective analysis of four living-learning communities, this paper seeks to be the first to apply this theory to practice, specifically articulating how this model can be used for reflection on as well as assessment and improvement of a program. Applying the model in this way allows living-learning programs to reinforce the building blocks of their program in an era when these high-impact practices need to become permanent features of a campus's culture in order to survive the challenges facing higher education in the present and beyond. [The discussion questions at the close of this article were developed by James Penven.]