THIS IS THE BEST PART. You can find a group of friends a few doors away and start an activity or gather together for a meeting. Unlike off-campus living, the residence halls provide you a unique living environment where all of your neighbors are students just like you. And the Office of Housing and Residence Life can put you in touch with organized activities. If you don't find your favorite pastime here, don't worry. You can start your own interest group when you get here. "Two words describe my residential experience: Unlimited Opportunities! I have experienced so much while living in Serrano Village. So many doors have been unlocked through my involvement in various leadership positions. Ten years from now, many of the people that I have met, and with whom I have shared these experiences, will still be a significant part of my life. You don't just meet people... You develop lifetime friendships." - Nicole Manely, Upland, CA YOU'LL FEEL LIKE YOU BELONG HERE The CSUSB residential community is generally comprised of equal number of freshmen, transfers, and returning students, so you'll be surrounded by a wonderful mix of friendly people from the first day. Amenities within the residential complex include: cable T.V. lounges, swimming pool and volleyball courtyard, centralized mailboxes, enclosed laundry facilities, and a recreational room with a pool table, big screen T.V., ping pong, and various video games. Our staff of custodians, residential life staff, maintenance workers, and administrative staff are dedicated to help you enjoy your experience living on campus and to encourage you as you pursue your academic pursuits. BUILT-IN ADVANTAGES Students who live on-campus benefit from many advantages. You can qualifty for priority registration, ahead of thousands of other students because you live on campus. In addition, students who live on-campus receive preferred parking and save money on commuting. LIVE THE DIFFERENCE! STUDENTS WHO LIVE ON-CAMPUS ARE: more satisfied with college life more likely to graduate able to participate in more student and recreational activities in more frequent contact with other students and have a satisfying social life in more interaction with faculty members YOU CAN GET INVOLVED Service projects for charities and social causes Intramural sports of all kinds Cultural events and programs from stress management to living with diversity Dances, movie nights and lots more with members of other houses Leadership opportunities on dozens of committees and boards or residence halls government LEARN TO BE A LEADER From serving as house officers to holding residence hall association positions, you have lots of opportunities to learn how to get things done. This is a great way to discover and practice skills that will be important for the rest of your life. GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL You'll be in the middle of all the action in Southern California when you live here. Hollywood and the beaches are an hour's drive, and sunny deserts and mountain skiing are even closer. World-famous amusement parks and special attractions abound. Make this your playground. A STUDENT AFFAIRS PERSPECTIVE Higher Education has focused on the development of the total person. Colonial colleges were founded for the purpose of educating clergy and to ensure the moral uprightness of America's youth. "Dormitory Life" was believed to provide a controlled environment conducive to academic success and character development. Faculty lived with their students and were involved in all aspects of their students' lives and personal development. During the early 1800s, an age of intellectualism and scientific advancement demanded that faculty focus on research and specialization. Student service professionals were called upon to supervise the extracurricular activities and involvement of students once monitored and directed by faculty mentors. Student services workers often were retired military officers, athletic coaches or elderly housemothers. Their primary responsibility was to keep students in line with institutional expectations. This tradition of acting en loco parentis (Latin for "in the place of parents") came under protest in the 1960s. Rules and regulations on monitoring student morality and behavior were seen as an infringement on personal freedoms and enrollment in residence halls dropped. Institutions changed policies allowing freer association of the sexes and greater autonomy and self-determinism. The emphasis on "character development" was replaced with a focus on "student development." Rules and regulations were replaced with programs, services, and co-curricular activities. Student development theories were introduced which declared a correlation between "out-of-the-classroom" experiences and a student's academic and personal development. The primary shift in methodology has been from imposing rules and restrictions to providing programs and services which assist in the natural processes of development through self-exploration and personal experience. A RESIDENTIAL LIFE EXPERIENCE Learning takes place within all of life's experiences and in or out of the classroom. Researchers maintain that 80% of adult learning takes place outside of the formal classroom setting. The residence hall becomes an optimal beneficial "living-learning" environment to exchange ideas, explore one's identity, and develop social and interpersonal leadership skills. A study performed in the early 1970s by Alexander Astin, a noted authority in the field of higher education, compared resident and commuter students. The study showed that resident students exceeded in learning and personal development. They were less likely to drop out of school, and were more likely to attain their Bachelors Degree in four years and continue on to attend graduate school. Astin proposed that in the educational environment, "access, discovery, and personal encounters occurred much less frequently for commuters," and highlighted these factors as significantly contributing variables. The mission of higher education is to prepare students for functioning as contributing members of society, equipped with an appreciation of life-long learning, and a sense of personal identity and purpose. It will take a cooperative effort between the curricular and the co-curricular. Our mission in Residence Life is to dovetail with the academic curriculum to supplement their efforts and help students build connections between their efforts and their academic experiences and the rest of life through programs that support the educational mission of the University. The Villages at CSUSB provide the CSUSB student with more than just housing. A residential life experience can prove to be an invaluable part of your educational experience.