With a student population of 38,000, Long Beach State’s student body far outpaces the university’s campus housing capacity, which can accommodate approximately 2,000 students. So, the recent opening of the Residential Learning College (RLC) at 4825 E. Pacific Coast Highway was welcome news for students and university officials alike.

About 134 students are now living in the building that was once occupied by Brooks College just a mile away from campus. Although the building previously housed students for many years, the newly-renovated RLC is not your typical college dorm. In fact, university officials don’t even refer to it as a dorm; they prefer to call it a learning community.

According to Carol Roberts-Corb, CSULB’s Director of Housing and Residential Life, the RLC, “brings students from varying disciplines and class levels into a community where they will live and learn alongside faculty who also live in the community.” Residents of the RLC not only live there. They also attend class and receive academic counseling there. While this concept may be new to Long Beach State, it was actually first introduced by Alexander Meiklejohn and John Dewew in the 1930’s in response to growing specialization and fragmentation in higher education. While Meiklejohn supported the coherence of curriculum across disciplines, Dewey advocated active, student-centered learning. Interestingly, variations of both approaches are often credited for raising GPA’s and graduation rates on college campuses.

The RLC marks at least two milestones for The Beach:

  • The first addition to student housing since the Parkside Commons and International House opened on campus in 1986, and the first time university housing is made available off campus since the 1960’s.
  • The first time housing is combined with academics. The on-site classes, which reflect the students’ majors, are open only to residents of the RLC.

When the purchase of the building was first announced in the summer of 2007, CSULB President F. King Alexander said: “Increasing student living and learning opportunities is an important priority for our campus.” In the face of budget cuts, Long Beach State was able to acquire this property thanks to the CSULB Foundation, which paid $11.1 million for the site. And, according to Brian Nowlin, Associate Executive Director of the CSULB Foundation, an additional $15 million is expected to be spent through the completion of the project on renovating, upgrading and modernizing the buildings.

In addition to the living facilities, the RLC features multi-purpose rooms, study rooms and – of course – a swimming pool. There is also a Zipcar parked on the premises for student and faculty use (to read my article on Zipcars, click here). The rooms, which house two students, are surprisingly spacious and come equipped with large closets. This is not bad considering that students pay the same price others pay to live in on-campus housing. Since the RLC is part of university housing, students are still required to purchase a meal plan. Thankfully, the on-site kitchen has also been renovated. The food is fresh and made to order. In fact, it’s so good that students from campus regularly frequent the eatery, especially on Friday night… Mongolian BBQ night.

With a student population 20 times the university’s housing capacity, the RLC barely makes a dent on the demand for housing. But it does make a difference for the 134 students now living there and the others who will move in soon.

When asked if there are plans to acquire more property throughout the city, CSULB Vice President for Administration and Finance Mary Stephens said that the university is, “working with the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency to determine whether there is… a financially feasibly project that would allow the relocation of [the] graduate arts program in the downtown area.” According to Stephens, “these discussions are ongoing but no such project has been identified.”

Imagine a college campus that was spread out throughout our city. Now, that would make it a real learning community. And, it would also give new meaning to “smart” growth!

Note: I wish to thank the following people for giving me a tour of the RLC and making themselves available to answer my questions: Brian Nowlin, Associate Executive Director of the CSULB Foundation and Director of Housing and Residential Life Carol Roberts-Corb, Director of Media Relations Rick Gloady and Marketing and Communications Coordinator Elena Curris from CSULB.