Residential Learning Communities

SigEp’s Residential Learning Community (RLC) program was established in 2000 as a guide for chapters to create a more powerful living-learning environment. The RLC concept expands upon traditional residential college models from Oxford and Cambridge, and recent research within higher education. Students in living-learning communities have higher overall grades, are more engaged in on-campus activities, and are more likely to spend their time outside of the classroom developing the life skills they need to succeed after graduation.  SigEp must offer these experiences to our brothers, so we can deliver a membership experience of value, which promotes personal growth.

The RLC program enables an undergraduate’s fraternal experience to complement his academic studies.  Stereotypes suggest that fraternities are a detriment to the academic experience of their brothers.  For SigEp, the RLC increases collaboration between undergraduates and university faculty to enhance the academic experience.

Residential Learning Communities are accredited through a rigorous application process to ensure the chapter is committed to the philosophies of the program.  SigEp has 46 accredited RLCs.

RLC Highlights

• RLC chapters average a 3.19 GPA vs. our 3.10 national GPA average.
• RLC chapters retain 20 percent more of their members over four years.
• RLC chapters have an average chapter size of 83 members versus our national average of 64.
• 33 percent of our RLC chapters were intramural champions vs. 18 percent for all other SigEp chapters in 2011.
• At the 2011 Conclave, 27 of the 47 Buchanan Cups were awarded to RLC chapters.
• This past year, RLC chapters engaged over 60 faculty fellows and 20 resident scholars to aid in the academic, professional and personal development of their members.
• Many RLC chapters are reinventing the classroom experience by providing for-credit classes exclusively for SigEps within their facilities.