Bradley report findings detailed

Here are some of the key findings from the year’s end report on the Bradley Learning Community:

• No Bradley students dropped out for academic reasons for the 1997-98 year, compared to a 7 percent dropout rate for the freshman class. Brower says this “Bradley buffer” effect was noticed the first two years as well, which also recorded zero academic-related dropouts. Brower attributes the success to the strong base of academic and social support students receive at the hall.
• Bradley students appear more involved in both residence hall and campus activities, with 45 percent of students reporting being “very involved” compared to 20 percent for other students. And 28 percent at Bradley (versus 13 percent of others) voted very often or often in student elections.
• They also report studying more: 35 percent at Bradley say they studied more than 20 hours per week, compared to 22 percent for the other group.
• Bradley students received slightly higher GPAs compared to the total 1997-98 freshman class, 3.081 vs. 2.976, and earned slightly more credits in the fall semester (13.8 vs. 13.7) than did freshmen from two comparable residence halls.
• Fewer Bradley students drank alcohol than a comparison group of students from other residence halls. At Bradley, 37 percent of students reported they did not binge drink (five or more drinks) at all in the previous two weeks of the survey, compared to 30 percent in the control group. In total, only 39 percent of Bradley students binged more than once in those two weeks, compared to 50 percent in the other group.
• Consequently, Bradley students are experiencing fewer alcohol-related problems. The study found that while 45 percent of students in the non- Bradley group reported being humiliated, insulted or harassed due to someone’s drinking, only 10 percent of Bradley students reported the same. And 39 percent of the non-learning community students had received unwanted sexual advances, compared to 17 percent of Bradley students.