The House Plan at Hampshire College

The House Plan at Hampshire College was written by Robert C. Birney. February 1969.

The planning of Hampshire College reflects our conviction that residence is one facet of the total educational environment.

The goals we seek in creating an educational environment at Hampshire are the enhancement and deepening of learning. We believe this can best be done by bringing living and learning together, not by compartmentalizing learning as something that stops outside the classroom or away from the carrel. We aim to create a living-learning environment in which intellectual curiosity and development will thrive as part of moral and aesthetic growth, a setting where students and faculty alike will see themselves as part of a common enterprise in which all have a stake and a continuing part...(p. 1)

One inference that Hampshire draws from this goal is a requirement of participation in the creation and maintenance of the community. Although this in no way is inconsistent with respect for a wide range of personal interests, the community we hope to encourage will be one which focuses on and fosters the self in society, and which evokes all the energy needed to maintain community support for both parts of that focus.

To encourage effective individual participation and growth, the College is organized into units called Houses, each of 250-300 students, and each with its own living, dining, and academic facilities...Each House will have in residence a Master, who will be a senior professor on the Hampshire faculty. The Master and his family will be very much a part of House affairs, academic and otherwise. The residence of the Master will provide a commodious and attractive family home integral to the House community. Closely related to the residence of the Master will be an apartment residence for the Proctor, who will serve as his full-time assistant. The residence of the Master and of the Proctor will be connected with office space for administration of House affairs, and the Master's residence will provide accommodations for special guests of the House. The House academic building, located adjacent to the residence building, will contain faculty offices as well as instructional space. Professors who have offices in the House academic building will be affiliated with the House community as faculty fellows. (p.2)

...A further feature of the House plan is the intention to extend membership in the House across all the major roles to be found in the College. It is our hope that professors, staff, students, and service personnel will accept active and full membership in the various House communities. By so doing, we feel that governance of the House will better reflect a proper respect for the sensibilities of all those who live and work there.

It is intended that the House government shall have the power to tax and spend. It is intended also that the House unit of government shall be the means by which all members of the House are able to participate actively in the life of the College as a whole. This suggests the organization of a council body to coordinate the activities of the Houses. It is, however, expected that each House will create its own means of developing intellectual involvement, community service, and a stimulating social life. (p.3)