The Washington Post reports that a number of schools across the country, such as George Washington University in the nation's capital, are placing teachers - and family members if applicable - into student residences.
The professors are given free rent, and in return, they answer student questions, attend floor meetings, and share their time with students.
"We got to understand their lives in a way I never did in the classroom," Steven Lerman, provost at GWU, told the paper. "In American higher education, there ought to be more of this. It can only help the educational process."
However, there is a downside with their housing arrangement, the paper reports. Often professors have to endure loud noises and a general lack of privacy compared to living off-campus.
Using housing to help attract and keep professors is not a new tactic. Boston's Tufts University has a history of offering rent-reduced apartments for professors - a big bargaining chip in one of the more expensive cities in the country.
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