The concept was largely ignored ... as colleges ballooned in size when the baby boom generation began coming of age. In many cases, O'Hara said, students were housed in what he calls "cinderblock student ghettos," where they were robbed of important relationships with faculty.

"There's been a real sense that 'Boy, what we tried in the late '60s has been really a flop so we'd better try something different,'" said O'Hara. The more recent faculty live-in arrangements, he said, came partly in response to a party culture and rampant alcohol abuse on many campuses.

Research shows that increased attention from faculty leads to higher academic achievement among students and a greater sense of belonging, said Karen Inkelas, a University of Maryland professor who studies programs that seek to integrate the in- and out-of-classroom experience. In return, more contact with students energizes faculty, she said.