Goals, Testimonials and Reports
The Learning Communities:
- Help first-year students in the College find friends and study companions.
- Create a sense of identity and unity among students in the College of Liberal Arts
- Help students learn to relate topics in different courses.
- Connect the classroom with the community through service.
- Give students an advantage that helps them succeed as college freshmen.
In addition, each learning community has its own goals, related to its theme.
Choose and enroll in a learning community.
Testimonials and Reports from Recent Learning Communities Members
81% of the students in the fall 2008 learning communities said that the most helpful aspect of the learning communities was that they quickly found friends and study companions.
" The learning community helped me make friends and close bonds easier. Having my classmates as neighbors is great."--FIDES student
" It has helped me to be more comfortable with my transition into college. I was able to form friendships with this group of people where I think I would not have as much if we only had a single class together. I have also been able to get to know these instructors better than others."--PERSONAE student
" As a commuter, it was helpful being in a learning community to make new friends and go to the helpful professors for any questions."--NARRATIO student
" The learning communities are a great way for first-year students to make friends."--PERSONAE student
" I just really liked our learning community. It was really fun to be in classes together and live on the same floor. I think that the learning community idea is a really good idea for helping freshmen adjust to college."--POPULUS student
They reported that one of the most interesting, fun and engaging aspects of the learning communities was service-learning.
" The community service outside of class was a lot of fun. It opened the door to new experiences and new friends."--CIVITAS student
"The service-learning project was very beneficial and fun."--POPULUS student
Students also liked that they could relate the topics in their different courses.
"The themes in classes are linked, and you get a better view of the subject from different approaches in every class."--PERSONAE student
"It helps to have three classes all dealing with the same thing because assignments and readings from one class can aid in understanding material in another class."--POPULUS student
"I tend to focus a lot more time on my classes that are L.C. classes and even though I logically know that they are no more important than my other classes, I still spend more time with them."--ORBIS student
"The teachers were very good at working together to integrate their courses in different projects and activities."--RATIO student