One of the most common questions coming from new students or their parents is about learning communities. Should the student participate? What are the advantages? What are the disadvantages?
What to know about a learning community
A learning community (LC) is a cohort of students enrolled in a set of classes which encourages engagement between students and assists in a positive transition to the college experience. The LC is designed to provide learning, academic success, and social interactions outside the classroom. It also allows for students to immediately have friendly faces in courses and potential study partners. This is why learning communities are a focus for Fall Semester when the vast majority of first-year students start their college experience.
At Ohio University when students enroll in a LC, they are also enrolled in a course called UC 1900 – the learning community seminar. Each seminar has a learning community instructor, typically a faculty member or administrator, and a learning community leader (LCL). The LCL is an upperclass peer mentor who provides social and academic support. I taught learning communities for many years while an administrator at Ohio University. It was one of my favorite things to do each Fall Semester. It was fun getting to interact with the new students, share university resources, and, hopefully, ease their fears and anxieties about what to expect.
While enrolling in a LC is optional, it is strongly encouraged. Research shows that students who participate in a LC have better retention (they remain enrolled in college), have greater academic achievement (do better), and increase student involvement and engagement on-campus. At OHIO, the LCL for the seminar course will organize activities outside of class for students to engage with their peers. This may include study sessions, social activities, and/or community service. Traditionally, students will be required to attend a certain number of out of class activities as part of the learning community seminar.
It is important for students to understand that the LC seminar is a graded course. While it is only worth one credit hour, the course may never be repeated. If the student is in a competitive major, receiving a poor grade or failing the seminar can negatively effect them. For example, a pre-nursing or exploratory nursing student who may get good grades in other courses but gets a poor grade in the LC could find that as a reason they aren’t admitted to the competitive nursing track. That being said, UC 1900 is not designed to be a tough course. If students attend each class session, compete assigned work, and participate in out of class activities, they should excel without stress or worry. Plus students should remember that the LC is designed to benefit them.
At orientation academic advisors will assist students in enrolling in the correct LC. They will take into account college credit previously earned, if any, and adjust as needed. Students should take a photo of the LC cluster that they enroll in so that they will remember the courses since the individual sessions won’t show up in the My Student Center until a few weeks after orientation is complete.
This is something that frequently comes up after a student attends orientation. When asked what they are taking for the first semester, they can’t remember. Then when they go to look on their schedule of classes it only shows as LCOM 1000 XXX (the section number) but not the individual classes. For a Political Science Pre-law major, clustered courses may include: UC 1900 (1 credit hour), POLS 1500 (3 credit hours), SOC 1000 (3 credit hours), WGSS 1000 (3 credit hours). As you see, this totals 10 credit hours for the shared cluster of courses. The student would then enroll in additional courses to get to a minimum of 15 credit hours. Ohio University considers 12 credit hours full-time, however, financial aid often requires 15 credit hours to receive scholarships and other aid. (You can find academic major information and descriptions of classes in the undergraduate catalog.)
In the LC seminar, students will learn about the different university resources available to them and understand more about themself as a student. Weekly topics can include discussions on plagiarism, setting boundaries, being a better bystander, how to get involved on-campus, study skills and time management, and academic planning for future semesters. They may get to hear from someone about study abroad. They might participate in a community service project. And they definitely should get to know other students.
Are there any disadvantages to enrolling in a learning community? I can’t think of any. The only thing I disliked was having to fail a student because they didn’t participate. I cannot stress this enough: if you are enrolled in UC1900, it is an actual class. It is not a study hall. It is not a no-show course. But again, it’s not a hard course either. It’s one credit hour which equates to one class meeting each week.
And you should always remember that everyone wants the student to be successful. If the student is struggling or has questions, they should reach out to their academic advisor or speak to their instructors.
Coming to Athens as a student for the first time? Read our post Sick in Athens: Options for Care.
