Learning Communities at OHIO
Learning Communities (LCs) for first-year students began as a concept at Ohio University in the Fall of 1999, with a pilot implemented in four first-year residence halls -- Brown/Pickering/Crawford/Mackinnon. During that time, an 1804 Grant was requested and funded for the 2000-01 academic year for six Residential Learning Communities (RLCs). Another grant was requested and approved for two more years (01-02 and 02-03), moving to nine and then ten RLCs across campus. A UPAC proposal was approved for University College to fund the RLC program, including a full-time administrator. RLCs expanded during the Fall of 2003 to fourteen communities, two of which were solely devoted to students in the College of Business. The Fall 2004, the program had sixteen communities, eleven of which were based in all of the undergraduate colleges. In the Fall 2005, we broadened our concept to encompass learning communities that were not residential, and there were 38 learning communities (LCs) with over 630 participants. Fall 2006, there were 57 communities with 1,026 students participating. Fall 2007, there were 115 communities with 1,928 participants.
Take an historical look at Learning Communities
There are five objectives for the LC program at Ohio University:
1) Create learning-based peer networks
2) Improve the academic success of first-year students
3) Improve student retention from the freshman to sophomore year
4) Increase student satisfaction with Ohio University
5) Increase student-faculty interaction outside the classroom
The objectives, have been/are being met through the following programmatic elements:
- Students are enrolled in two to four thematically linked courses, including an introductory course (either UC115 or introduction to an academic discipline,) in the Fall Quarter. The courses, with the exception of introductory course, count toward students' Tier 2 requirements or major requirements.
- In most LCs, students live in a shared living environment for a common residential experience.
- An administrator or faculty member from the college teaches the introductory course.
- Students participate in out-of-class activities, in most instances organized by a Peer Mentor, that include involvement of Faculty members from the linked courses.
Positive results have been found through studying retention and grade point averages of LC participants.
Cohort retention rate % GPA**
Fall 2002 86/83* 3.02/2.94
Fall 2003 91/82 3.07/2.96
Fall 2004 87/81 3.01/2.84
Fall 2005 82/79 2.93/2.84 *Participants/non-participants
**The GPA data is adjusted using ACT scores as covariate for aptitude/ability. Learning Communities at Ohio University are a collaborative effort between University College, The Office of Admissions, the Department of Residence Life, the Office of the Registrar, the Housing Office, Institutional Research, the Office of Information Technology, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, the Scripps College of Communication, the College of Education, the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, the College of Fine Arts, and the College of Health and Human Services.
|  | |
|
|
