• Student Success Planning at The University of Akron
• Voluntary System of Accountability
• Student Assessment Task Force
• Provost’s Faculty Fellows Program
• Core Competency Assessment of Undergraduate Student Achievement and Learning
• Learning Assistants Program
• Learning Communities Program
• Undergraduate Research for Student Success
• Start Strong with UA’s First-Year Experience Program!
• Student Success and Retention Committee
• Academic Program Assessment Plans
• Student Success Planning Team Members
• Institute for Teaching and Learning
• Gateway to Student Success Plans

Learning Communities Program

Learning Communities (LCs) are a great way to start college because they create a comfort zone of familiar faces and provide opportunities to build friendships and networks.

As part of an LC, students join approximately 25 other classmates who enroll in one to four classes linked together--organized around a common skill, theme, or career decision. Different LCs are offered each year and have included areas such as business, communication, nursing, education, and engineering. LCs accommodate the needs of traditional-aged and adult learners, residential and commuter students, international students, and students of diverse backgrounds.

Almost all LCs include the Student Success Seminar, i.e., the Freshmen Experience Course, and a core curriculum course, such as English or oral communication. Students and faculty are engaged in cultural and social events thematically tied to the LC curriculum. Faculty guide students toward an awareness of a multicultural university and their place in the global culture.

Participation in the Learning Communities has increased by 93% since the fall 2003 semester. From 1995 to 2000, The University of Akron averaged eight LCs per year; programmatic growth since 2000 is 550%. In fact, one in four entering students now enrolls in a Learning Community!

From its inception, the mission of Learning Communities has been to enhance the quality of undergraduate education; to foster a climate of innovation; to increase the sense of community and collaboration between students and faculty; to improve first-year students’ retention, overall GPAs and credit hour production; and finally, to promote a climate of assessment of student learning.