Learning Communities
Our Mission
The First-Year Learning Communities Program (FYLCP) at TAMU-CC empowers students to develop the habits of mind necessary to succeed as university students and as productive members of a global community by providing opportunities for meaningful connections with students, faculty, and staff.
Check out our Youtube channel!Learning Community Structure
By definition, learning communities involve the linking of "two or more courses, often around an interdisciplinary theme or problem, and enroll a common cohort of students” (Smith, MacGregor, Matthews, & Gabelnick, 2004, p. 67). All full-time first-year students at TAMU-CC register in a learning community during their first two semesters to ease the transition to the university.
Each learning community has at its core a small University Seminar (UNIV 1101 or UNIV 1102) class and at least one other course that typically is a large lecture course, but the structure and courses can vary widely due to students' needs. Classes in the community are restricted to first-year students and are made co-requisites, so all students in the learning community are at the same place in their college experience. The smaller courses are limited to 20-25 students, and the same 20-25 students attend all these classes together, forming a social and intellectual learning community. These cohorts form close relationships that frequently last far beyond the first year of college.
Several of our learning communities contain core curriculum courses that are open to all majors, and there are many options to account for incoming course credits students might bring in with them from high school. We also have a number of major-specific learning communities so students can take courses together with other first-year students in the same degree path.
Example learning communities open to all majors:
- Dyad FC (MEDA 1305 + UNIV 1101)
- Triad E (HIST 1301 + ENGL 1301 + UNIV 1101)
- Tetrad V (BIOL 1406 + CHEM 1411 + ENGL 1301 + UNIV 1101)
Major-specific LC examples:
- Computer Science LC (COSC 1435, COSC 3100, MATH 1316/2413, UNIV 1101)
- Engineering LC (ENGR 1201, CHEM 1411, MATH 1316/2413, UNIV 1101)
- Nursing LC (BIOL 2401, PSYC 2301, UNIV 1101)
Learning Community Goals
As members of the FYLCP, first-year students will:
- Explore the connections among academic courses and disciplines in a global context;
- Develop their critical thinking, communication, research, and information literacy skills;
- Enhance their ability to learn through reading, writing, discussion, and collaboration; and
- Reflect on their personal values, goals, and strategies for success.