Learning Communities: Animal Science at the University of Connecticut

Abstract

The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public Carnegie Foundation Research institution with 14 schools and colleges that enrolls more than 18,000 undergraduate students at the main campus in Storrs, CT. Beginning in 1999, First-Year Experience (FYE) seminars were offered to entering freshman students. Since that time, the size of the program and the number of entering freshman who participate has increased. In conjunction with FYE classes, residential and non-residential learning communities (LC) were developed to create community within a broad interest area or within a discipline. One of these, the Animal Science LC, is open to all Animal Science majors and for the last 15 years has been led by the same faculty member. Students enrolled in the Animal Science LC complete a FYE seminar that can be clustered with 3 or 4 other courses to accomplish a sense of belonging among a cohort of majors, enhanced peer mentoring support, and sustained faculty-student interaction. A review of data has shown that over the last 10 years, students who participated in the Animal Science LC were more likely to persist in the Animal Science major, and they were more likely to graduate within 4 years. Impact Statement First-year experience courses with 20 or fewer students enhance the experience of freshman college students, including the transition from high school to college, especially at large research intensive universities. At the University of Connecticut, many of the first-year experience courses are connected to discipline and interest-related learning communities, including animal science. Participation in this learning community increases student retention in the major and increases the percentage of students that graduate in 4 years.