Connecting with First Year Students Library Engagement with Freshman Learning Communities May 4, 2012 Stephanie Otis and Alison Bradley

Freshman Learning Communities Designed to ease transition to college Based on common interests Use social connections to improve retention and student success

Learning Communities at UNCC Organization Areas of common interest Residential vs. non-residential Enrollment statistics o over 775 students in , almost 25% of freshman class o largest is over 200 students, smallest is about freshmen communities, 1 transfer

Personal Librarians A librarian for every college, department, major, and concentration Initiative designed to increase students' comfort level in seeking help Increase librarians' visibility on the web, at University events, and within their departments.

Personal librarian for each Learning Community Resistance & non-existent expectations Learning Community coordinators with numerous other responsibilities. Benefiting from existing relationships! Getting In the Door

Coordinating Colleagues Previous study Administrative expectations Leading without authority Logistics Will we march or will we dance? Different formats, expectations, and histories for each Learning Community Assessment and accountability

Engineering FLC started in 2002 residential curriculum design existing culture of support Library involvement outreach tutorials workshops

University College and B.E.S.T. Not discipline specific Common Reading Experience Off-campus events Class discussions in preparation for research instruction

Challenges Non-responses from FLC Coordinators Turnover in staffing Difficulty of making comparisons Going Forward Making connections at every level Playing on strengths and understanding weaknesses Demonstrating results in a useful way

Further reading Tolley, P.. The relationship of learning communities to engineering students' perceptions of the freshman year experience, academic performance, and persistence. Ph.D. diss., The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, In Dissertations & University of North Carolina Charlotte [database on-line]; available from Stassen, Martha L. A. "Student Outcomes: The Impact of Varying Living-Learning Community Models." Research In Higher Education 44, no. 5 (October 2003) Contact us: