Welcome from the Director

Dear Learning Communities students, prospective students and parents, Welcome to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Learning Communities Institute. Our learning communities faculty are proud of what they have created: an intellectually sound and challenging curriculum that encourages students to extend themselves and take intellectual risks. Students in our learning communities have enjoyed great success since we began offering learning communities in the fall of 2003. Our research on the program shows that students who complete at least one semester in a learning community develop stronger research and writing skills in their first year than students who are not enrolled in the program. These are the skills that ultimately will make them strong performers for the rest of their university careers.

This program offers students a feeling of community in a large institution as well as multiple opportunities for academic engagement. Students take three to four general studies courses from faculty who work together to design and teach each learning community as an integrated whole. Unique to this program is the integration of information across disciplines, as material discussed by a history professor is expanded upon by a biology professor and then becomes the focus of a writing assignment done in English. Students admitted to ASU with a thirst for knowledge from a trans-disciplinary perspective often make the best Learning Communities students.

We look forward to meeting you.

Best,

Dan Bivona

Director, Learning Communities Institute

Associate Professor of English