Carol Dyas, Learning Communities director
Learning Communities director guides a growing program
(Aug. 19, 2002)--Carol Dyas, a member of the UTSA mathematics faculty, is excited about her new position as director of the Learning Communities program. She began last spring in the program, which is affiliated with the Office of Student Affairs and is funded by a five-year Title V federal grant. The program for freshmen has grown from approximately 200 students in the fall of 2000 to 450 students in the fall of 2001. Twenty-five Learning Communities sections are planned for the Fall 2002 semester.
A Learning Community is a group of 25 first-time freshmen who are taking as a group two to three of their core curriculum classes. The students are grouped by major or area of interest. There are Learning Communities targeted for biology majors, business majors, engineering majors and other specific majors, in addition to Learning Communities that are open to all majors.
The focus of the program is to assist students in having a successful first year by making friends, forming study groups, getting to know faculty, learning about UTSA resources and connecting with the UTSA community-at-large. The groups help students develop good study habits and test-taking skills, and give them experience in doing oral presentations.
"There is an opportunity in Learning Communities freshmen seminars for small-group discussion that isn't necessarily available in larger classes," said Dyas. "It helps students get to know one another and to develop an understanding of what is expected in order to succeed in college. The response from the students has been very positive."
In the program, students participate in three linked courses in the fall semester. They begin the orientation program with "Freshman Seminar", a three-credit course that centers on a topic related to students' interests or majors. For example, a class might tie in with two courses from a list including English, history, algebra or biology. Other Learning Communities seminars are set up for Chisholm Hall residents, since they have a different college experience than students living at home or off-campus.
Another format is the College Success Seminar, which consists of two hours credit for a shortened version of "Freshman Seminar" and one hour of credit for fifteen hours of work with a community organization such as Habitat for Humanity.
"The Learning Communities experience is valuable because it offers students
an opportunity to learn how to adjust to college, to improve their reading
skills and to engage them in activities that also benefit the community,"
added Dyas.
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Learning Communities director guides a growing program
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2002