The goal of Student Learning Communities is to improve our retention and graduation rates.  Specifically, the Student Learning Communities project and particularly the First-Year Experience Seminars were designed to achieve the following objectives:

·          Create a “sense of belonging” for first-year students;

·          Assist students with decision-making regarding their choice of major and career direction, as well as other curricular and extra-curricular matters;

·          Reinforce academic integration among the “courses-in-common”;

·          Introduce students to the resources they need to be successful, e.g., SMART Learning Commons, St. Paul Campus Career Center, Learning Abroad Center, University Counseling and Consulting Services, etc.; and

·          Work closely with and support the efforts of Major Coordinators and Professional Advisers to expand the concept of student community and initiatives beyond the freshman year.

College Contact/Administrative Support: 

Caitrin Mullan, 190 Coffey Hall, 612-626-3975, cmullan@umn.edu