The Impact of the Freshman Academy/Learning Communities on Student Progression and Engagement

Learning communities continue to be at the heart of teaching and learning today. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of the impact of the Freshman Academy/Learning Community program on student progress at a historically Black university. The authors also looked at the extent to which students engaged in their learning as a result of strategies developed and implemented based on the quality enhancement plan of "Strengthening the Quality of the Freshman-Year Experience through Student Engagement and Active Learning." Finally the extent of engagement and satisfaction with the program as reported by students were compared. The results showed some interesting differences in these core practices: active learning, integrated assignment, co-curricular and service learning activities. Performance was measured by analyzing student progression at the course, program, and university levels. The results are being used as feedback for program improvement. (Contains 6 tables.)