Binghamton University, State University of New York
Learning Community Program
Address: PO Box 6000, Vestal Parkway East
City: Binghamton
State: NY
Zip or Postal Code: 13902-6000
Country: USA
Program Director (or best person to contact): Steve Duarte
Email: sduarte@binghamton.edu
Phone: 607 777-4709
Fax: 607 777-6595
Web Address: http://reslife.binghamton.edu/livinglearning/communities/
Brief Program Summary
The purposes of this project are to foster students' critical thinking, self-confidence and sociocultural awareness as they make the transition from high school to the university. We hope to foster these goals by challenging and empowering students within a framework of community that meshes students' living and learning environments.
The Learning Community Project provides students who are taking any one of four lnked course combinations or any of the hall-based sections with the experience of living in designated learning community halls and taking advantage of academic support and sociocultural activities offered in these areas. These activities will be collaboratively designed and organized by Office of Residential Life staff and by instructional staff.
We hope that the collaborative, interdisciplinary, cooperative nature of this program will improve students' critical thinkings skills and provide avenues to help them make further connections between their classroom and residence hall experiences; we also expect that students will increase their sense of participating in an enriching community.
Sources of funding
Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs' Office
Student Tutoring Fee
Office of Residential Life
Program Reports To:
Directory, Discovery Program
Are students charged an additional fee: No
The number of persons in each of the following categories are teaching academic credit bearing courses
Fulltime Tenured Faculty: 6
Fulltime Probationary Faculty: 2
Fulltime Instructors: 2
Fulltime Retired Faculty:
Fulltime Adjunct Faculty:
Fulltime Graduate Students:
Fulltime Residence Hall Staff:
Parttime Tenured Faculty: 6
Parttime Probationary Faculty: 2
Parttime Instructors: 2
Parttime Retired Faculty:
Parttime Adjunct Faculty:
Parttime Graduate Students: 22
Parttime Residence Hall Staff: 46
Academic staff involved in the program that weren't included as faculty above
(Academic staff are personnel who are involved in providing academic services to students such as advising.)
Fulltime Academic Staff: 4
Parttime Academic Staff:
Non-academic staff involved in the program
(Non-academic staff are personnel who are involved in providing services that do not directly involve academics such as residence hall staff or staff who organize social activities that are not tied to academics.)
Fulltime Non-Academic Staff: 3
Parttime Non-Academic Staff:
Number of faculty offices in the residence hall: 4
The approximate percentage of students in each grade level
First Year: 98
Second Year: 2
Third Year:
Fourth Year and above:
Graduate Students:
Total Number of Students: 275
Year the Program Began:1997
Academic Courses Offered In The Community
American Fiction Since 1850 (4)
Markets, Ethics, and Law (4)
Inside the Outsider's Perspective: Writing the Margins in American Literature (4)
Language, Culture, and Communication (4)
Reading "Homo Sapiens": Human Natures, Human Cultures, and Literature (4)
Like a Natural Woman (4)
World Literature I (4)
Frodo's Quest (4)
Introduction to Ethics (4)
Mods and Miniskirts: Sixties British Culture (4)
Modern AMerican Civilization (4)
Writing the Environment (4)
The Politics of Education (4)
Social Change: An Introduction to Sociology (4)
Introductory Chemistry Principles (4)
Calculus I (4)
All courses are voluntary and change each year.
Other Academic Offerings
Introduction to Sociology (4)
Introduction to Anthropology (4)
Foundations of America (4)
Intructory Chemistry Principles (4)
Pre-calculus (4)
Calculus II (4)
Modern Americna Civilization (4)
Classrooms in hall
7
Summary of Facilities and Facilities Budget Classroom and residence hall space are free to program staff and students.
Computer Resources in the Residence Hall
26 PCs available throught the learning community residential areas.
The Role of Community Partnerships
Primary collaboration are between Residential Life (Student Affairs) staff and instructional staff. These collaborations result in an series of films, forums, workships, and field trips relevant to the themes of the courses and/or to first year students' developing essential study skills.
The Role of Leadership Development
Insturctors and residential staff participate in weekly in-service training designed to promote their active and visible leadership.
The Role of Research
We use extensive student - and staff - based evaluations to assess the program's quality and its effect on student retention.
Summary of Assessment Activities
See above.
Summary of Extracurricular Activities Formally Associated with the Program
Each learning community develops an extensive series of hall-based activities (above and beyond instructors' office hours and review sessions) that address topics of interest, promote social interaction and, hopefully, further students' problem-sovling and critical thinking skills.
The Role of Interdisciplinary Studies
Most students are enrolled in linked courses (an English composition/literature course linked with an intro. social science or humanities course) which feature writing-across-the-curriculum pedagogies and interdsciplinary themes.
How Diversity Issues are Addressed in the Program and in Courses
Multicultural issues and perspectives are often embedded in instructors' course content and in their teaching methodologies. Weekly curriculum coordination/training sessions often involve readings and disucssion centered on multicultural frameworks.
How Diversity Issues are Addressed Among Faculty and Students
We recruit a broad range of faculty and TA's from numerous campus departments; approximately 1/3 to 40% of our students come from the Educational Opportunity Program (the undergraduate affirmative action program on campus).
Student Demographics
The demographics overall reflect the SAT scores and socioeconomic data for incoming BU freshmen (SAT scores on average of 1262; 93.0 high school GPA) with targeted outreach to incoming EOP first-year students.
Faculty Rewards for Participation in the Program
Release Time:
Salary Supplement:
Travel Funds:
Other:
Description of Other Rewards
Training stipends for all graduate student instructors
Disciplines Represented by the Faculty
Anthroplogy, Chemistry, Mathematics, Sociology, English, History, and Philosophy
Willing to Serve as a Consultant:
No
Greatest Challenges for this Learning Community:
Continuing to lobby the institution to promote collaboration between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs and advocating interdisciplinary modes of teachign as well as campus-wide attention to training future faculty.
Suggested Bibliography
Freire for the Classroom
Creating Learning Communities
"The Quiet and Insistent Revolution: Writing Across the Curriculum"
Engaging Ideas
Lives on the Boundary
Cross Talk in Composition Theory
Affirming Diversity
Writing to Learn
Empowering Education