University officials hope cuts won’t stunt learning communities

Data shows college students in learning communities have higher retention and graduation rates, and officials at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa hope proposed state budget cuts don't stall the growth of such programs.

Learning communities group students, typically freshmen, by academic interest or career goal. They participate in activities together and take some classes together, and in the case of living learning communities, they live in the same residence hall.

Educators say the communities are beneficial to students academically and socially, and the groups help create a smaller community feel within the larger university setting.

UI freshman Libby Collins of Cedar Rapids believes she has benefitted from joining the Iowa Writers living learning community with about 70 other students in Currier Hall.

The 18-year-old English major likes that students in the group can submit their work first for writing opportunities on campus. The students also meet regularly to review each other's creative writing during workshops, she said.

“You're just surrounded with English or journalism majors who love writing and reading as much as you,” Collins said. “Right off the bat you automatically know you have a lot in common with the majority of the people on the floor.”

Participation has grown over the years, and the UI and ISU have added communities to meet student demand and interest. The University of Northern Iowa doesn't offer the learning community model of programming.

The UI in recent years has focused on making sure every living learning community has a strong academic component. Andrew Beckett, assistant dean in the UI University College, was hired last year to oversee the academic side of living learning communities.

UI's University College has a budget of about $500,000, which includes the funding for the living learning communities and also several other initiatives.

ISU's learning communities receive about $500,000, money allocated by co-directors Doug Gruenewald and Steve Mickelson through an application process.

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy recently said he worried budget cuts might put learning communities at risk, as professors and advisers take on more duties.

Officials at both ISU and the UI say they hope the growing programs are important enough to maintain funding levels for next year.

“Our goal is to provide every student the opportunity,” said Beckett, who oversees the UI programs. “We have to look at how we can expand without necessarily an increase in resources by using what you already have and being smart.”

Along with having some classes together, students in the communities participate in activities such as faculty mentoring, service projects and field trips. ISU has learning communities that don't include the living-together component, while the UI programs are all living learning communities.

ISU has more detailed statistics about community outcomes, while the UI's data begins with the fall 2009 entering class. Both schools have offered learning communities since 1995.

The preliminary UI numbers and ISU's longer-term measurements show that students in the programs return to school in higher numbers - 89 percent one-year retention compared to 85 percent for students who don't participate at the UI, according to data for the entering class of 2009, and 89 percent versus 81 percent at ISU, an average over several years.

Students in ISU's learning communities also have a 12 percent higher six-year graduation rate than students who don't join, also an average over several years. UI officials say they don't have enough data to do a reasonable analysis yet, but ISU educators say with 13 years worth of statistics, they believe the benefits are proven.

“Across the board it's had very positive results for students, both in and out of the classroom,” Gruenewald, co-director of ISU learning communities, said.