Concurrent Session F

Friday, Nov. 13 – 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Home Away From Home: Lived Experiences of First-Generation LLC Participants

DeAnna Katey | Carolina D

First-generation college students often enter higher education without the cultural and social capital needed to navigate academic expectations and campus life. This session highlights findings from a qualitative narrative inquiry examining the lived experiences of first-generation students who participated in an identity-based living-learning community (LLC) during their first year at a large, land-grant institution. Centering student voices and guided by Astin’s Input–Environment–Output model, the presentation explores how intentional learning community design, including peer mentoring, faculty engagement, and structured programming, fostered academic persistence, social integration, and a strong sense of belonging. Participants will gain insight into how LLCs can serve as a “home away from home” for first-generation students and will leave with transferable strategies for designing or refining learning communities that intentionally support students in transition across diverse institutional contexts.

Gen Z Isn’t Laughing: Teaching Learning Communities in a Post-Politically Correct, AI World of Disconnection and Anxiety

Kate Midday & Jay Geller | Carolina E

Coming soon!

Celebrating Student Excellence, Achievement, and Persistence: How A Learning Community Day Brings the Campus Community Together

George Hill & Pamela Bandyopadhyay | Mecklenburg 1

Are you looking to create an event that highlights all the great interdisciplinary work that students in your Learning Community program do, recognizes student success, advertises Learning Communities to students, and builds relationships between faculty, staff, and administration? In this session, participants will learn about the development and history of Learning Community Day, an event held each semester at Hudson County Community College which celebrates our Learning Communities and promotes them to various constituents, while focusing on students interdisciplinary learning. Participants will learn about the history of Learning Community Day and how it has evolved over the years, as well as what goes in to planning an event that brings students, faculty, staff, advisors, and administration, together to celebrate our Learning Community students work. Attendees will also have the opportunity to begin to design their own event that they can implement on their campus.

The LC Summer Assessment Institute: Creating a Culture of Data-Informed Decision Making

Kyle Holtman | Mecklenburg 2

How intentional is your assessment of your learning community program? Do you have a defined plan in place to follow the assessment cycle? In 2021, Iowa State University developed a workshop series to address the need for assessment support within our learning community program. Join us to learn about this four-part series of half-day workshops focused on both big-picture topics and individual LC assessment tools and resources. We will provide attendees with details about our workshop series, feedback we have received, and how it has contributed to a culture of data-informed decision making within our program. Attendees will also craft one or more learning outcomes for their own LC and identify an appropriate assessment method for their program type. A collection of resources will be shared with attendees that they can take back and implement at their institution.

Quick Talks 6 | Mecklenburg 3

One Cohort, One Consultant: Supporting First-Year Students Across Courses and Learning Community Experiences

Heather Jordan & Aiden Kelly

This quick talk highlights a new model focused on the integration of an in-class student consultant who is an upper-level undergraduate. The purpose is to provide support to the same cohort of first-year students across multiple courses and learning community events, not just within a single linked writing course. Presenters will share the collaborative curriculum redesign process, the rationale for selecting and embedding a student consultant across the learning community, and early insights from student experiences. While formal assessment data is still emerging, initial feedback suggests that this model strengthens belonging, confidence, and academic engagement. Attendees will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with others using peer mentoring in their own linked courses and learning communities, making this session relevant for educators, program coordinators, and administrators invested in first-year student success.