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The experiences of African American students in a basic skills learning community at a four year public university

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The experiences of African American students in a basic skills learning community at a four year public university

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THE EXPERIENCES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS IN A BASIC
SKILLS LEARNING COMMUNITY AT A FOUR YEAR PUBLIC UNIVERSITY

by

Jamison Joseph Keller

__________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2009

Copyright 2009 Jamison Joseph Keller
ii
Dedication
This study is dedicated to all educators who seek to fix the world’s social
injustices through educational leadership and reform; and to all of my students who I
have learned so much more from than I will ever be able to repay. Together may we
change the world one student, one program and one policy at a time.
iii
Acknowledgments
As a first generation college student, obtaining a doctorate degree was never
something I had in store for me. It often amazes me that I even have a Bachelor’s
Degree. I could not have accomplished this feat without the great support of my
friends, family, colleagues and students. I would like to briefly thank them here.
First, I would like to thank my parents for their unconditional support and
reminding me that I have always made it through tough spots fine. I attribute their
raising of me as a large part of that strength. I also have a large extended family that
consists of so many great friends that have stuck with me despite not always being
able to have my weekends free. Caitlin, Christy, Jason, Kenneth-Michael, Torta, and
so many others have meant so much to me. Thank you.
I must also thank my supervisors, mentors and colleagues for all of their
diligent reminders and flexibility. This accomplishment could not have been made
without their support, understanding and reminders to focus on the bigger picture
(and if not, than my student loan debt).
I want to thank the Ed.D. program and faculty at USC for designing a
program specifically concentrated on urban education. I have gained so much that I
was so oblivious to for so long. I also want to thank my dissertation committee
members, Dr. Michael Jackson and Dr. William Watkins, for their guidance and
mentoring. A very special thank you goes to my Chair, Dr. Estela Bensimon, for her
strength, guidance, tough editing, high expectations, and professionalism. I have
learned so much from you!
iv
Finally, and for me most importantly, I want to credit my fraternity for so
long ago believing in a young and naive only child who was just looking to fit in. It
is thanks to them that I found my confidence, strength and commitment to lifelong
learning and desire to make things better then when I found them. LTH.
v
Table of Contents
Dedication ………………………………………………………………. ii
Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………..... iii
List of Tables ……………………………………………………………..vi
Abstract …………………………………………………………………. vii
Chapter 1: Introduction …………………………………………………. 1
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ……………………………………. 17
Chapter 3: Methodology ……………………………………………….. 43
Chapter 4: Freshman Connection Student Experiences ……………….. 50
Chapter 5: Discussion ………………………………………………….. 95
References …………………………………………………………….. 120
Appendices ……………………………………………………………. 125
vi
List of Tables
Table 1: One-Year Continuation Rates for First Time Freshmen Attempting
U100 Versions in fall 2005 by Racial and Ethnic Identity ……………………… 10

Table 2: Percentage of First Time Freshman Needing Remediation in
Mathematics or English at Entry by Racial and Ethnic Background in fall 2005. 11

Table 3: WCU Student Gender and Ethnicity (2005) ………………………….. 13
Table 4. Immediate Family Educational Levels ………………………………... 56
Table 5. Student Participant Majors and Rationale ……………………………. 60
Table 6. Junior Year Aspirations and fall 2007 GPA …………………………. 72
vii
Abstract
This evaluative study explores the experiences of twelve African American
students enrolled in a basic skills learning community entitled “Freshman
Connection” at an urban public four-year university. Participants were all first time
freshmen participating in the Freshman Connection program designed to successfully
complete nine units including either their basic skills English or math courses and
remain enrolled beyond the first year. Participants were observed in one of their
three linked courses and interviewed during their last two weeks of enrollment in the
program to evaluate their experiences and determine if the Freshman Connection was
meeting their needs as minority students. The study provided mixed results as to the
success of the program for these students. It was determined the program provided
academic and social integration to the campus. However, students reported racial
segregation and stereotyping occurring within and beyond the learning community.
Based on the results of this study, I set forth an agenda for improvements to the
program so that the retention of African American students is improved and all
students feel a part of the learning community.
1
Chapter 1
Introduction
As a student affairs administrator, my primary role for the past 11 years has
been to support students’ educational development by providing opportunities for
them to apply their in-class learning to meaningful out-of-class experiences. I have
crafted this role from a combination of my studies of student development theory in
graduate school as well as from my own personal experiences as an undergraduate
student. I remember becoming more engaged within my psychology major courses
after successfully “borrowing” certain theories and applying them successfully to the
functioning of my fraternity. This enabled me to determine how the theories I was
studying worked in real life situations. Student affairs administrators are trained to
facilitate this process by linking real life situations to students’ major course of study
thereby enhancing a student’s social and intellectual development.
Astin (1984) has suggested that students who are involved outside of the
classroom are more likely to persist. This suggests that a student’s social
involvement on campus can compliment their in-class learning and increase their
chances of graduating. As a result, my professional career has sought to engage
students in experiential learning opportunities that improve their leadership, social,
intellectual, physical, and emotional skills through the utilization and reflection of
their in-class curriculum. For example, I have created opportunities for business
management students to facilitate strategic planning efforts for their student
organization and for sociology majors to volunteer their time with the homeless to
2
determine how the state’s social welfare system is working for the individual
recipient. Additional co-curricular programs that I have facilitated include: working
with major campus student leadership positions such as the student government or
club leader, new student orientation programming, social programs designed to assist
students in developing meaningful peer relationships, education for fraternity and
sorority students, residential life trainings, faculty advisor trainings, and numerous
other student centered initiatives. Despite more than the decade of time I have spent
with students in these experiences, I had always felt disconnected from the whole
student or that part of a student’s educational experience that takes place during
formal instruction. I felt that I could design better co-curricular programs for
students if I could get to know them as their in-class professor.
Through my interactions with faculty on my current campus, I learned of a
new initiative being coordinated through academic affairs in an effort to increase our
retention and ultimately graduation rates of students. My campus, being one of 23
public state institutions in California, has experienced one of the lowest graduation
rates in the state university system. In 2007, the university’s rate of first-time
freshman graduating in six years or less was 39.1%. More staggering is the rate for
African-American students over the last decade taking six or less years to graduate is
a much lower 26.9%. One risk-factor related to this poor retention rate identified by
the university was the percentage of first year students needing basic skills
instruction in English and Mathematics. The 2005 rate of these students was 72.1%.
When factoring in the additional pressure on our basic skills students with the
3
passing of Executive Order 665 by California State University Chancellor Charles
Reed in 1998, the problem of retention becomes ever more complex. Executive
Order 665 mandates that CSU campuses must enforce limits on remedial activities
for students who are not making adequate progress in developing the skills necessary
to enroll in college credit English and Mathematics courses. Therefore, students
must complete all basic skills curriculum within their first year at the university or be
forced to withdraw and resume their education at a community college until such
classes have been successfully completed. Therefore, the university’s high
percentage of basic skills students coupled with Executive Order 665 has created the
need for university administrators to act or continue to see graduation and retention
rates among the lowest in the State.
As mentioned above, in order to increase our retention rates of first year basic
skills students, an initiative was created by extending the introductory freshman
seminar course
1
in ways that could provide students with a more immediate and
meaningful connection to other students, faculty, staff, college curriculum, and the
university. The concept for this initiative was taken from the University’s Summer
Bridge Program in which academically less prepared students
2
attend a six week
summer program that introduces them to the university and provides success
strategies such as time management and study skills. In an effort to serve a

1
The Freshman Seminar Course known as U100, is a course designed to introduce freshman to the
basic skills and knowledge needed to adjust to the college environment. A full description is included
later in this chapter.

2
Identified by their high school grade point averages and college entrance exam scores
4
considerable amount of additional students, this new initiative called the “Freshman
Connection” consists of a series of courses designed specifically for students in need
of developmental skills education or remediation in mathematics and/or English.
The Freshman Connection scheduled students together their first semester in
three courses including: University 100, a developmental credit/no credit English,
Math, or Writing Course, and a general education course such as Psychology or
Sociology. The assumptions by program faculty were that students would
automatically become socially and academically integrated into the university by
taking three courses together. Another assumption was that this learning cohort
would be equally powerful for all students, regardless of their individual race, in
increasing their retention to the third semester. Student enrollments were
recommended by their academic advisors based on either their need for basic skills
education or their specific academic college’s support of such a class. Therefore,
students voluntarily enroll in the Freshman Connection. At this institution, the
College of Business and Economics and the College of Social and Behavioral
Sciences were more supportive of students enrolling in U100. A total of 12 sections
of the Freshman Connection were offered in fall 2005, six for pre-business and six
for undecided students, with funding received through a combination of student
tuition and a university “learning centered mini grant” provided by the provost. This
mini grant provided a total of $12,000 to compensate the first group of 26 faculty
with a one-time $500 stipend for the extra hours they would work at coordinating
5
their course syllabi and ongoing communication about their cohorts. In subsequent
years, the one-time stipend was lowered to $250.
In the summer of 2005, I applied to be a co-instructor for the University 100
(U100) Freshman Seminar course to be offered in the fall 2005 semester. Through
my conversations with campus colleagues regarding this new initiative, I
collaborated with a career center counselor who was assigned to work specifically
with freshmen in an application to co-teach a section of U100. While we were not
selected to instruct one of the Freshman Connection sections specifically, we did
teach another version of a retention program known as the U100 Living Learning
Community. This section included 18 freshmen who all lived in the same residence
hall. The students represented in the class were from varied socioeconomic, ethnic,
cultural, religious, and educational skill level backgrounds. It was immediately
apparent that the residential experiences of these students would play a major role in
the discussions within the course. “Last evening” and upcoming weekend
experiences were a regular conversational topic in our class and within the first
week, it seemed all of the students knew each other and were socially connected.
Before becoming involved in this class, I never thought about issues
surrounding ethnicity and how it affects students in a racially mixed class. Not until
about half-way through the semester did it become apparent to me that four out of
the five African-American students (two male, three female) in the course were
actually becoming very disconnected from the group. They began to miss class, turn
in late assignments, incomplete, or not at all. They no longer participated in most of
6
the conversations in class nor did the other students engage them. Despite many
personal conversations and emails from my co-instructor, also African American,
and I, the four out of the five students received a grade of a C or below while the
other students performed much better
3
. At first I assumed that these African
American students might have had lower high school grade point averages. Upon
confirming their incoming high school GPA’s, I found that they had similar grade
point averages as the rest of the students in the class
4
. With no difference in
incoming high school GPA’s and no initial difference in the socializing of the
students at the outset of the semester, I wondered under what circumstances things
changed for the African American students who were once so connected to the
Living Learning Community? What caused them to disconnect? What factors
affected their performance in the class? Despite assurances from each of these
students that they were adjusting well to their new college environment from
personal and email conversations, why did these students still withdraw socially
from the course and end the semester with lower grades than the other students?
In the fall of 2006, I was offered to teach my own U100 course. This section
was a section of the Freshman Connection learning community specifically designed
to improve the retention of our basic skills students. This time I had an equally
diverse class as the Living Learning Community the year before with varied

3
The breakdown in final grades for the class was: 5 A’s, 6 A-‘s, 3 B+’s, 1 B-, 1 C, 1 C-, 2 F’s

4
The high school grade point average for the five African American students was 3.14 compared to
the remaining high school class grade point average of 3.34.
7
socioeconomic, ethnic, cultural, and educational backgrounds
5
. These 20 students
were enrolled in a basic non-college credit writing course, the U100 seminar, and
Introduction to Psychology. While these students did not live together in the same
residence hall, they were together for their three courses three times per week for at
least four hours
6
. Once again, I noticed around the second week that the students
knew each other’s names, discussed their classroom and college experiences, often
walked to and from classes together, had lunch together
7
, and socialized off campus
with each other
8
. It seemed that the immediate social connections made for an easier
transition to college for them and attendance in class was always at or above 90%.
At about half-way through the semester however, it became apparent that all three
African American students began to withdraw from the group. They began to turn in
assignments late, incomplete, or not at all. They no longer participated in as many
conversations in class as they did earlier in the semester. Attendance records also
indicated they missed class 20% more than all other students. Despite numerous
conversations with them
9
to determine what was causing these changes, each student
claimed they were fine and were in good shape. By the end of the semester, two of

5
This information was self-reported by the students during in-class activities.

6
An example of the course schedules is provided in Appendix 1.

7
My office is located in the same building as many food venues on campus. On many occasions I
witnessed students from my class getting lunch together during their one hour break in between
classes.

8
Students often mentioned during class that they had attended on and/or off campus events with other
students in the Freshmen Connection.

9
I would often discreetly ask students to remain after class to talk or would email them if they were
not able to stay or when they would miss class.
8
the three students received below a C in the course while all other students
performed much better. While the other African American student completed the
course with above a C, all of them commented at the conclusion of the course that
they didn’t feel the class provided strong social connections while the other students
disagreed
10
. I began to wonder why these two learning community initiatives
seemed to have had a positive social impact on particularly Caucasian, Asian, and
mixed ethnic students, but did not seem to positively affect as many of the African
American students in my classes. I was even more anxious to learn everything I
could about the experiences of our African American students within the Freshman
Connection program as I was about to teach another cohort in both the summer 2007
and fall 2007 semesters, spanning the time I would also be working on this
dissertation.

The Problem
In November of 2006, the first report on the Freshman Connection, Living
Learning Community, and individual U100 section enrollments was distributed by
the Director of Institutional Research to all faculty and administrators working with
these initiatives. This report confirmed my suspicions that the African American
students were not performing as well as the other students enrolled in the program.
The report examined one-year continuation rates for students who were and were not

10
These comments were given in an informal discussion in the last class session.
9
enrolled in each of three freshmen seminar initiatives
11
for the 2005-2006 academic
year. It indicated that students who enrolled in the optional U100 course had higher
one-year continuation gains than students who did not take the course and were more
likely to need basic skills education at entry (Huber, 2006). The report also indicated
that for students needing basic skills education at enrollment, participation in the
Freshman Connection experience provided the strongest benefit increasing the one-
year retention rates an additional 7% (Huber, 2006). Since this particular statistic
was known prior to the distribution of this report, additional sections of the
Freshman Connection were offered based on the initial success in the first year.
Despite this positive conclusion, what is extremely troublesome is the report
concludes that while the Freshman Connection provided the strongest benefit to
basic skills students, the benefit was strong only for Caucasian and Asian students
(Huber, 2006). Latino students and African American students especially were the
least likely to persist to their third semester despite their enrollment in the Freshman
Connection (Huber, 2006). Below, Table 1 lists the fall 2005 retention rates for all
first-time freshmen. Table 2 lists the percentage of freshmen needing remediation by
racial and ethnic background for fall 2005.

11
The three initiatives included: The Freshman Connection, The Living Learning Community, and
regular sections of University 100.
10
Table 1. One-Year Continuation Rates for First Time Freshmen Attempting U100
Versions in fall 2005 by Racial and Ethnic Identity

Freshman
Grouping
African American Latino/a Asian Caucasian

Retained
Entry
Cohort
Retained
Entry
Cohort
Retained
Entry
Cohort
Retained
Entry
Cohort
Freshman
Connection
12

68.8 32 75.9 83 86.1 36 89.5 38
U100 Only 62.4 85 76.6 261 87.2 78 82.6 132
No U100 68.4 411 73.8 1116 77.3 449 78.7 760
All first time
Freshmen
67.3 496 74.4 1377 78.7 527 79.3 892
Source: ERSS files maintained by the Office of Institutional Research in Huber 2006

Table 1 above, shows that in fall 2005, there were 496 African Americans, of
which 32 were enrolled in the Freshman Connection. The retention rate for the
Freshman Connection African American students (69%) was not much different than
all African American students (67%) at the university. The increase in students
retained for this group was only 2%. The Asian and Caucasian rates however
showed increases of 7% and 10% respectively.

12
The Freshman Connection program only enrolls students who are in need of basic skills English,
Math or Writing.
11
Table 2. Percentage of First Time Freshman Needing Remediation in Mathematics
or English at Entry by Racial and Ethnic Background in fall 2005

Racial and Ethnic
Grouping
Number in
Entry Cohort
Math
Remediation only
English
Remediation only
English & Math
Remediation
All First Time
Freshmen
3,720 10.5 19.6 42.0
Minority Students 2,309 9.9 19.1 50.5
African American 494 10.9 10.9 65.4
Latino/a 1314 10.0 17.7 53.3
Native American 13 15.4 15.4 30.8
Asian American 488 8.2 31.4 28.3
Caucasian Students 883 11.9 17.3 23.4
Unknown & Other 406 12.1 20.7 23.4
International
Students
122 5.7 41.0 40.2
Source: ERSS files maintained by the Office of Institutional Research in Huber 2006

These discrepancies in the retention rates of Freshman Connection students
are further troubling when reviewing Table 2. Here we see that 87.2% (10.9% math
only, 10.9% English only and 65.4% of both) of all African American students are in
need of some sort of remediation. With these high percentages of African American
students in need of basic skills education, it is dangerous to make assumptions on
how a retention program will impact students without specific investigation as to
their specific needs.
Despite the inclusion of the percentages by race and wide distribution of this
report to faculty and administrators of the program, the Freshman Connection was
designated a success with no specific changes recommended and no questions raised
as to demographic differences. This report (Appendix A) coupled with my own
12
classroom experiences made me question why learning communities have had a
greater impact on the success of Caucasian and Asian students but do not increase
the retention of African American students at this particular university. Given that
basic skills students are required to complete their basic skills courses within the first
academic year at California public universities, what aspects about the Freshman
Connection can be changed to improve retention of African American students?

The University
West Coast University
13
(WCU) is located in a large urban area in California.
It is an accredited
14
public, four-year institution offering 64 bachelor’s and 50
master’s degrees awarded by nine separate colleges. In 2005, WCU enrolled over
33,000 students with approximately 80% of them undergraduates. The average
undergraduate age of a WCU student is 23.5 years. The gender and ethnic
breakdown of the student population is listed in Table 3.3 below. WCU is
recognized in the United States as a Hispanic Serving Institution given that over 25%
of the student population is of Hispanic origin.
Taken directly from the institution’s website, the university has recently been
ranked by The U.S. Education Department as “among the top 100 universities
nationwide in graduating Hispanic students at the bachelor's and master's levels. The

13
West Coast University is a pseudonym

14
Accredited by the WASC
13
university also places highly in Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education and Black
Issues in Higher Education rankings for degrees awarded” (www.csun.edu).

Table 3. WCU Student Gender and Ethnicity (2005)

Men 13,309 40.0%
Women 19,934 60.0%
Total 33,243 100%
White 10,666 32.1%
Other 5,348 16.1%
Mexican-American 5,301 15.9%
Other Latino 3,476 10.5%
Asian American 2,742 8.2%
African American 2,658 8.0%
International 1,676 5.0%
Filipino 1,106 3.3%
American Indian 150 0.5%
Pacific Islander 120 0.4%
Total 33,243 100%
Source: www.csun.edu

The Freshman Connection
Freshman in need of basic skills education who started WCU in fall 2005 had
the opportunity to participate in an academic learning community entitled the
“Freshman Connection.” Students who enrolled in this program were a part of a
community of 20-25 freshmen enrolled in three linked classes. Faculty teaching
these courses were encouraged to work together to coordinate shared assignments
14
and were offered a one-time stipend of $250 for their extra planning time. The goal
of the Freshman Connection is to “improve freshman retention and success rates by
offering students a ready-made academic and social community during their first
freshman semester” (course website). All students in the Freshman Connection
(Appendix B) took U100 Freshman Seminar (3 units of GE credit); an English, Math
or Writing Basic Skills Course (3 units of non-college credits); and either
Psychology 150 or Sociology 150 (3 units of GE credit).

University 100
The University 100 course provides first time freshman the opportunity to
develop the skills and strategies necessary for excellence in academic, personal, and
professional life. The course counts for three units of general education coursework
in the area of Applied Arts and Sciences at the WCU. The formal description of the
course listed in the University Catalogue states:
This course introduces first-time freshmen to the university as an institution,
a culture, and an intellectual experience. Academic success is the central
goal of the course. Topics include academic skills (writing, reading, note-
taking, test-taking, and information competence, as well as critical, analytic,
and creative thinking); the value of higher education; the history and culture
of (WCU); lifelong learning; the discourse of higher education; ethics and
responsibility; diversity in higher education; advisement; health; and self-
assessment. Weekly writing assignments; frequent in-class exercises; some
on-campus field trips (p. 514).

While there is a common course textbook and outline expected of each faculty
teaching the over 32 sections of this course, each instructor is free to create their own
15
assignments and classroom activities to accomplish the course goals and objectives
(listed in a sample course syllabus in Appendix C).

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Freshman Connection ready-
made learning community to determine how it provides sense of belonging at WCU
for African American students. I observed and interviewed African American
students in multiple sections of the fall 2007 Freshman Connection cohort to
decipher what a “ready made” social and academic community was for them. I
particularly focused my inquiry on how these students socially and academically
integrated within the university and their perception of how the Freshman
Connection facilitated these connections.

Research Questions
The specific research questions I focus on in this study include: 1) In what
ways do African American students experience the Freshman Connection? 2) How
do African American students enrolled in the Freshman Connection integrate
socially into the university community? and 3) How do African American students
enrolled in the Freshman Connection integrate academically into the university
community?

16
Significance of the Study
The results of this study provide specific data on how to improve the success
and retention of African American students who enroll in the Freshman Connection
Program at WCU. This study also raises consciousness as to what a “ready made”
community should look like at a diverse institution which can improve the training of
faculty who teach in this program. The results equip them with the much needed
knowledge on how to facilitate social and academic experiences in a diverse
classroom.

Organization of the Dissertation
This dissertation is organized into five chapters. This first chapter has
introduced the topic, an overview of the Freshman Connection Program, the specific
problem, the research questions and purposes of the study. The second chapter
provides an overview of the literature related to both learning communities and
retention studies of African American students. The third chapter outlines the
methodologies that were used for data collection and analysis in order to answer the
research questions. The fourth chapter is a full analysis of the collected data as it
relates to the conceptual frameworks found in the literature. The final chapter
summarizes the conclusions derived in this study with a detailed discussion of the
applications for practice this study presents.
17
Chapter 2
Review of the Literature
The issue of enhancing student retention has become a major focus of higher
education for colleges and universities nationwide (Elkins, Braxton & James, 1998).
Factors such as changing demographics (Zusman, 1994) and an increasing number of
students needing basic skills education (Smittle, 2003) have increased college
attrition rates, thus creating the need of institutions to focus on the number of
students they retain to keep enrollments steady and graduation rates on the rise
(Tinto, 1993). In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES), in 2000, 32% of all freshmen in 4-year colleges and universities required
remedial education (NCES, as found in Smittle, 2003). The NCES (2004) also
reported 76% of postsecondary institutions offered at least one remedial reading,
writing or mathematics course. The students who must take these courses present
educational challenges to college educators that exceed that of more traditional
college students (Smittle, 2003). Since these students lack the foundational skills
required for rigorous college curriculum (Smittle, 2003), it is not surprising that they
are less likely to earn a degree or certificate than those who do not need remediation
(NCES, 2003). In fact, Boylan (1999) estimates as few as 10% of these students will
complete their degrees without specific interventions.
When looking specifically at African American students who are in need of
basic skills education, the statistics are even more troubling. Research has indicated
that African American students are often less academically prepared than White
18
students (Cabrera, Nora, Terenzini, Pascarella, & Hagedorn, 1999). As a result,
colleges and universities have placed a strong emphasis on designing programs and
strategies to improve the graduation rates of basic skills education students (Chung,
2005). A growing number of institutions are reporting greater successes with
retaining these students than ever before. One approach to their reported successes
has been with their adoption of learning communities (Tinto, 1998). Tinto (1998)
suggests that the growing popularity of learning communities stems from the
importance of involvement to student education. Stated more simply, the more
students are involved in the academic and social life of a college or university, the
more likely they are to persist (Tinto, 1998). Learning communities are the tools that
allow universities to assist students in becoming more socially connected to their
peers and academically involved with their education.
While much of the literature reporting on the use of learning communities to
retain freshmen basic skills education students has indicated positive results, none
have specifically reported on successes for African American students in particular.
I used three methods to locate relevant studies. First, I reviewed reference lists from
previously published reviews of learning communities (Matthews, Leigh,
MacGregor & Gabelnick, 1996; Young, 2002) and persistence theory (Guiffrida,
2006; Metz, 2002). Second, I searched the PsychInfo and Eric databases for articles
published between 1973 (the earliest persistence theory publication by Tinto) and
December, 2006, using the keywords “learning community” paired with each of the
following keywords: “African American,” “college,” “university,” “remediation,”
19
“minority,” and “freshmen.” Finally, I searched for relevant articles by reviewing
the reference lists of the articles identified in the PsychInfo and Eric searches as
indicated above. Despite all of these searches, nothing relevant addressing the
impact of cohort learning communities on the retention of African American students
was found.
This study therefore fills this important gap. This study first focuses on the
application of theoretical persistence models and how these models have led to the
design of learning communities for basic skills education students. Specifically, I
consider how such a learning community affects the persistence of African American
students at a four-year, public, urban university. This chapter will proceed with: 1) a
presentation of the theoretical foundations discovered of learning communities as a
persistence intervention, 2) present the various designs of learning communities
currently being used and a summary of their research findings, 3) include numerous
studies that challenge or suggest revisions to Tinto’s model as it relates to African
American students specifically, and 4) provide the most suggested factors that
improve African American student retention, and 5) conclude with a discussion on
the implication arising out of the literature.

Theoretical Foundations of Student Persistence
Studies investigating student persistence are one of the most widely
researched in higher education (Metz, 2002). Even though researchers such as Astin
(1975) and Terrenzini and Pascarella’s (1980) work on access and persistence of
20
college students have been well cited as important in the field of education (Metz,
2002), Tinto’s student departure theory is the most widely cited theory for explaining
the student departure process that has reached “near paradigmic status” within higher
education (Braxton, Milem, & Sullivan, 2000).
Tinto, a sociologist by profession, developed his theory based on the works
of Durkheim’s (1953) suicide and departure theory and Van Gennep’s (1960) rites of
passage theory (Metz, 2002; Liu, 2000; Masursky, 1997, Tinto, 1975). Durkheim
(1953) studied specific types of suicide that occur in society, one of which he labeled
egotistical suicide. Egotistical suicide was the term given to an individual’s suicide,
or departure from society, caused by their inability to integrate into society due to
either an intellectual or social failure (Durkheim, 1953). Van Gennep (1960),
borrowing from Durkheim, determined that a person integrates into a social setting
from another by specific “rites of passage” that are socially significant. Often times,
these rites of passage are deemed by society as evidence of accomplishment or
acceptance (Metz, 2002). Therefore, one may not be able to transition successfully
from one social setting onto another unless he or she can complete the appropriate
rite of passage, passing college courses being one example. If the individual does
not complete the rite of passage, he or she will not be accepted by society, or college,
and subsequently withdraw.
Tinto’s (1975) student departure theory combined the concepts listed in the
works above to explain certain influences of student persistence. Tinto proposed a
multivariate model of student retention to explain student departure from college
21
prior to obtaining their degree objective (Napoli & Wortman, 1998). This model
advocates that both student characteristics and interactions with the social and
academic environments of a college or university are the principal determinants of
why students choose to abandon the institution (Napoli & Wortman, 1998). Tinto
suggested that students begin college with certain expectations and goals for
attending. Factors that influence the formation of these expectations and goals
include: family background, skills and abilities, and prior schooling (Liu, 2000).
These expectations and goals are defined as goal commitment, or a student’s
commitment to obtaining a degree, and institutional commitment, or a student’s
commitment to the college or university they have chosen to attend (Tinto, 1975).
Tinto further posits that both commitments can be strengthened or weakened based
on students’ social and academic integration into the institution. Thus, the stronger
the commitments, the more likely one is to persist while the weaker the
commitments, the more likely one is to withdraw from the institution.
Much of the literature places importance on the social support aspect of this
model (Maggio, White, Molstad & Kher, 2005; Napoli & Wortman, 1998; Liff,
2003). Specifically, Tinto defined a college as a social system containing its own
values and social structures (Maggio, White, Molstad & Kher, 2005). As a result, if
a student does not have sufficient social interactions or is not congruent with the
institutions’ values, he or she will be more likely to withdraw (Maggio, White,
Molstad & Kher, 2005). Tinto (1975) suggested that social integration consisted of
the frequency and quality of contact with peers and faculty, connection to the values
22
of the specific institution, and involvement on campus outside of the classroom.
Academic integration was defined by Tinto (1975) as a student’s feelings about their
intellectual development in college as well as their academic performance such as
grade point average and test scores. Tinto further postulated that each type of
integration could equally have a negative or positive effect on student commitments
(Metz, 2002).
Tinto also emphasized three additional factors, or stages that affected a
student’s decision to leave college (Metz, 2002). The stages of separation, transition
and incorporation are described as how a student successfully assimilates into the
institution (Metz, 2002). In the separation stage, a student must break away from
previous relationships or friendships at home and create new relationships with peers
at the institution so as to become socially integrated (Tinto, 1993). Transition and
incorporation stages describe, in succinct order, the level of full social integration
through the amount of established relationships at the institution while eliminating
past relationships (Tinto, 1993). Without the elimination of these past relationships,
Tinto argues a student may not fully integrate with peers in a learning community.
Research on Tinto’s model conducted throughout the past two decades
suggests that students must experience both social and academic integration to the
institution in order to persist (Stage, 1989; Tinto, 1998; Tinto & Goodsell, 1994).
Other studies have shown that the greater the student is socially integrated, the
greater the student’s learning development will be affected (Astin, 1984; Pascarella
& Terenzini, 1991). Stefanou and Salisbury-Glennon (2002) report there have been
23
numerous calls for undergraduate curriculum reform for first-year students so as to
provide meaningful and more immediate social and academic integration. One
particular curricular reform that has been proposed with increasing popularity is the
undergraduate learning community.

What are Learning Communities?
Learning communities place a high degree of emphasis on integrated courses
and intellectual interaction between faculty and students (Gabelnick, MacGregor,
Matthews & Smith, 1990). Smith (1993) describes learning communities as a way to
foster the social construction of knowledge, active learning, an emphasis on diverse
student perspectives, cooperative learning, and student-student and student-teacher
collaboration.
Learning communities have drawn on scholarship provided by philosophical,
structural and pedagogical writings of Dewey and Meiklejohn (Smith, MacGregor,
Matthews, and Gabelnick, 2004; Talburt & Boyles, 2005). In Meiklejohn’s
Experimental College at the University of Wisconsin from 1927 to 1932, students
studied an ancient Greek and contemporary American society curriculum while
living together in a shared residence hall (Talburt & Boyles, 2005). Meiklejohn
created this design which he thought was essential for student learning in order to
criticize society by combining liberal arts study with their free speech rights
(Meiklejohn, 1932, as cited in Talburt & Boyles, 2005). Dewey’s work also meant
equipping students with the ability to criticize society as well. Smith and others
24
(2004) cite Dewey’s scholarship as emphasizing the diverse aspirations and
experiences of students and called for higher education to be able “to meet students
where students are at.” This perspective of student centered learning required
experiential learning-by-doing combined with the real life background experiences
of students as beginning points to the curriculum (Talburt & Boyles, 2005). Since
Dewey’s view of experiential learning consisted of students being engaged in
projects in order to solve problems, a great deal of social interaction was required
(Talburt & Boyles, 2005). It was Dewey’s student centered learning perspective that
has incorporated active, experimental and cooperative learning as a part of the
development of modern learning communities (Smith, et al, 2004).
Tinto (1998) describes modern learning communities in their most basic form
as a block-scheduling or co-registration process that is designed so that students take
courses together. Usually a set number of students (20-30) will register for two or
more courses, forming a study group (Price, 2005). In most cases, students will
enroll in linked courses of two or more that include a writing or a math course,
linked with a literature or science course. Many of these learning communities are
planned around a central theme so as to ensure a shared curriculum with a deeper
level of learning (Tinto, 1998). Tinto states that all learning communities have two
things in common: shared knowledge and shared knowing. Shared knowledge
includes the opportunity for students to share as a community of learners, a
connected curriculum among a series of courses (Tinto, 1998). Shared knowing
includes the opportunity for students, by taking numerous classes together, to get to
25
know each other quickly and intimately while also learning the material together as a
group (Tinto, 1998).
Other learning communities as described by Price (2005) include cohorts in
large lecture courses, team-taught programs, and residence-based programs. The
cohorts in large course model breaks up students into smaller study groups that are
usually led by graduate students or older student mentors (Price, 2005). The team-
taught model is designed so a team of faculty members co-create the curriculum
around two or more courses with a common theme or interdisciplinary approach
(Price, 2005). One such example is offered at Louisiana State University with its
Ear to the Streets: The Race, Hip-Hop, and Sports Learning Community in which the
disciplines of kinesiology and sociology are covered as they pertain to African
American sports and music talents and how they affect the African American culture
(Harrison, Moore, and Evans, 2006). This learning community is organized by two
faculty from separate departments who team teach a total of 53 students (Harrison, et
al, 2006). The residence based model incorporates residential life into the academic
division of an institution by teaching courses within or without residence halls of
students who reside together (Price, 2005).
The recognition of the potential of learning communities to improve the
social and academic integration of students has led many institutions to adapt them to
meet the specific needs of basic skills education or remedial students (Tinto, 1998).
Some examples of such programs are freshman seminar courses, summer pre-
freshman programs, and intensive learning experiences (Maggio, White, Molstad &
26
Kher, 2005; Higbee & Dwinell, 1992). While these programs are popular at many
institutions, research studying their overall effectiveness is limited (Maggio, White,
Molstad & Kher, 2005).
Higbee and colleagues (2005) provide a developmental educational model
referred to as the Concurrent Acquisition Model. This model allows students to
enroll in a developmental course and college credit courses at the same time (Higbee,
Arendale & Lundell, 2005). Higbee and colleagues further distinguish three
different types of models including:
adjunct learning experiences for targeted “high-risk” content courses;
coordinated programs that require student participation in developmental
activities outside of class; and developmental education models that are
embedded, infused, or mainstreamed into a content course in order to provide
academic support and enrichment (p. 10).

These three models require students to participate in events that take place outside of
the course curriculum and schedule but are highly connected to the course content
(Higbee, Arendale & Lundell, 2005). One example provided by Higbee and
colleagues (2005) is a linked course model in which students concurrently enroll in
two or more classes including the developmental course. In this model, learning
strategies are applied to all assignments in each of the courses in an effort to
reinforce both content and skill development (Higbee, Arendale & Lundell, 2005).
Several studies have reported that this model is extremely effective in assisting
developing students in succeeding in college (McCabe & Day, 1998; Tinto, 1997; as
cited in Higbee, Arendale & Lundell, 2005).

27
Reported Outcomes of Learning Communities
Given that modern learning communities have been in use for only the
previous two decades and are still growing in popularity, research regarding effects
on students is still in its infancy. The research that has been conducted thus far
indicate mostly positive outcomes for students, although none of these studies
provide desegregated data for learning communities comprised of multiple races. In
Tinto’s (1998) study of a remedial learning community at LaGuardia Community
College entitled “The New Student House,” students were found to have benefited
more in the learning community over those who were enrolled in basic skills or
remediation courses separately. In this case study, Tinto found that students in the
learning community were able to: build supportive peer groups, participate in shared
learning with other students and increase their involvement and persistence in
college.
While not specifically geared toward basic skills education or remediation
students, another study at a community college by Tinto (1997) found similar results.
Tinto (1997) looked at the first-year student learning community at Seattle Central
Community College in Washington State. Results of this study indicated learning
community student participants were involved on campus both in the courses and in
student activities, were more positive about attending college, had more supportive
peers, and persisted to the second and third quarters higher than non-program
students (Tinto, 1997).
28
When applying his model to a four-year public university, Tinto and
Goodsell (1993) also found similar outcomes for students. The Freshman Interest
Group (FIG) learning communities at the University of Washington proved
successful through the following outcomes for students involved in the FIGs:
students persisted to the third semester; students had a higher grade point average;
students developed strong supportive peer networks that encouraged them to branch
out to other campus social communities; had a higher attendance rate; had stronger
relationships with faculty; and reported that their social needs were not being
sacrificed by their academic needs (Tinto & Goodsell, 1993). As is the case in
Tinto’s other studies, Tinto and Goodsell (1993) found three common themes for
FIG students: supportive peer groups, shared learning, and higher involvement and
persistence.
Another study at a four-year commuter campus was conducted to determine
if a pilot learning community linking basic skills math and writing courses was more
successful than non-connected courses for students (Bruttenham, Cook, Hall, Moore-
Whitesell, Ruhl-Smith, Shafii-Mousavi, Smith, & White, 2003). The researchers
(2003) found higher passing rates in math and writing, higher retention, higher
attendance rates, increased student and faculty interactions, and increased social
adjustment in the learning community over non-program participants. This study
indicated that learning communities can be just as successful at four-year commuter
campuses as they are in residential and community colleges.
29
Looking at learning communities effects on motivation and cognitive
learning, Stefanou and Salisbury-Glennon (2002) conducted a study of six learning
communities at a large eastern university. Results of their study provide additional
benefits of the use of learning communities for students. Stefanou and Salisbury-
Glennon (2002) suggest learning communities provide increases in the following
student learning outcomes: self-efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and the
use of multiple learning strategies, while a decrease occurred in experiences of test
anxiety. This study suggests that learning communities can be used for more than
social integration.
Although the literature on learning communities listed above report on
positive results, I found two authors that point to the potential for problems with their
use. Sapon-Shevin & Chandler-Scott (2001) suggest there is the potential for the
formation of exclusionary subgroups within the learning community as a result of
outside campus conflicts. These conflicts can prevent the formation of supportive
peer relationships and shared learning. Strommer (1999) found that some faculty
who teach in learning communities were fearful they segregate upper from lower
class students thus causing subgroups and rudeness among students.
So as the literature provides, there are numerous models and effective
programs that are being utilized by colleges and universities to increase the retention
and overall academic success of basic skills education students. Although a few
studies offer caution regarding negative student socialization and segregation, most
individual program results are indicating enhanced student success.
30
Cultural Contentions with Tinto’s Model
Although Tinto’s student departure and persistence model has been tested
through the design and implementation of numerous learning communities, questions
have come about regarding the applicability of his theory to students of color who
attend PWIs (Guiffrida, 2004). While each of the studies mentioned above reported
great successes for students, none of them indicated these successes applied to
minority students or African American students specifically. In fact, none of the
studies included demographic information regarding race and ethnicity for students
involved in their studies. Tinto’s (1997) study at SCCC made reference to diverse
students being included in the study, however no specific information as to what he
meant by diversity was included. This lack of inclusion of minority students, and
African American students specifically, has been a major source of contention of
Tinto’s work for many researchers. Despite revising his theory in 1993 by changing
the concept of integration to one of mere membership in aspects of the campus
community as a way to rid the assumption of conformity to a predominantly White
perspective, most argue his framework has largely been unchanged.
Tierney (1999) has suggested that Tinto’s model raises practical and
theoretical concerns considering he based his model on theorists such as Van Gennep
and Durkheim. Tierney (1999) argues that Van Gennep’s model never assumed the
rite of passage would be taken by individuals from one culture into a foreign culture.
Instead, Van Gennep’s (1960) model was intended to describe a progression within
one’s own culture. For example, an African American student’s background may
31
differ from that of a White student and for those African American students who are
attending PWI’s, the expectation is they assimilate into a predominantly White
culture and not within their own African American culture (Tierney, 1999). This
expectation, as found by Janes (1997) had a major impact on African American
nursing students. Janes (1997) found that the social integration of African American
students attending historically Black colleges was not as vital as for those African
American students attending PWI’s. This conclusion suggests that the increased
presence of other African American students may make it easier for other Black
students to socially integrate into the college.
Tatum (1997) provides insight into the social dynamics involved in Janes’
(1997) study above. Tatum (1997) describes the need for a Black student to have
other Black students to associate with as a method of coping with an unfamiliar or
uncomfortable environment. When African American students become aware of a
lack of representation of their race on a campus, they perceive that environment to be
exclusive and begin to feel invalidated and usually disengage (Tatum, 1997). This
creates an environmental stressor for the student and connecting with the few other
Black students for support is their way to deal with that stressor and cope with their
perceived unsupportive environment (Tatum, 1997). Even if an African American
student sees other White students as potential supportive networks, he or she may
decide that socializing with a race different from their own will be bad socially as the
much needed Black peer network will frown upon it (Tatum, 1997). This perception
of acceptance by Black peers can also influence how a student academically
32
integrates into the institution. Tatum suggests that many Black students will avoid
situations that might set them apart from their Black peers such as “playing down
their academic success enough to maintain some level of acceptance among Black
peers” (p.63) as some academic success is considered being too “White.”
Tierney (1999) also argues that Tinto’s (1975) model views college as an
initiation ritual with success being dependent upon how students are able to integrate
into the social and academic life of the institution. Since many Black students
believe their campus does not promote their cultural knowledge, many cannot
successfully adapt socially and academically, thus forcing them to withdraw from the
“foreign” White culture (Tierney, 1999). This withdrawal may stem from what
Feagin (1996) describes as “interracial interactional dimensions,” (p. 14) or social
space, social time and recognition. Feagin (1996) suggests that Black students who
attend PWI’s experience their campus as a space that is controlled by the white
majority, that the White majority forces the forgetting of Black history and
experience, and that Blacks are forced into a sense of invisibility or loss of
recognition. These perceptions by Black students are further developed when White
students’ believe that no racism or prejudice exists at their campus (Feagin, 1996).
These feelings of alienation described by Feagin (1996) are likely to affect
the academic performance of African American students. Hurtado and colleagues
(1999) discuss such feelings as creating a chronic role strain creating self-doubt of
their academic ability, intelligence, capability, and preparation to succeed in college
all leading to the inability to connect with the university. Jones (2001) posits these
33
feelings lead to a lack of satisfaction with their college experience and are the main
reasons why African American students attending PWI’s are less likely to persist.
Furthermore, Tierney (1999) adds that Durkheim’s model of suicide and
withdrawal is culturally unfair to minority students. Since Tinto’s (1975) model
suggests that students must break away from their previous communities in order to
integrate socially into the college, an African American student is essentially
committing cultural suicide (Tierney, 1999). Some studies show that even if all ties
are severed from past communities, the entrance into a PWI proves to be an
impediment particularly for basic skills education students (Mannan, Charleston, &
Saghafi, 1986).
Guiffrada (2006) has also suggested Tinto’s (1975) theory should be revised
to incorporate a cultural perspective. He argues Tinto’s (1975) model is limited
since it does not consider the sources of students’ motivation to their levels of
commitment to completing their degrees. This is especially important considering
research suggesting minority student motivational orientations may be different from
that of their White peers (Allen, 1999; Arnold, 1993; as found in Guiffrada, 2006).
Guiffrida (2006) looks at cross-cultural psychology as a way to discuss these
differences. “One of the most important behavioral distinctions observed among
cultures of the world is the differences between collectivism and individualism”
(Triandis, Chen, and Chan, 1998; cited in Guiffrida, 2006, p. 454). Individualist
societies tend to value independence, competition, and emotional detachment from
one’s in-group and place personal goals over the goals of the group (Phinney, 1996;
34
cited in Guiffrida, 2006). Collectivist societies value interdependence, group
harmony, and emotional attachment within the in-group with a main value of
subordination of individual goals to the goals of the larger group (Triandis, Chen,
and Chan, 1998; as cited in Guiffrida, 2006). Guiffrida (2006) citing several
psychologists, observes that collectivist values influence African American, Latino
American, Native American, and Asian American cultures not only as a way to
continue their cultural heritages, but also to deal with racial oppression and socio-
economic challenges.
In applying cross-cultural values to Tinto’s (1975) model, it becomes
apparent that some minority students are being challenged to give up their
collectivist values by separating from their previous backgrounds so as to socially
integrate into the college environment (Guiffrida, 2006). Guiffrida argues that many
minority students rely on the support of their families, friends and other members of
their communities. Guiffrida suggests that Tinto’s (1975) model should consider
moving away from perspectives that emphasize student adaptation to a majority
culture to one that encourages colleges and universities to affirm diverse student
cultures and connections to home social systems.
It is important to note here that Guiffrida does not suggest that all minority
students should or need to stay connected to their home social networks. In an
earlier study, Guiffrida (2004) found that African American students’ decision to
remain or sever ties with previous high school and neighborhood friends depended
upon their level of academic achievement. Interviews of 99 African American
35
students concluded that most of those who left the university or who were considered
low-achievers (0 to a 2.5 grade point average) feared that they were losing their
connection to their friends from home as they integrated more into the university
(Guiffrida, 2004). However, those students in the study who were considered high
achievers (2.5 grade point average and above) gave mixed results on whether
maintaining social connection with friends and community members from home
impacted their ability to succeed in college (Guiffrida, 2004). Some high achievers
reported that friends were a liability to their success in college while others claimed
their success was a direct result of maintaining their friendships with those from
home (Guiffrida, 2004). These results may suggest that the academic achievement
of African American students may be affected by whether or not a student chooses to
maintain relationships they had with friends and relatives before beginning college.
Another interpretation from these results that Guiffrida did not report on is the level
of goal and institutional commitments the students in this study had when making the
decision to keep or sever their ties.
In their study, Elkins, Braxton and James (2000) found that African
American students received little support from their family members and friends
from their previous communities who did not attend college. As a result, this lack of
support may lead to students’ perceptions of having to reject past relationships, and
their only support networks, in an effort to increase their institutional and goal
commitments (Elkins, et. al, 2000). Subsequently, students who felt the need to
36
reject their previous relationships were less likely to persist into the next academic
year (Elkins, et. al, 2000).
Another study, conducted at a PWI, suggests that African American students
may spend a significant amount of time socially integrating by creating or enhancing
a Black student culture when there was an initial perception of a lack of a Black
student community on campus (Person & Christensen, 1996). Person and
Christensen (1996) interviewed 39 African American students at a PWI to determine
how institutions could increase retention of Black students. They found that
involvement in Black student organizations played a critical role in the lives of black
students who spent all of their social time with other Black students. The students in
this study believed they were more socially connected on campus but felt they
sacrificed their academics (the grade point average for these students was a 2.13).
While this study did not look at basic skills education students or learning
communities, the results do indicate a desire on behalf of the students to integrate
more into their own culture within campus as opposed to the overall campus social
climate. As a result, these students attributed their poor academic achievements with
the amount of time it took to seek out and maintain this social network.
In her study of African American nursing students, Janes (1997) found that
adjustment to the college setting was a different experience for those students who
attended the predominantly Black university than for those who attended a PWI.
One primary area of difference was in the perceived amount of positive role models
that were available. Students reported numerous positive role models on the
37
predominantly Black campus while they reported a scarcity in positive role models
on the PWI campus (Janes, 1997). Another study concluded that African American
students who did not feel supported by their instructors were less likely to approach
their teachers for help out of fear they would be perceived as needing help because of
their race (Schwitzer, Griffin, Ancis & Thomas, 1999). This is an example of
Steele’s (1997) “stereotype threat” in which he argues that African American
academic success is affected more by students’ fear of being negatively stereotyped
instead of their actual academic abilities. These studies add additional factors that
make it extremely challenging for African American students to socially integrate
within the college or university. Positive faculty and staff role models can enhance a
student’s ability to integrate both academically and socially. A lack of positive
social connections with instructors may result in a student’s decision to withdraw
from the institution.
Berger and Braxton (1998) also have suggested Tinto’s (1975) model be
revised. They suggested that the institution’s organizational environment such as:
including students in the decision making process, fairness in the administration of
policies and procedures, and communication, are all factors that can affect student
departure decisions based on race. Therefore, they wanted to estimate the effects of
organizational attributes on the social integration of students and its effect on a
student’s decision to withdraw. Berger and Braxton (1998), found that minority
students felt they had less to say in the institution’s decision making process, which
in turn may have impacted their social integration which was also reported as low.
38
The results of this study indicate additional support for revisions of Tinto’s (1975)
model possibly by including organizational attributes.

African American Student Retention
Since the literature regarding learning communities does not provide any
insight as to how African American students specifically benefit from such
programs, I turn to the literature on minority student retention at PWI to determine
how mixed race learning communities could be affecting their ability to socially and
academically integrate into the institution. While there are different viewpoints as to
how social and academic integration affects student retention, Jones (2001) suggests
African American students must navigate conventional behavioral expectations that
conflict with their cultural norms.
Hurtado and Carter’s (1997) work with minority students’ sense of belonging
on campus is one area of research that has sought to address the minority student
perspective arguably missing in Tinto’s integration models. Hurtado and Carter
(1997) argue that integration, or even membership in the mainstream campus culture
as revised by Tinto, can mean something entirely different to minority students who
have historically been marginalized on college campuses. As a result, they suggest
that membership or integration in the predominant culture of an institution will lead
to a minority student’s sense that they truly do not belong there despite their
“adoption” with the primary institutional norms. Borrowing from sociological
research, Hurtado and Carter posit that a minority student’s sense of belonging is
39
“fundamental to a member’s identification with a group” which acknowledges a role
for him or her as a part of that group (p. 328). This identified role creates social
interactions for the student that enhances his or her affiliation and identity with his or
her campus. The higher the sense of belonging a student feels, the more likely they
are to use support services, have better quality social interactions, and easier time at
selecting academic programs. One important factor affecting a minority student’s
sense of belonging is his or her perception of the campus racial climate. Hurtado and
Carter found that students who described their campus as having racial or ethnic
tensions had lower levels of a sense of belonging and were more likely to leave. Out
of those students who reported racial and ethnic tensions, those who maintained
membership in same race student organizations had higher levels of a sense of
belonging (Hurtado & Carter, 1997).
This work on sense of belonging for minority students suggests that racially
based curricular and co-curricular activities play a large role in creating social
support and a campus life for racial and ethnic groups. For African American
students, Trevino (1992) suggests joining African American based organizations can
enhance their racial identity development thus leading them to participate in more
cross-cultural activities (cited in Hurtado, et al, 1999). Hurtado, et al. (1999) further
suggest that specific in-class and out-of-class activities promoting interaction across
races actually improves the environment for African American students. Therefore,
a campus environment that promotes African American student organizations and
40
cross-cultural programs provide for a more successful social integration of African
American students.
Satisfactory financial aid has also been a factor associated with African
American student retention. Tierney (1999) posits that an underlying assumption is
that low-income and working-class students are either not able to or believe they are
not able to afford the costs of college. Jones (2001) adds that financial aid is often
the main deciding factor in making the decision to continue at a college or university
or leave.
The literature also points out that having positive role models among faculty
and staff can have a major effect on retention for African American students
(Bensimon, 2007; Jones, 2001; Hurtado, et al. 1999). Jones (2001) suggests that
African American students are keenly aware of the proportion of faculty and staff
who are also African American and who they look toward for role modeling and
direction in navigating the majority environment. Stanton-Salazar (1997) provides a
framework in which these role models become a source of social capital, or a form of
social support within an interpersonal network that can assist in overcoming
institutional barriers for African American students.
Finally, Ladson-Billings’ (1995) work with culturally relevant pedagogy
provides specific insight into how African American students may be experiencing
the college classroom. In studying good teaching practices leading to African
American student success, Ladson-Billings determined that much academic
difficulty experienced by Black students results from a cultural disconnect between
41
teachers and students. She argues teaching strategies need to be able to empower
African American students by allowing them to experience academic success,
maintain cultural competence, and develop a critical consciousness that challenges
the status quo.
Ladson-Billings (1995) refers to Black students experiencing academic
success by their teachers demanding and reinforcing high academic performance all
while respecting their experiences and histories and not just making them feel good
by assigning non-relevant work. Instead of excusing their low skill levels, culturally
relevant teachers demand the same level of performance as any other student while
assisting them in skill acquisition. She also suggests culturally relevant teachers use
students’ culture as the actual method for learning. In her study, Ladson-Billings
describes a teacher who utilized the students’ knowledge of rap music as a way to
teach poetry. This method respected the relevance of the students’ culture while
supporting their academic success. Additionally, successful teachers of African
Americans help their students develop a consciousness of society that prepares them
to critique the inequities they find.

Summary of Literature and Implications
While the studies on learning communities at campuses like University of
Washington and Seattle Central Community College suggest they are a successful
strategy for developmental students, the research does not specifically speak to the
African American student’s experiences within a multicultural learning community.
42
Given that Tinto’s Student Persistence Model lacked consideration for racial
differences, it may have been mistakenly used to lay the foundation of the learning
community concept since it does not consider cultural differences of students within
a small learning community. The cautions provided by Strommer (1999) and Sapon-
Shevin and Chandler-Scott (2001) could provide insight as to problems African
American students face when participating in a learning community that is primarily
a different race or socio-economic status. Hurtado’s (1997) sense of belonging work
provides an additional perspective to consider for the African American students in
the Freshman Connection who may not feel they belong within their smaller learning
community.
The literature has shown that African American student social and academic
adjustments differ from other students. Without an understanding of these
differences, the continued assumption that learning communities will serve the needs
of African American students leading to their increased retention is disastrous and
will only increase the gap between their successes compared with other students.
Furthermore, faculty and staff who work with African American students may
falsely attribute their students’ poor performance on a lack of integration (Bensimon,
2007). Therefore, this study provides a better understanding of how learning
communities can be inclusive of the social and academic needs of African American
students. The following chapter will discuss the methodology I used to determine
the experiences African American students are having in the Freshman Connection
program at WCU
43
Chapter 3
Methodology
Overview of Chapter
In this chapter, I will first restate my research questions for this study. I then
discuss the participants and how they were identified and selected for participation in
this study. Next I will in detail how data will be collected through interviews and
participant observation. I will end with a discussion of the ethical concern involved
in this study and how I will analyze the data collected. The interpretations from this
data analysis will provide the content of Chapter 4 which discusses how the
Freshman Connection program is contributing to the success of currently enrolled
African American students at the University.

Purpose
To review, this study and methods of data collection and analysis are related
to the following research questions:
• In what ways do African American students experience the Freshman
Connection?

• How do African American students enrolled in the Freshman Connection
integrate socially into the university community?

• How do African American students enrolled in the Freshman Connection
integrate academically into the university community?

The process for gathering data through qualitative research methods involves
the researcher conducting fieldwork (Patton, 2002). As a researcher conducts
fieldwork, he or she spends time in the environment under study where a specific
44
program can be “observed, people interviewed, and documents analyzed” (Patton,
2002, p. 4). Qualitative methods are primarily beneficial in research about specific
programs as the methods used capture subjects’ experiences and perceptions of the
program they are participating in (Patton, 2002). For the purposes of this study, I
will spend time observing and gathering data about the natural environment of the
Freshman Connection cohort as it is experienced by African American students.

Participants
The pool of participants in this study came from all African American
students who were enrolled in all of the basic skills cohorts of the Freshman
Connection in the fall 2007 semester. As I was teaching in one of the cohorts, I
deleted from the pool the two African American students in my course. This left a
total of 28 potential participants in this study. Through the assistance of the
Freshman Connection Coordinator, I identified the campus email addresses for all 28
African American students. The students’ ethnicity was determined by their self-
identified race when they submitted their application to the university. This
information is in their permanent student file. A recruitment letter (Appendix F) was
emailed to each student briefly describing the study as well as an offer of
compensation for participating in a one hour interview. Given the small pool of
students, I offered to pay each student $35 for their time. Follow up reminders were
sent via email two additional times; the first one week after the initial email and the
second three weeks after the initial email. A total of 12 students responded and
45
participated in my study. One drawback to this voluntary participation process was
the small number of participants it provided. Patton (2002) defends the selection and
use of a small number of participants as rationale for gathering in-depth descriptions
and understandings of the experiences participants of a program are having.
A second letter (Appendix E) was sent via email to faculty members teaching
African American students in the Freshman Connection in the fall 2007 semester.
Faculty members were identified through the assistance of the Freshman Connection
coordinator by cross referencing class rosters with African American students.
Faculty members were asked to allow me to observe their classes to identify the
social dynamics occurring between the students. A total of 12 instructors were sent
letters seeking their participation. Follow up emails were sent twice after the initial
email was sent, the first one week after and the second three weeks after. A total of
five responded allowing for the classroom observations of eight out of the 12 student
participants.

Methods
Qualitative data were collected from interviews and classroom observations.
For the evaluation of the Freshman Connection program as it pertains to the
experiences of the 12 African American students in this study, I used the data from
these sources to answer my research questions. I will now discuss each of these
methods in detail below.

46
Interviews
Interviews were conducted over the last five weeks of the 15 week fall 2007
semester. It was determined that this timeline provided enough time for participants
to reflect on their experiences within the program. Each interview lasted between 45
and 60 minutes in length. I conducted these interviews in a neutral private location
within the student union building instead of my office so as to eliminate some of the
power differential between student and instructor. The purpose of these interviews
was to gather data classroom observations would not ascertain. Patton (2002)
suggests a number of approaches to interviewing. For the purposes of this study, I
will utilize a combination of a standardized open-ended interview and an informal
conversational interview. The former will be conducted so as to ensure each student
is asked the same general predetermined questions to provide consistency among
each student. It was determined this interview process is the best method to organize
and interpret the data as well as identify relevant themes across the data. The
informal conversational approach will provide me with the ability to ask additional
probing questions to clarify or obtain additional information (Patton, 2002).
Considering the participants were 17 and 18 years of age, the inclusion of the
informal conversational interview process allowed me to establish rapport with each
student as I am a Caucasian male roughly 15 years older. I spent a few minutes
before the interview began discussing my own experiences as a graduate student and
balancing life as the end of the semester was approaching. The combination of the
standardized open-ended question interview and the informal conversational
47
interview is also referred to as semi-structured interviewing that allows for the
researcher to respond to any new ideas that emerge during the interview process
(Patton, 2002). All of the students responded well and agreed that they were also
experiencing the task of balancing life their first semester in college. This
conversation allowed for a more relaxed atmosphere before I began the interview
and allowed me to be more flexible in following up on information shared
throughout the process. A total of 12 questions were identified as open-ended
standardized questions that were asked of each participant (Appendix H).

Non-Participant Observations
As was stated above, I observed a total of four Freshman Connection cohorts
which included a total of eight out of the 12 student participants. Each observation
lasted approximately one hour in length. Patton (2002) discusses advantages to
observations. Observations allow for the researcher to learn things that would not
come up in an interview protocol. Additionally, observations allow for occurrences
to be observed that are not noticeable by the participants who are normally in the
setting the observation is taking place. Finally, through observations, the researcher
can gain a better understanding of the context beyond prior conceptions. True to
Patton’s suggested advantages, I was able to reflect on occurrences I had observed
during my interviews that students were not commenting on. In many cases, the
students had forgotten about the issues I had observed and I was therefore able to
gather data that I would have missed otherwise.
48
In gathering data in field notes during these observations, specific attention
was given to the following: 1) The physical setting: the physical environment of each
classroom including the layout of the desks or tables, the location to other classes
and buildings, the distance between each cohort class, how the students are sitting
and whom they choose to sit next to; and 2) The social setting: how and with whom
students interacted with both during each class and in transition from one class to the
next. I also paid attention to patterns and frequencies of communication between
students and instructors. Finally, I noted the verbal and nonverbal communication
strategies used both inside the class and during breaks. At the conclusion of each
observation, I immediately typed up my field notes and reviewed them for common
themes.

Ethics Protocol
In protecting the rights and privacy of each participant in the study, I
followed all guidelines for working with human subjects. All names of participants
in this study and the university were assigned a pseudonym. Each participant also
read a consent form (Appendix G) explaining the details of the study, their individual
rights as participants in the study, the confidentiality agreement, any risks associated
with participating in the study, and what the information will be utilized for (Patton,
2002). The demographic information collected was numbered with the
corresponding interview transcripts under the pseudonym assigned to each
participant. Before beginning any recording of interviews, each participant was
49
notified that they would be referred to by a pseudonym in all aspects of the
interview.

Analysis of the Data
Each interview was digitally recorded and immediately saved on computer.
Additional notes were taken during each interview to ensure that all information was
captured and properly recorded. I transcribed each interview the same day it was
recorded. Once the transcriptions were completed, I reviewed them along with the
written notes and the digital recording to assess for errors. Additional questions
regarding the recorded information when necessary were asked in a short follow up
email to each participant. This was only conducted on two occasions. Once I
verified the transcriptions were accurate, I used them to begin to code the data
through a within-case and cross-case analysis of the data.
In the process of coding, I conducted several passes through each interview
transcript occasionally reviewing the audio-tape for clarifications or to answer
questions as to tone of voice. I made notes of words and phrases that I found to be
particularly interesting. Common phrases, themes and categories were noted in the
transcripts and field notes and reread for accuracy. Common themes across the
transcriptions were identified and coded. After I identified the common themes, I
triangulated the interview data with the observation data. Patton (2002) suggests that
the triangulation of data allowed me to compare common themes and evaluate how
participants experienced the Freshman Connection.
50
Chapter 4
Freshman Connection Student Experiences
Introduction
Throughout the fall 2007 semester, I conducted personal interviews with 12
students enrolled in the Freshman Connection program at West Coast University
(WCU). I also observed eight of these students for a class session during one of the
three classes that made up their enrollment within the program. As these classroom
observations occurred before my scheduled interview with each student, I was able
to follow up with each of them on my observations regarding their behaviors and
reactions to their class experiences. It was interesting to hear how these students
were making sense of their new college environment, their social and academic
adjustments, and their thoughts on being African American within the Freshman
Connection program and at the university.
This chapter reports on the major findings from my interviews and classroom
observations. These findings represent a number of themes that emerged from the
interview and observation transcripts and were analyzed based on the main research
questions for this study: 1) In what ways do African American students experience
the Freshman Connection? 2) How do African American students enrolled in the
Freshman Connection integrate socially and academically into the university
community? and 3) In what ways do African American students in the Freshman
Connection feel that they belong to the larger African American community on
campus?
51
This chapter is organized into four sections. The first section introduces the
students based on their background information, reasons why they chose to attend
WCU, selected majors, and personal support networks. The second section reports
on how these students academically integrated into WCU. Third, I report on how the
students socially integrated into WCU. Finally, I will discuss the unintended finding
regarding the campus racial climate experienced by these students.
The major themes that have emerged for the students in this study and that
are discussed below include:
Student Background
• Attracted to WCU for its diverse student population
• Proximity to home and family support
• Choice of majors
Academic Integration
• Confusion with academic advising regarding the Freshman
Connection

• Expectations of the Freshman Connection
• Shared learning
Social Integration
• Familiar faces and deeper friendships
• Student subgroups and racial segregation
• Lacking a full sense of belonging
• Increase number of African Americans in each community
52
Campus Climate
• Racial stereotyping
• Avoidance of connecting to other African Americans

Section I: Introduction of Student Participants
All 12 students who participated in this study were first-year freshmen who
entered college in August of 2007. As I mentioned in Chapter 3, each student was
given a pseudonym to protect their identity. Their pseudonyms are: Rochelle,
Devanney, Meisha, Kia, Stephanie, Sonja, Keira, Jennifer, Krystal, Vicki, Jordan and
Isaac. All students had identified as African American on their university
application and at the time of the interviews were all 18 years of age, eleven of the
cohort were female. During the interview process, four of these students clarified
that they are biracial who primarily identify as African American. Similar to the
majority of WCU students, all participants attended high schools within 60 miles of
the university. When asked if they could estimate the ethnic breakdown of their high
school student populations, six reported majority Hispanic, two came from majority
African American high schools, and the other four attended high schools that were
majority Caucasian. While these high schools were primarily minority serving, all of
the students had a strong network of friends from many races. Stephanie said that
her high school experience “contained a lot of cultures including: Caucasians,
African Americans, Middle Easterners, Indians, and Asians, which after being there
awhile made me get used to always being around other cultures.” Isaac talked about
53
how diverse his football team was and that it “got him used to meeting lots of diverse
people and ethnicities.” Rochelle talked about some changes in her high school since
“it used to be made up of more races but now it is mostly Black and Latino which
made me not happy there. I like diversity, not just one race.” Meisha also discussed
how at the majority Hispanic high school she attended; she “never associated with
any other African American students.”

WCU Diversity
Regardless of the demographics of their high school experience, the issue of
wanting to be on a campus that contained a lot of diversity clearly became a deciding
factor for the majority of the students in choosing to attend WCU. The students
immediately noticed the diversity of the student body and it was a positive factor for
them. In reflecting back on her campus tour, Devanney stated, “The whole thing that
attracted me to it is it’s a very nice campus and the people it’s not just all one race or
this or that its more diverse than I thought and I like that.” Kia also stated she, “liked
the way it looked and the environment and how diverse it was and that’s why I
decided to come here.” Meisha told me why she decided on WCU.
Because of the diverse community, I liked it, it wasn’t all one race. I like to
talk to different people and surround myself with different cultures and learn
about people and have new experiences. So once at the school I actually liked
it because it had a diverse community and so that was what attracted me
most. That was actually my first choice and that is how I came to WCU.

Jennifer told me about her first reaction on her campus tour after being asked how
important attending a diverse university would be to her from a WCU tour guide.
54
Yes, it is very important. Where I went to school it wasn’t that diverse but I
was ok. I liked the high school that I went to but it did matter to me. I like
being around different people so when he said it was diverse I was like oh
that’s great.

Rochelle talked about her first thoughts about WCU while taking a campus tour.
It was very diverse. I really liked the diversity. Like my high school campus
wasn’t like this, when I first got here I just liked everything, the trees and
everything. It was really refreshing. You can see a lot of different races, not
just one. I mean the first day I was really nervous, but I got over it because it
was really welcoming.

In responding to why she chose WCU, Stephanie told me her main reason.

… just the diversity, and I appreciate diversity so much because you learn so
much from it because of the diversity and that you get to meet a lot of
different people that’s great. Definitely meeting new people here and
different cultures have been great and are very different from high school.

Proximity to Home and Family Influences
While all of the students applied to more than one university throughout
Southern California and out of state, the second major deciding factor for choosing
WCU, was its closeness to home. Isaac was the most direct in stating, “I didn’t want
to go too far away. So I just chose the closest school.” Krystal was just as
straightforward when she said, “Compared to the other universities I got accepted to,
this was closest to home.” For seven of the students who chose to live in the
residence halls, the rationale for staying in the Los Angeles area was to be close to
family members. Devanney discussed some strong influence to stay from her
mother, “but my mom said well why don’t you stay in Cali…and I was like alright
55
and I have family that lives out here…actually.” Sonja also wanted to stay close to
home as she said, “and what I really wanted to do was just stay near home because I
live in Pasadena and I have family members (near WCU). So I was kind of drawn to
the school because of the location mostly.”
Family influences to attend college close to home also were influenced by
family members or friends who had or who are currently attending WCU. Jordan
told me that her main influence to attend WCU was from her older sister because, “I
would say I came here because my role model is my older sister and she went here
and liked it and I want to stay close to her.” Kia’s desire to be close to her older
sister also helped her choose WCU.

Well my sister she went here for three years and so I came to the campus a
lot. I walked around the campus with her one day when she went to class.
She used to live on campus now she has an apartment. She had some
influence because she said she liked it here so I decided to come here to be
with her too.

Rochelle told me of a desire to be far away and close to her parents while also
staying connected to her sister.
Well I came because it was closer to home but not too close. I wanted to be
away from the parents but still be close enough to get money and stuff like
that. Also because my sister goes here and it was more familiar to me
because I would come visit her and I liked the environment.

Jennifer was similar in that she had not only a family member but also a teacher that
she had looked up to suggesting to stay close to home and attend WCU.
I did volunteer work for a first grade teacher and she asked me if I was going
to college and I told her yea and she said she came here to WCU and did the
Psych program and she said they had a really good Psych program and I
56
wanted to major in psych so that’s how I decided and also me and my cousin
always said we wanted to go to college together and he went here. He’s a
sophomore. He told me that the school was a good environment and it was
diverse and he said that his learning experience was great it wasn’t like going
to college wasn’t as hard as it seems.

As I heard these students talk about wanting to be close enough to their
parents and other family members, I wondered if these family members went to
college themselves and how that may have influenced the amount or ability to
support their children while in college. Below is a chart listing each student and
their parent’s and sibling’s college attendance and locations. Of the 12 students,
only two mothers and three fathers had earned a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

Table 4. Immediate Family Educational Levels

Student Mother/College Father/College Sibling/College
Devanney Some college AA 0 in college
Kia Some college n/a 1 in college
Sonja BA BA & MA 0 in college
Isaac BA BA 0 in college
Vicki Some college Some college 0 in college
Jennifer no no n/a
Keira no no 0 in college
Meisha no Unknown 0 in college
Stephanie Unknown BA 0 in college
Rochelle no no 2 in college
Jordan Some college n/a 2 have BA’s
Krystal no no 0 in college
Source: Personal interview transcripts n/a: indicates no parent or other sibling

As the chart above indicates, only a minority of the students in this study
have had parents and/or their siblings attend a college or university. For some of
57
them, their knowledge about and support for entering college is coming from an
older sibling. Jordan, who is the youngest of five children with a widowed mother,
told me a lot about her older sister’s role in supporting her.
I had a lot of advice from her and she’s probably the main reason why I went
to college. She was always like…my mom was really passive when it came
to me. I was the baby so she was like oh I don’t want to pressure you, you
can do what you want so when I came to me getting bad grades she would
still encourage me to do better but she wasn’t really like strict on me my
sister was always strict on me all the time. She still is now and my mom is
still kind of passive on me like coming in late and my sister was really on me
about stuff like that so she’s always been advising me in everything. When it
comes to friends when it comes to schoolwork when it comes to my dorm she
does a lot of research. She’s never the type of person like if she were to buy a
broom or something she’ll research the whole thing and get reviews and
everything so she’s really precise. It’s really helpful because it like I can call
her about anything like if I don’t know if I should get this book or if I should
do my project on this and she’ll talk to me about it and she’ll research it for
me. So it really helps me a lot.

For students whose parent’s could not provide specific support for college processes,
they turned to a non-immediate family member or friends for support. Kia told me
about an aunt she turns to, “I go to her to discuss. My aunty is very good with the
college process and she knows what she’s talking about.” Meisha told me that she
usually goes to her boyfriend for emotional support and Stephanie said, “if I am
really annoyed about a class or something then I have my best friend and he goes
here.” Keira told me that she leans on her “roommate the one that I actually share
my room with.”
For many of the other students, parental advice and support were important to
their making sense out of the beginning of their collegiate experiences. When
visiting WCU, Vicki insisted her parents came with her and explained, “They
58
actually visited the campus with me and so I felt comfortable with that which is all
that mattered.”
When going home on weekends, Sonja told me how her conversations go
with her parent’s about college.
Yeah they’re always asking me like how my classes are and if they’re hard.
They actually don’t grill me like if I am doing my work or not, they trust me
that I do which I do, and they always ask me how things are going and they
ask me how the sorority is going. I always talk to them about what I am
stressed out about. And I tell them about the things that stress me out and
about all of the things that I have to do. So they are there.

Aside from academic advice, support for other issues from parents is deemed just as
important. Isaac told me about support for a residence life issue.
Yeah, I talk to my parents…about it and they give me advice and stuff, even
last week I had a fight with me roommate and stuff and I went home and I
talked it out and came back and everything was fine.

Like Isaac, Keira goes home to get advice from her mother because, “she’s always
been there because she can see where I’m coming from.”
One student indicated that while she did ask her parents for general support,
she was straying away from seeking this support in the future as she was feeling very
pressured by them about her choice in major. Rochelle stated, “I had a major, it was
political science but my parents didn’t want me to be in political science because
they felt that I would just end up being a teacher.”

59
Choice of Majors
I wanted to know how many students in my study had indicated their choice
of major on WCU’s undergraduate application prior to enrolling. For the majority of
the students, this question was overwhelming. Only four students were set on a
major and the remaining were anxiously undecided. The chart below (see following
page) lists each student by major, along with some of their thoughts about this big
decision:
60

Table 5. Student Participant Majors and Rationale

Student Major Rationale
Devanney Psychology
and Pre-med
“Even when I was younger my aunt said I used to love observing
people and how they did certain things. And as I went on in high
school I took a psych class AP psych and I just loved everything
about it and I was like that’s definitely what I want to do”
Kia Undeclared “I want to teach kids because kids are fun and so I was thinking about
being a teacher. I’m not exactly sure but I think that would be an
option.”
Sonja Undeclared Did not give rationale
Isaac Undeclared “I am not really sure yet. As of right now me and my friend from
high school, we have this shoe and jeans for sale and we are going to
try and put our money together and open a store so maybe business.”
Vicki Business
Management
“I would like to be in charge. I don’t really like people telling me
what to do and I always have different ideas of creative ones of what
kind of businesses I can do so that led me to business management.”
Jennifer Undeclared “But right now I haven’t determined my major but I know that I love
kids and I love to talk and listen so psychology just fits me.”
Keira Business
Management
“I don’t know ever since I was little I always wanted to own my
business and just run something so why not major in that but I don’t
know what business yet.”
Meisha Accounting “I love math and I love dealing with money. I asked my Dad what
professions you could do that you would make a decent living and I
was introduced to being a chief financial officer so gradually I told
him that sounds good.”
Stephanie Undeclared “I am very interested in the criminal mind and the psychology behind
it but I don’t want to major in psychology because I don’t like the
courses so I don’t know.”
Rochelle Undeclared Did not give rationale
Jordan Undeclared “I’m really creative so when it comes to what my greatest interest is
always been in something in arts. I’ve also went into the career center
and I talked this guy there and he had me take a quiz on like my
interests ended up being really artistic, so I think that’s something
I’ve always wanted to do. So I’ll probably do my major in apparel
design and possibly do a minor in marketing or journalism.”
Krystal Undeclared Did not give rationale
Source: Personal interview transcripts
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College Social Expectations
As a point of reference, I was interested in expectations students had for
campus involvement. This knowledge would be helpful in determining how social
connections students made within the learning community influenced their
preexisting interests in getting involved. Just as most of these students are waiting to
decide which majors they will declare, another area they are waiting on is their out-
of-class involvement. All of the students stated they were aware of a number of
opportunities to get involved, however, most of them have decided to wait until at
least their spring semester or even their sophomore year to participate. Krystal
discussed numerous interests but was hesitant with balancing her new college life.
Umm, I’m not involved yet. I am looking at a lot of clubs. I already have a
job, like I didn’t plan on getting a job first semester but the ones on campus
work with you. I’ve just been taking it all in and then next semester I am
going to choose.

There is a leadership one and a business management one and I am
considering the accounting club. So there is a few, a volunteer one. I am
trying to balance it out so.

Like Krystal, Rochelle is also waiting until the Spring semester:
No I haven’t gotten involved yet. I am trying to start getting involved in
everything next semester. In high school I wasn’t involved in much but my
senior year I crammed everything in so I decided to give myself a break from
all of that.

There is a couple, I want to join the orientation people, and TAKE, and I
want to be a RA and the Asian American Club and do some internships.

Two students also showed interest in a social sorority, but are also deciding to wait
until they adjust to the college environment. Meisha, when discussing her future
62
interests, also made reference to Freshman Connection as an involvement when she
said, “Besides the Freshman Connection no, not yet but I do want to do more
research into sororities and I want to join a club that focuses on environmental
issues.” Jennifer is also waiting for sorority life as she stated, “Yes I was thinking
about joining a sorority but I’m sure which one so I gotta figure out which one I
saw…” Finally, Kia concurs with Jennifer and Meisha by adding, “I wanted to join a
sorority maybe next year because they look fun.” Devanney, Keira, Meisha, Isaac,
and Rochelle have all indicated interest in joining the Black Student Union but have
decided to wait until they knew “the type of students” who were already involved in
it. The only other primarily African American student organization specifically
mentioned as an interest was the Gospel Choir. Sonja has already joined a
predominantly Caucasian sorority.
Overall, I found all 12 students to be highly motivated students who are
articulate and excited to be in college. Their attraction to the diversity of the student
body along with their indecision about a major and basic skill levels make them good
candidates for participation in the Freshman Connection program. Since the
program focuses on teaching the skills for college success, creating goals and a plan
for action, completing their basic skills requirements, and providing awareness of
campus academic support programs, each of these students had much to gain from
their participation in the Freshman Connection. They were all anxious about fitting
in with their peers and over half wanted to be involved in the campus outside of the
classroom.
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Section II: Academic Integration
As explained in Chapter 1, freshman students who are required to enroll in
basic skills math, English, or writing classes may voluntarily choose to participate in
the Freshman Connection learning community program at WCU. Eligible freshmen,
as determined by their English Placement and Entry Level Mathematics test scores
are introduced to the program during their mandatory freshman advising session held
the summer prior beginning their first fall semester. An informational brochure is
also mailed to each student prior to their academic advising session. This brochure
also describes other learning community cohort options aside from basic skills
including the Living Learning Community and non-basic skills. Academic advisors
recommend students to this program usually if they are business or undeclared
majors. They inform students about the ease of making friends, completing general
education and basic skills education requirements early, and studying with the same
students. Enrollment in the program automatically registers a student into three
classes (or nine academic hours) including either a basic skills math, English or
writing course; a freshman seminar; and a general education required introductory
psychology or sociology class. Students are not permitted to drop one course
without subsequently dropping all three.

Freshman Connection Advisement
An important aspect for student success in learning communities is their
knowledge of what they have to offer students. In asking students about how they
64
were made aware of the program, only two students remembered receiving
information about it in the mail. Having talked with other students throughout my
career, I know how challenging and overwhelming it is for students to read and make
sense out of all the information sent to them over the summer prior to the beginning
of their first semester. Devanney confirmed this when she told me, “They sent a
pamphlet that talked about it but I didn’t really read it, there was too much and I
didn’t really know what it was.” Jordan also remembered receiving the information
but had a similar experience with it as Devanney and said, “I actually didn’t know
nothing about it. I think they sent me a flyer in the mail possibly for it but I didn’t
really look at it.”
The majority of the students informed me that they did not know the program
was a voluntary program. These students recalled their meetings with the academic
advisors where they were handed their schedules with the Freshman Connection
already preregistered. Devanney commented, “I didn’t officially sign up for it but
when I got my classes this year it said Freshman Connection on it.” Krystal told me
she did not register for it but was handed information on it “and then afterwards I
read up on it and then found out what it was and I was like at least it wasn’t
something bad that I registered for.” Keira’s experience was the same.
Actually I didn’t (register for it) they just placed me in it and it wasn’t until I
came over the summer and it was three highlighted boxes and they told me I
was in the freshman connection program and there will be the same students
in all the classes.

65
Meisha was another student that was unaware of the program until she attended her
advising session and told me, “Actually I didn’t know about it. Registering for it, the
sheet was highlighted and said that I was in the cohort. And I knew that I didn’t sign
up for it.” Additionally, Jordan expressed the same confusion about how she ended
up in the program by stating, “I think the freshman connection is, well at first I didn’t
really know what it was, they just told me that you’re suppose to be on freshman
connection.” Isaac also informed me that he wasn’t sure what it was about. Isaac
said, “The day that I came to register for classes I didn’t know about it until they told
me, but I didn’t really know what I was signing up for.” Kia was a little more
specific about her advisor when she informed me, “Well she kind of said it and my
advisement lady was in a rush kind of I think so we went really fast and we didn’t
really talk a lot.” Sonja had a little more to say about her confusion around the
Freshman Connection advisement she received:
Actually, it was kind of thrown at me. I was a little flustered and didn’t even
know like exactly what it was until I got home and read the pamphlet on what
I just registered for. When they told me about it they gave me a paper and
then which I didn’t really have the time to go through all of it or anything but
then they started to tell me…they handed me the sheet that had the different
Monday, Wednesday and Friday schedules on there. So they were like do
you want to start your day at this time and choose these classes along with a
fourth class? So they kind of gave me the schedules and um I picked one that
I liked and after that I found a math class to take.

Vicki also had an experience in which she felt challenged by the advisor during her
advisement session:
Actually when I was signing up for classes before school started I came to
WCU and got help to sign up for my classes and they gave us a sheet and it
already had all of the classes and I guess it was a voluntary program but they
66
just randomly chose people and they already had your schedule. So the
funny thing was I was kind of lost and I had some lady explain the schedule
to me because I had a lot of questions and she said that I might just want to
try this U100 program, and it was already on my paper and I was like no- this
is not what I want, these are not the classes I intended and she kind of
convinced me to try it and I read up online about the class and I was like ok I
am a freshman and I know some stuff about the campus but not everything
and so that is when I decided to choose it and just go with it.

When the students did ask follow up questions regarding what the Freshman
Connection was, they did get some basic answers as to the structure. Sonja told me
the answer she was given from her advising session which was, “Yeah, they said it
was a set of courses tied together and that they would coincide in some way, and
there would be the same people in all of your classes.” Jennifer received the same
answer.
She told me it was basically three clusters of classes and just so you can have
someone in the university you know, everyone is going to have the same
three classes so if you don’t come to class one day you can call somebody
and ask them what happened in class.

Isaac said his session explained the Freshman Connection, only when asked,
as something “we would be with the same class with basically the same people with
different classes and that there were some other FC classes that would connect with
us and it did in my sociology class.” One answer that led Rochelle to agreeing to
what was already scheduled for her was in how easy the classes were supposed to be.
Her advisor told her, “the freshman connection has three classes and your gonna
have nine units from those classes and their gonna be linked together it’s pretty easy
he was pointing out which classes were easy and this and that.” Jordan said she was
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still confused with the answer she received. She said, “They kind of just explained it
as being in connection with the class and taking classes with the same people.”
Based on the responses from the students, the communication regarding the
benefits to students who choose to participate in learning communities is poor.
Advisors responsible for enrolling students in the program need to be knowledgeable
about the benefits, considerate of student confusion, and provide more detailed
explanation of what a learning community is and how it differs from alternative
schedules.

Expectations of the Freshman Connection
Despite whatever prior knowledge about the program the students had, I
wanted to know what their expectations were about it after they took their schedules
home from their advising sessions. Most students told me that they had no
expectations either because they were still confused or they had not had any other
college experiences to compare it to. Devanney was an example of someone who
was still confused at the end of her session.
My expectations were only that I knew which classes I was going to take. I
didn’t know it was going to be all linked and there was going to be a cluster
of us that are going to be together and our majors were close. I didn’t realize
that part maybe I didn’t hear that part or it wasn’t said so I didn’t really have
expectations like ok here’s some of my classes like English university 100 is
going to help with me getting involved with college life and on campus and
then psych I was like that’s my major.

Since most of the students only knew that they would have the same classes with the
same students all semester, many of them thought it would be similar to their high
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school experiences. Rochelle said, “I just expected it to be more like people seeing
each other all of the time in all of your classes, just like high school.” Jennifer was
similar to Isaac in that she, “didn’t have any expectations I figured it would be like
high school.” Vicki thought the structure of the program would be a negative
experience for her.
I didn’t want to do this. I thought it was gonna be high school all over again.
No one’s gonna talk to me. At first it was awkward with everybody because
we were like who are these people in this program, it’s kinda new.

Stephanie was also concerned about fitting in as she said, “I kind of expected oh
yeah these people would be with me and I hope I would get along with them because
we would have two other classes together the whole semester.” Aside from
Stephanie, Isaac was concerned about how he would fit in with the students
intellectually.
When I was first in the class I thought it was gonna be a big deal like thinking
about nobody else having the same ideas or who has the same experiences
that I have been through so they wouldn’t see the things in my way.

The remaining students were very complacent in their expectations about the
program. Jordan told me, “I didn’t expect a lot I mean it really at that time it didn’t
matter to me.” Stephanie was similar in that she said, “I have learned not to expect
anything and you just figure it out when you go.” Meisha was another student who
was indifferent with her expectations of the Freshman Connection. She told me that,
“I didn’t have any expectations and so I just thought I’d find out the first few days of
school.”
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The lack of specific expectations may have resulted from having a limited
amount of knowledge about the Freshman Connection through their advisement
sessions and is therefore difficult to determine how their expectations contributed to
their actual experiences.

Shared Learning
One of the outcomes found in studies on learning communities is that student
participants attribute knowledge gains from shared learning experiences. Since
students have the opportunity to have more in depth discussions as they have more
time with each other, learning is reinforced more at the peer level. This aspect of the
literature was true for these students. Isaac discussed these greater student
connections as leading to the additional benefit of learning about the campus as a
result of the Freshman Connection.
Educationally it does help because you have these people that are in all of
your classes that can help you with everything that you are doing and socially
it is really helpful so. It did make a difference in the way I view college now
because all of these resources have been shown to me so now I know what I
have. I now know where I can go when I am stuck. And those things will
help me stay in college.

Vicki also commented on how the things she was learning in the program made her
more equipped than someone not in the program. She said, “I think because of it I
am excelling in school and without it I think I would be lost like I look at other
freshmen and they don’t know half the stuff that I know about campus.” Having the
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same students in all three classes was an important aspect of how Stephanie
experienced the program.
The benefits are that the classroom setting is easier. You don’t have to feel
like you have to or can’t say certain things in front of people because you are
so used to seeing them all the time. It is easier to have conversations or to
say whatever you need to say in the classroom setting. Also it is much easier
to work because you have other people to work with instead of trying to
accomplish it by yourself. So the workload would be easier. Just the whole
atmosphere is different than just a regular classroom because you may only
know one person in a regular class.

The student connections to other classmates were also a benefit to students
particularly when assignments and other information were forgotten. Sonja regularly
was contacted by her classmates to ask her questions.
I would say it was a program to help students ease their way into college so
that they develop relationships with students. But there’s more. You are
forced to interact more with these people so you get more of a relationship
and you could help each other. It really does help because, not I really
because I get my stuff done but I have three or four people text me before
class asking me what to do. And you have people there and the classes they
do require a lot of participation so it gets you out there more and you get to
talk to a lot more people more.

Jordan also views these connections with other students as a great resource for
success.
The Freshman Connection makes it a lot easier for people to go and ask for
help. When we see people all throughout the day and it gives us a lot of
resources when it comes to people anytime you miss class you already have a
whole bunch of people you can ask that are in your class that will tell you
what you guys did for the day or if you need additional help with an
assignment.

While the students mentioned an easier time with adjusting to the academic
aspects of their classes, the students did not discuss the Freshman Connection as
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being for students who are in need of completing basic skills courses. In fact, none
of them commented on challenges or fears of not passing, being behind other college
students, feeling less capable as a college student, or being less intelligent by having
to be in basic skills education. It was as if they considered their basic skills classes
as college credit classes. While I did not specifically ask these students how they felt
about being in basic skills courses, I attribute the absence of any commentary to
being surrounded by similarly skilled students in almost all of their classes. This
situation eliminates the grouping and interaction between differently skilled students.
Therefore, basic skills students avoid having to discuss what math or English classes
they have or have to share their work with higher level students thus “revealing” a
lower level competency.

Grades and Junior Year Aspirations
Since almost all of these students did not label themselves as they did other
African American students, I was curious as to what their own retention rates would
be like. Obviously I will have to wait a year to see if these students were still
enrolled, but I did do two things to get an idea. In order to gauge if these students
had thought about their own retention, I asked them to tell me where they saw
themselves in two years. Since an additional outcome of learning communities
suggested by the literature is increased grade point averages, I also checked their fall
semester grade point averages. Briefly listed below are there responses and their fall
grade point averages.
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Table 6. Junior year aspirations and fall 2007 GPA

Kia “Hopefully having a major and finishing school and involved in
a club or a group.”
1.77
Devanney “I want to be a junior have a lot of units done and hope to have
participated in more courses that aren’t just required and if they
are required then I like the ones that they suggest are cultural
ones.”
3.75
Sonja “Still here. By then I will know a lot more people and will be
involved on campus than what I am. I better know my major by
then. And will be staying focused to try and graduate as soon as
I can.”
3.58
Isaac “I still see myself transferring to SDSU. And also be in a major
that I really want to get into and work towards that.”
3.57
Vicki “I see myself in the exchange program, traveling and studying
other cultures and since I want to be involved in International
Business it would be interesting.”
3.32
Jennifer “I see myself starting my minor and hopefully done with my
general classes and focusing on my major and minor”
3.25
Keira “I don’t know probably not here. I’m still thinking about
transferring to San Bernardino because it’s closer and hopefully
still working and trying to get a degree in business.”
2.08
Meisha “I see myself as a junior taking my core major classes hopefully
doing well. I see myself involved in clubs and have decided
whether or not to join a sorority. And hopefully working in a
pert time job. Keeping my priorities straight.”
3.00
Stephanie “I am getting singing lessons now and I see my performance
and singing advancing. Moving on with sociology. Saving up
money and working and paying for a car. And being involved
in more clubs on campus and with professors with a stronger
network.”
0.43
Rochelle “Either here or maybe transferring to another school because of
my field like for a better pre-law program.”
1.63
Jordan “Being on the Dean’s List or something good like that.” 3.18
Krystal “Hmmm, well still here with being more involved and growing
up.”
1.75
Source: Personal interview transcripts
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As the chart above indicates, even though some students are thinking about
transferring to another campus, all are still planning to be enrolled and advancing in
their pursuit of an undergraduate degree. An important aspect to consider here is that
WCU has not identified whether or not transferring students who were once a part of
the Freshman Connection are included in the statistics for retention and if their
transfer is considered a failure of the retention program. Their grade point averages
for their first semester are a bit more indicative of how they might advance to their
sophomore year. However, 33% of the study participants are on academic probation
after their first semester at WCU.

III. Social Integration
Despite many confused and indifferent expectations about what they would
be experiencing in the Freshman Connection, all of the students commented on many
positive aspects of being in this learning community. Overwhelmingly, the most
positive aspect mentioned was that of providing an opportunity in a small class to
make connections with other students. These connections described by the students
are additional aspects consistent with the literature on the outcomes of learning
communities. Not only do they experience deeper learning through shared
experiences, but they also get to know more students and deeper levels than in
regular classrooms.
Jennifer said, “the benefits would be that you have more people you’re closer
to in your classes because it is small.” Rochelle described the greatest benefit of the
74
Freshman Connection as “you get to meet new people and know people because in
regular college classes you don’t really know anyone.” Krystal also provided the
following comment on social benefits of her Freshman Connection, “It really like,
educationally it does help because you have these people that are in all of your
classes that can help you with everything that you are doing and socially it is really
helpful to.”
Keira discussed how she felt most freshmen should look into being in the
program as it helped her socially adjust.
Any incoming freshman should be in it, especially if they are intimidated or
not ready for college this program will help them be ready. It really does help
you feel more comfortable at the school. It was a good choice for me as it’s a
good transition from high school to college and I was with the same 20
students for three classes. It helped me meet people which made me feel
more comfortable.

Like Keira, Kia also mentioned being more relaxed her first semester. She told me,
“The group helps you to I guess make more friends and it’s a good, I don’t know
how to describe it but just gets more comfortable around campus.” Meisha gave an
example of specific benefits her classes gave her that assisted in her feeling a bit
more relaxed. Meisha said, “If you ever need any help with anything you can call or
email any other person and they are willing to help you.”
One of the benefits attributed to the Freshman Connection program was that
it assisted with the challenge of making friends with other students who commute to
school. Jordan informed me she made a few friends as a result of having a break in
between classes with the same students.
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I hang out with Boris sometimes I mean like usually between classes like
during breaks and stuff not so much outside of school only because usually I
have homework and work so I don’t usually have time after school but I hang
out with Boris and Eugene and I few other people. So it’s really good.

Rochelle also told me about the difficulty in meeting others when most students
commute to and from school. She told me, “I don’t think I would’ve bonded with
anyone else like my one friend if we didn’t have the same exact schedule because we
both commute in opposite directions.”

Deeper Friendships
While the students commented a great deal on opportunities to meet people
as a result of being enrolled in the Freshman Connection, for a few, these
opportunities developed into more significant friendships with at least one other
student in the program. However, it is important to note that these deeper
friendships were primarily with other African American students within the program.
While this is a benefit consistent in the literature and seems to be benefiting the
students, it may be an example of how African American students are being
alienated by the “ready-made” community. This alienation maybe causing a lack of
development of inter-racial friendships making it even more difficult for African
American students to gain a sense of belonging in the Freshman Connection and
WCU.
Devanney was one student who attributed the Freshman Connection with
introducing her to a much larger social network at WCU.
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Actually my first friend that I made on campus was from the freshman
connection. We act like sisters. We do have all our classes together that’s one
of my closest friends especially when it comes to school but also my personal
life and she actually led me to meet all my friends I have on campus because
she knew people because she’s from out this way I met them and then we
became friends and it spread out like that and that’s actually how I made
most of my friends.

In my interview with Devanney, I was curious as to how it was that she connected
with this other student in class. I wasn’t sure if there was an experiential activity or
assignment in class that assisted students in getting to know each other or if the
students took the initiative on their own to meet their classmates. Devanney
continued to let me know how she met her first friend.
We were in class and we had to do one of those what do you call them
mingling exercises where we had to get each others names then things that
we liked or whatever and it seriously you can tell when somebody else has an
outgoing personality like you and you just kind of click and you just start
laughing and joking with people I love to do that and I’m a very social person
so then we both ended up joking with each other and then she sat down for
that class period and we ended up walking in classes and we just clicked.

In Devanney’s experience, a classroom activity instigated the connection she made
with another student. For Krystal, a syllabus assignment “forced her” to connect.
Like the first day of class we were given the syllabus and on the syllabus we
had an area where we had to find at least two students in the class and get
their number and their email. So that like helped because I right away had
this person’s phone number and at first its awkward because you don’t know
them when you have their phone number but in turned out to be a really
useful thing because we’re texting one another, calling one another asking
how to do this and oh I lost my syllabus what do we do tomorrow and stuff
like that. So it’s really helpful.

When I asked the other students if they participated in specific activities that enabled
them to make friends with their classmates, the remaining students stated their
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friendships happened by circumstance. Kia became friends with Megan, “because we
have the same current class so we travel together because we have the same classes.”
Kia’s fiend Megan was the only deeper friend that was Caucasian among the student
participants.
Sonja told me that her friendships developed merely on the fact she was
constantly around the same individuals traveling from one class to another. She said,
“The friends that I have in my classes travel with me after Sociology 150 so we leave
together and stay together until we go to our next class at the same time.” Vicki
shared her similar experience of making friends based on consistent interactions with
the same individuals in her classes.
And another friend that I met in the freshman connection program lives in the
dorms so we see each other all of the time. I hang out with her a lot because
we have a couple of the same classes and we just see each other around
campus. She’s always on campus and I am always walking around when I
come out of work I see her so I hang out with her.

Stephanie also informed me that the time in between classes was important to
develop friendships with her classmates. She said, “In the gap in between my
classes, me and my classmates usually get something to eat and hang out until the
next class.” This allowed her to meet Rachel. Stephanie continued, “And the other
girl Rachel talked to me when we were walking together to the dorms one day so we
connected then, otherwise most are quiet in class.” Stephanie’s comment about most
of her classmates being quiet was made in relation to her and Rachel. She was
referring to how they both are usually talking with each other as the other students
already had formed similar social groups.
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Subgroups and Racial Segregation
While the opportunity to meet others and make friends is a positive
component of the learning community structure, it also ended up limiting the
students’ ability to connect across races. Almost all of the students identified
specific subgroups within their small learning communities that isolated them from
connecting with the entire group. These subgroups were primarily made up of
between two and four students of one particular race. As a result, the students
expressed how challenging it was to feel like a part of the entire class. They also
determined their exclusion from these subgroups were a result of their race. Kia
said, “Yeah there’s cliques with people from the same areas and ethnic groups. I
think they form because they like look alike and I don’t.” Sonja identified a similar
reason for a clique in her class and said, “They are different races I can’t really tell
why else they would be a group.” Stephanie also described a similar clique. She
told me this clique formed the first week of class and suggested race was a factor,
“There are these other four girls that always hang out. They all look white and they
just started sitting next to each other.” When I asked Rochelle if she had any
subgroups in her Freshman Connection classes, she described a few that were
segregated by race.
Yes, I did actually. There was one clique that was made up of the same type
of people. I would see the girls who had blonde hair who looked all the
same. And the Persian students would all be the same. A few cliques were
made up of different races too but I guess the blonde girls and Persians had
more in common I guess.

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When probing her answer about why she thought they were segregated by race, she
said they must have just assumed they had more in common because they looked
more like each other than anyone else. Vicki also noticed the first week in her classes
that students would seek out other similar races and sit by them. She informed me,
“In class the students would find the same race and kind of group themselves that
way.” When asked how she felt about being excluded from the primary clique in her
class, Krystal said, “I have felt that before. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m black.”
Devanney attributed her exclusion from what she said was the “popular” white group
in her class as being more about their perception of her not being as intellectual
because of her race. She said, “It’s almost like the exclusion of intellect they see in
me so they are not going to associate with me like that.” After the first few weeks,
Jennifer talked about how she was not looking forward to the rest of the semester as
a subgroup in her class was very rude to her.

Yes since the first day I got into the freshman connection two weeks after
school started and since the first day I walked they looked at me funny. Then
I feel like dang I have to see them for two more classes. I don’t like
confrontation I don’t like people with attitudes so it’s like keep your distance
and I’ll keep mine.

For a few of the students, the feelings of isolation not only occurred from
student subgroups, but from their faculty members as well. Stephanie was deeply
affected by one of her instructors early on in the semester and attributed it to being
an issue of race.
At first I think she judged me as a typical black person that just sits in class
and doesn’t do anything. That is just an unspoken stereotype of black people
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that a lot of African American students just go to class and socialize and that
they are not bright which is weird because she is African American also but it
is a stereotype for most people.

Stephanie happened to be in a class where she was the only other African American
student and immediately assumed her professor was judging her solely on
stereotypes she had of her own race. For most of the students, the small number of
Black students in their classes affected how they first felt about their experience and
brought concern about how others would judge them. Kia was very concerned with
how her performance would be viewed by students in her Freshman Connection.
There’s not really a lot (of African Americans) so it makes me feel like I have
to do good to, I don’t know, make my race look good. I think people look at
me and think that I am going to drop out so I have to live up to higher
expectations to be a good student.

Isaac expressed how he didn’t feel a connection to other students for quite some time
as he immediately noticed he was the only Black student in his class. He said, “There
is no black experience in the Freshman Connection, like in my Sociology class that’s
the only place that there are other black people and in there, there is only two or
three.” Jordan spoke of how hard it was for her to establish friendships with other
white students as she felt most students are uncomfortable with crossing the racial
barrier.
It has been hard. I didn’t segregate myself by choice. It is just what ended up
happening. Most of my friends are black. A lot of people I think are just
really worked up about being friends outside of your race because they don’t
know what their reaction is going to be. Because you never know when
people are going to feel uncomfortable that you’re talking to them or
whatever it may be. Some people I’ve talked to have said they were
uncomfortable like when I talked to Scott he said he doesn’t have a lot of
black friends and also it’s really strange. We both had to step out of our box
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in order to ever really become friends or talk like that because before it was
like it might take a while for us to really talk.

In her statement above, Jordan expressed how she feels many non-Black students
react to her first attempting to make conversation. For the students who came from
more racially diverse high school experiences, challenges still existed for them in
terms of interacting with the students in the Freshman Connection. Jennifer had a
particularly hard time answering whether she felt she felt her race made her stand out
in class.
I don’t know I mean it’s kind of different for me to answer the question
because where I’m from I know that I’m Black and I should have the
perception of a black girl but all my friends in school were white and I hung
out with lots of Mexican people and I don’t really like Black people that
much so it’s hard for me to answer the question I don’t really know.

Vicki was one of the few students who were in a section of the Freshman Connection
program that had three other African American students. She described for me a
very clear distinction between herself and her Black classmates compared to other
Black students she knows in her other classes.
We all have the same background in terms of being Black. We (Freshman
Connection Black students) didn’t come from I guess the ghetto and so we
are kind of different. I guess we are, they call black people not from the
ghetto, they call us bougie and stuff so I guess people not from the ghetto
might have a more successful experience in the Freshman Connection but if
you are in the ghetto, I don’t think you would have a good experience
because of where you came from.

Clearly, diversity for Vicki was defined not only by race, but by economic status as
well.
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These descriptions of racial segregation and exclusion are troubling and are a
source of major contentions with the theoretical framework of learning communities
built upon academic and social integration studies. It is argued that most learning
communities have not adequately assessed affects on minority students or multi-
racial learning communities. As a result, many campuses have implemented
retention and learning enhancement programs expecting their learning communities
to produce equitable results across race. Instead, they may be adversely creating an
environment that is intensifying feelings of isolation and a lack of belonging to the
“ready-made communities” minority students have been told are the most helpful
tools for their success.

Future Enrollment of African Americans
At the time I conducted these interviews, the students were completing their
last few weeks of their first semester. I felt the students had experienced enough of
the Freshman Connection program to comment on the retention statistics for the
African American students in the 2005 Freshman Connection program (see Chapter
1 of this dissertation). The responses I received mirrored many of the responses they
gave earlier in the interviews about the stereotypes of African American students at
WCU. Kia told me that she was not sure but guessed that “they just don’t want to be
in school and it is their choice to drop out.” Meisha told me, “I can say that in a
broad sense they are closed minded. I don’t think most African Americans are open
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to trying new things and are stuck in their own culture.” Jennifer gave a similar
response.
I’m not sure I have no idea I think so I think that some people are real clingy
to there own race. They kind of put up a wall were its like oh these are my
type of people so I’m not going to talk or associate with other people. That
could have an impact.

The responses also centered on the lack of other African American students in the
Freshman Connection program. Isaac’s thoughts on the retention issue were mostly
based from his own experience in the program.
I just think it is the diversity, like it is just that you don’t feel the belonging as
you are the only person in the class so you don’t pay that much attention
because you just have this thing going on that you just have against
everybody else I think. I did feel like that once I started but it changed. It is
mostly the people because I had a mindset of how people were going to treat
me but they didn’t. I think that for black students who did not have my
experiences of diversity would have a real hard time in the FC.

Keira also replied, “Black students would feel awkward at first because they are the
only one of their race which might make them stay quiet until they meet new
people.” Devanney talked about the conflict between Black students who segregate
themselves on campus and the other students who are segregating themselves in the
Freshman Connection program.
Only difference I would think is that maybe you need more Blacks in each
connection or something. But at the same time we divide ourselves which is a
problem like we have a lot of blacks on campus but when it comes down to
the connection we don’t have too many in this class. It doesn’t make me get
out of it but some people are more comfortable with their own race so that’s
probably one of the things that plays into it.

Rochelle also told me that retention rates are lower for Black students in the program
because it is probably uncomfortable for most of them. As an example she said, “the
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one black boy in my sociology class, I commented one day when I realized he was
the only one and he told me that he had always known that from day one.” Jordan’s
response went much further in that she attributed poorer retention rates to cultural
background.
I think its cultural background. Just the way people are raised. You have
African Americans who say they want so much for themselves and they go to
college but then when the pressure gets too much they say they just can’t do
this. You know they don’t have the means behind them sometimes or they
don’t have the willpower to just overcome it. I don’t think they understand
the importance of it. Sometimes they say that they don’t have people to tell
us this stuff but that isn’t true they just don’t listen. A lot of times it is how
they were raised. A lot of times their parents were the same way. If you
don’t get the discipline at home they have to get it themselves and a lot of
people just don’t do it.

These suggestions add to the students’ concerns about the impact racial
segregation is having on them. It is challenging for these students to participate in a
program that suggests it is a learning community for all students when one or two
look different and are treated differently. One way they are suggesting this change is
by enrolling additional African American students in each section of the Freshman
Connection so as to ease the transition for these students into a more inclusive
community. This will strengthen their sense of belonging to the learning
community.

Section IV: The Campus Climate
As some of students were sharing their thoughts of being Black in the
Freshman Connection program, I noticed many comments that seemed negative
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toward other African American students in general. Considering many of the
students chose WCU for its diversity, I was curious as to why their comments were
negative toward their own race. It was at this point in the interviews that I wanted to
explore this more. I asked the students to describe for me the Black student
experience at WCU. Meisha responded, with great disappointment as she did not see
any difference from her Black peers in high school and her new college Black
student peers.
If you were to ask me to compare the African American students here to my
high school there would be no difference. Seeing their looks and demeanor
there is not much difference. I was hoping that coming to an institution of
higher education, I was hoping that the African American students would be
more sophisticated, speak a different way, act a different way and from what
I have seen I haven’t seen it yet.

Stephanie seemed to feel the same way as Meisha as she commented, “Oh, it
is so much like high school. I call it 13
th
grade. Some African Americans just sit
around and just chillax. Although I hate to stereotype, I do think African Americans
meet the stereotype.” Jordan stated that she did not have a strong relationship with
other Black students on campus because she thought, “because it’s just like values
wise and I notice a lot of the African Americans here are just really closed minded.”
I asked her what they were closed minded about and she replied, “…about mixing
races. Some don’t ever hang out outside their race and when they see maybe another
black person walking with a white person or dating a white person they see them as
strange and they feel uncomfortable.” Devanney described a major divide among
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some of her friends in the WCU Black student community that exists based on
stereotypes.
I know you heard of the term “oreos” or people that are black that act white.
They think I am one. It’s not even the whole thing about acting black it’s
associating you with just being African American. It’s just like there’s some
girls like me that may dress the same and may look the same but if they feel
like I’m from a poor background or I didn’t go through the same academic
background as them then they’re like I don’t want to associate with her
because she’s an oreo. I don’t even want to deal with that. That’s too much.

Keira also feels disconnected from other WCU Black students since, “most of the
time they stick only with each other and I want more than that.” Even though Sonja
initially saw WCU as a large diverse campus, she now says she rarely sees other
African American students. She told me, “From what I see it’s kind of small. I wish
I would see more Black people.”
In anticipating various responses to describing the Black student experience, I
also asked them to tell me if there were certain locations on campus that African
American students were more likely to be found and if they also socialized in these
locations. Every student in this study described one specific location, that of the
Quad which is in the center of WCU’s campus. The comments associated with their
descriptions of the students who congregate there are indicative of a projection of
racist attitudes on campus about African American students in general.
Jennifer said, “There’s a group that hangs out in Sierra Hall and they hang
out all the time. I heard there are teachers who talk about them by saying they’re not
going to graduate.” Keira also commented, “I just heard that by Sierra Hall there’s a
lot of black people so it’s called the black hole. That’s kind of similar to high
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school.” Sonja suggested that this is the only place she sees other African American
students. She said, “Walking around, when I see them they are usually together
actually by Sierra Hall there’s a wall that a lot of them sit near each other and I don’t
see them that much anywhere else.” Despite only seeing Black students there, she
does not socialize there herself. Vicki was the only student who suggested Black
students hang out together so that they can be themselves and not act differently
around non-Black students. She said, “There’s one area where there is all Black
people. I don’t know why they gravitate towards that area, I actually don’t but
maybe because they don’t have to talk different or explain anything about their lingo
or have the same interests.”
Out of the 12 students I interviewed, only Isaac informed me that he spent
any time in the location that was identified as where the WCU Black students
socialize. All of the other students spend their time either at the residence halls, at
the student union, one of the many eating establishments on campus, walking around
campus, or commuting. Despite not having many connections to other Black
students within their Freshman Connection program, or wanting to socialize in the
Black student dominated location on campus, I was curious if they were looking for
a significant connection to other Black students. Of the 12, five students wanted to
join the Black Student Union or other African American cultural organization but
were waiting to do so until they determined it was socially beneficial. These
students did not want to completely isolate themselves from their race, but felt it
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would be better for them to do so as they perceived many Black students on campus
were viewed as lazy or least likely to graduate.

Classroom Observations
As discussed in Chapter 3, I decided to observe students in their University
100 courses since, as an instructor of this course myself, I understood the learning
outcomes of the course and was familiar with much of the course content. I also
knew most of the faculty members who teach this course and decided it would be
more comfortable for the faculty to have me observing their classes. I was able to
observe four separate University 100 class sessions that included eight of the 12 total
students in this study. I provide a summary of each of my four observations below.
The first class I observed was taught by a member of the University 100
planning committee who also teaches graduate courses in college counseling for
higher education. Her class consisted of 22 students with the racial breakdown
being: 2 African American, 2 Asian, 4 Caucasian, 11 Hispanic, and 3 Middle
Eastern. On the day of my observation, one of the African American students was
not present as she was sick. This left the only other African American student being
Devanney. Devanney sat in the middle of the classroom surrounded by a mix of all
other races. While students representing multiple races sat around her, most of the
Hispanic students sat on the other side of the classroom. Throughout the class she
remained facing forward and constantly kept her attention on the instructor. I often
observed her nodding and commenting below her breath in agreement to what the
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instructor was discussing. Unlike other students, she did not talk out loud or talk to
other students around her. She raised her hand a few times to respond to questions
the instructor asked of the class.
About halfway through the class, the professor asked the students to take out
one of the textbooks they were to have that day. I noticed Devanney looked
surprised and it became apparent she had forgotten her book. The professor noticed
a few students had forgotten their books and announced that the students could group
up with others who had their book. Devanney had looked around her and asked out
loud to no one in particular if she could share with someone. Immediately next to
Devanney, sat a Caucasian female student who had looked up at Devanney upon
hearing her question. Just a moment later, this student also saw another student three
desk rows over did not have her book either. This other student three rows over had
motioned for the Caucasian student sitting behind Devanney to sit with her. At this
moment, Devanney had asked again to no one in particular if she could share with
someone. The Caucasian student sitting directly behind Devanney had gotten up and
walked three rows over to sit with the other student, also a female Caucasian, who
had motioned to her. Upon watching this pair, I noticed they began talking about
other things aside from the task assigned. Meanwhile, a male Asian student sitting
four desks behind Devanney announced she could share with him.
At the conclusion of the class, I continued to observe the students and their
conversations. Devanney thanked the male student for allowing her to share books.
As she looked up, three students, including the Caucasian student originally sitting
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behind her, walked passed and did not say anything to Devanney while saying
goodbye to the Asian male student. At the same time, a group of about seven
students began discussing weekend plans. Devanney proceeded to pack up her
belongings and approached the professor and asked her about her newly assigned
homework.
When following up on what I had observed in my interview with Devanney,
she told me about only pairing up with the other African American girl in the class as
that is the only student in class she has things in common with and are friends
outside of class. Devanney told me the other students seem to have more in common
with each other as they immediately connected the first week of classes and usually
do group assignments together.
My second classroom observation was with an African American female
professor who has taught freshman for over 25 years. Her class included Vicki,
Rochelle, Jennifer and Sonja. These four were the only students in my study who
were in a cohort of the Freshman Connection that included more than two African
American students so I was very anxious to see how the social dynamics compared
to the other classes I observed. The other students in this class that day consisted of:
seven Caucasian, five Hispanic, two Asian and one Middle Eastern.
I arrived a few minutes before the scheduled start time so as to catch how the
students entered the class and with whom. Since this class immediately followed
another one of the learning community classes, I wanted to see if all of the students
walked in together, or if they separated themselves in any way. Upon entering the
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class, one Asian student was already sitting in the front of the class. I took a seat on
the side of the classroom I considered the best seat to observe the entire class.
Another three students, one Hispanic and two Caucasian, came in and sat in various
places. Immediately, another two, one Hispanic and one Middle Eastern, came in
and sat together in the back corner. Within the next few minutes, all of the
remaining students entered the class making it difficult to determine who was with
whom except for four Caucasian blonde female students. They were the loudest in
their conversation and were dressed in similar style. They sat together on the far end
of the classroom and did not seem to pay attention to anyone else.
As the students continued to socialize in smaller groups, the professor arrived
a few minutes past the scheduled start time. Before she even placed her bags down,
she asked the students to get into their groups so they could work on their projects.
Only two students moved to meet up with other groups of students. The four
Caucasian women remained in conversation while Vicki and Rochelle sat with two
of the Hispanic students, the two male Caucasian students sat with an Asian male
student, and the other students sat alone. The professor instructed the class to work
on their group assignments as she approached a desk next to me. The professor
began to explain to me the group projects they were working on while the students
paid no attention to us. As I struggled between observing the students, taking notes
and listening to the professor, she proceeded to pull out a stack of papers. She
smiled at me and said she would grade their papers while they worked and I
observed them.
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Despite her acknowledgment of the importance behind my work, she
continued to comment on how great the students and their essays she was grading
were. I forced myself to smile and nod occasionally while observing the students.
Only one of the four groups seemed engaged in working on the assignment. The
four Caucasian girls making up one group, the three male students, and the mixed
female group of African American and Hispanic women were all discussing
weekend plans, other classes, and gossip. Jennifer remained by herself and listened
to her iPod while applying makeup. Sonja sat a few desks behind Jennifer and
would occasionally talk to another Hispanic girl and Jennifer. These groupings and
conversations continued for the entire class session. A few minutes prior to the end
of the class session, the instructor distributed the graded essays, commenting on how
great everyone did. She also wrote on the white board the class assignment due the
following class session. Only two students wrote down the assignment. One of the
Asian students raised his hand and asked if the instructor was taking role that day
and she replied she wasn’t and to have a great weekend.
Like the previous class, I continued to take notes and observe the students
depart the class. Once all of the students left, I asked the professor how they ended
up in the groups they were in. She told me she had them self-select their groups as it
was important for them to be comfortable with each other and it seemed to be
working as they were all working so hard. In following up with Vicki, Sonja,
Jennifer and Rochelle about what I had observed in their class, they informed me
most classes were similar in the way the students sat with each other. They said after
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the first class session, the four Caucasian women in particular only talked to each
other and would always work in a group together. They also mentioned the male
students tended to be together as well but it seemed to be more about them being
male instead of race. All four of the African American women in this class
mentioned how they interacted with the remaining classmates, especially each other.
When attending other classes, they mentioned all but the Caucasian group wiling to
sit next to or work with other students.
The other two classes I observed included Krystal, Kia and Meisha. When
observing their classes, the class sessions were spent with the instructors lecturing
which made it difficult to determine the social dynamics at play amongst the
students. Since neither class observation provided specific incidents to comment on
in their interviews, I kept to my interview protocol. Each of these three women, as
listed in their comments throughout this chapter, commented on similar instances in
which they witnessed subgroups amongst their classmates they felt were created
based on comfort levels and perceived commonalities. None of them mentioned how
their instructors facilitated activities that forced the subgroups to work with other
students.
In the next chapter, I will discuss the implications of these results to my three
research questions and make recommendations on how WCU can use the
experiences of these 12 students to improve the Freshman Connection program
specifically for African American students. I discuss the limitations of my study and
conclude with a brief discussion of future research areas that may be explored
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involving the experiences of Black students in the Freshman Connection and at
WCU.
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Chapter 5
Discussion
Introduction
The goal of West Coast University’s Freshman Connection is to “improve
freshman retention and success rates by offering students a ready-made academic
and social community during their first freshman semester” (course website).
Overall, this study proves the Freshman Connection program is generally providing a
ready-made social and academic community. Students reported the benefits of
shared learning experiences, familiarity with having the same students in multiple
classes, the formation of a few deeper friendships, and a greater understanding of the
physical campus and student services that are available.
However, data in this study suggests the students are not experiencing a full
sense of belonging to the larger learning community as a result of the formation of
racial groups and a low number of other African American students in their cohorts.
Despite producing many of the outcomes suggested by the literature such as shared
learning with familiar students, establishing friendships, and an awareness of campus
academic support; African American students are feeling like they are excluded from
mostly White work groups and much of the college socializing in and out of class
attributed to these groups. These feelings may be affecting these African American
students’ ability to successfully achieve all of the learning outcomes the Freshman
Connection program provides, thus affecting their overall retention at WCU. In
order for the Freshman Connection goal of increasing the retention of all students in
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the program, there needs to be specific changes made so that African American
students do not feel they are excluded from student work groups or the social
benefits of the Freshman Connection.

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Freshman Connection ready-
made learning community to determine how it provides a sense of belonging at
WCU for African American students. The research questions designed around this
purpose were: 1) In what ways do African American students experience the
Freshman Connection? 2) How do African American students enrolled in the
Freshman Connection integrate socially into the university community? and 3) How
do African American students enrolled in the Freshman Connection integrate
academically into the university community?
In this chapter, I begin by discussing the key results from this study that are
in agreement with the literature regarding learning communities. I will also discuss
the instances where the literature on learning community outcomes is not reflective
of the African American students in this study. Next, I will discuss the implications
for practice for West Coast University so as to improve the Freshman Connection
program specifically for African American students. I then discuss the limitations of
this study and conclude with recommendations for further research at WCU and
beyond.

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Review of Findings
In this section I will discuss the key findings of the study; which are:
• All of the students feel the Freshman Connection supported their
general academic and social integration to campus by providing
familiar faces, shared learning experiences, and a few friends.
• Despite positive reactions to their experiences in the Freshman
Connection, the students observed the formation of racial subgroups
primarily comprised of Caucasian students. African American
students were not part of these subgroups. These subgroups could be
interpreted as the successful formation of the “ready-made academic
and social community” envisioned for the Freshman Connection. At
the same time, they may be symbolic of racial segregation and
patterns of interaction that might make the college environment
alienating for African American students and intensify feelings of
discomfort. “Cliques” such as the ones mentioned by the students
may also be a barrier to intercultural friendships. These subgroups
prevented these students from experiencing a deeper sense of
community amongst the entire Freshman Connection cohort. On the
positive side, the presence of white-only subgroups may have
strengthened the bond among African American students and the
formation of mutually supportive friendships.
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• The students commented on the potential adverse effects for the
success of African Americans within the Freshman Connection when
there is only one or two of them in a cohort.
• An unexpected finding of this study was the students’ negative
reaction to the African American students who “hang out” in a
specific area of the campus. The students’ desire to not be associated
with this group of students for fear that they would be judged in
negative ways suggests that there may be a larger problem of racial
stereotyping within the campus. Since this finding is not associated
with my research questions, I include it as a potential topic for future
investigation for WCU.
As presented in chapter four, the students reported positive experiences in the
Freshman Connection program. The students spoke of how having the same students
in each of their classes led to a level of social familiarity they did not experience in
their courses outside of the Freshman Connection. This familiarity supported them
with their academic transition into college coursework. Most of the students were
able to adjust to the new college workload because they could turn to their peers
within the learning community for help, questions, and support. The social
connections also assisted the students in asking for help when they needed it and
following up on assignments they may have misunderstood. A quote from Isaac
supports the fact these students attribute their successful academic transition to the
program, “Educationally it does help because of the people …and the resources that
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have been shown to me and these things will help me stay in college.” Students felt
the knowledge gains from the program would enhance their future success at WCU.
Given their self assessments of successful academic performance, all of the students
expressed positive reactions toward the Freshman Connection and would recommend
it to other students. This is an important finding since all of these students were
enrolled in basic skills courses. I never heard any of the students comment on
feeling inadequate, being behind schedule, or bad at certain subjects due to their
enrollment in non-college level classes. I attribute this to the fact that enrollment in
all three courses in the Freshman Connection were restricted to students of the same
level of math or English. This allowed them to participate in group learning with
students who are only at their same skill levels.
Additionally, the African American students discussed making friends and
connecting both socially and academically with a few other students in the cohort.
Upon further inquiry, those who had commented on more significant friendships
were with other African American students. Many of these social connections began
by students sitting together in class and by walking from one class to another. The
structure of the program provided many opportunities to socialize and get to know
the other 20-24 classmates. Each week consisted of 9 hours of in class instruction, a
one-hour break for lunch, and class transition times. These deeper friendships
developed over time enabling them to feel more connected to the university. One
student referred to her Freshman Connection friend as a “sister” in that they share
everything together about their family and dating lives (Devanney). Others
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commented on hanging out with their Freshman Connection friends off campus on
the weekends. Overall, the students attributed their enrollment in the Freshman
Connection program as having provided a structure that enabled the formation of
friendships that helped them feel like they were not alone. The students compared
this structure to another course they took outside of the connection. In these classes,
they did not feel they could talk to anyone as students usually rushed off
immediately after class ended and never worked with others for a significant amount
of time.
These findings are consistent with Tinto’s (1998) research on the benefits of
learning communities. This study’s results are similar to his study at LaGuardia
Community College. Students in both studies discussed the benefits of shared
learning with other students, establish supportive peer groups, and increased their
involvement and interest on campus. Additionally, the results of this study are
equivalent to Bruttenham, et. el (2002) with basic skills students’ increased social
adjustment.
While the Freshman Connection program enabled stronger friendships, they
were almost always with other African American or Hispanic students. The
relationships with most of the Caucasian students were described as polite and
familiar but were not ones that would extend beyond the classroom. When
instructors introduced opportunities to work in smaller groups on assignments, the
students reported the White students would quickly group up together before any
African American student could join in. Once these white groups were self-selected
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based on the assigned number of individuals to each group by the instructor, they
rarely changed or invited other minority students to work in their group for the
remainder of the semester. The African American students felt even more excluded
from these White groups as they were not ever included in their conversations about
class assignments or out of class social lives. On three separate occasions, I
observed African American students sitting away from these groups usually in the
back of the classroom. They usually were the last to group up with whoever still did
not have partners. On one instance I observed an African American student become
so disengaged that she began text messaging and listening to her iPod while the
instructor graded papers.
These findings are consistent with studies on African American students’
social integration at non-Black colleges and serve as much of the contentions with
the use of learning communities as method to address minority student persistence.
As I mentioned in Chapter 2, the work conducted by Tatum (1997) provides insight
as to why the results in this study are mixed. She states when African American
students become aware of a lack of representation of their race on a campus, or in
this case program, they perceive the environment to be exclusive. Even in the case
of the four Black women who were in the same class, Feagin (1996) suggests these
women perceived their class to be dominated by other Caucasian groups and thus are
unable to fully integrate into the whole learning community.
Despite the fact that African American students did not seem to be as fully
integrated into the Freshman Connection cohorts as white students, the 12 students
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still reported having positive experiences within each of their classes. They
recognized large differences between the conversations that took place with their
peers in their Freshman Connection courses compared to other classes in which they
rarely spoke to anyone. For a few, the familiarity of the Freshman Connection
community along with the development of deeper friendships with a small number of
students averted the feelings of loneliness experienced in other classes. Therefore,
their definition of a learning community included being placed in a group of students
who are all at the same academic level, who engage in conversations about the
curriculum, remind each other of important assignments, help each other study, and
sometimes continue their conversations outside of class. The few deeper friendships
leading to socializing together outside of the program were understood as an
unplanned added bonus and were most likely to occur with students of the same race.
They did not expect the program to provide relationships with their classmates that
would extend beyond the semester of the program. In fact, except for a few students,
none expected to interact with their Freshman Connection classmates again.
It is for these reasons the students in this study suggested that African
American students not be placed in the Freshman Connection program unless they
are placed in a cohort with three or more African American students. They informed
me it would be important to have similar students to identify with. My interpretation
of these comments was that they would feel a greater sense of belonging if there
were a greater number of African American students enrolled. Having no other
African American students in a course could be a source of anxiety and stress for
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students who felt they could not associate with White groups. A result of feeling like
they do not belong to the “ready-made” learning community would result in the
student choosing to withdraw from the experience or even the university.
These findings support the premise that learning communities facilitate social
and academic connections for students, create a few stronger peer relationships, and
increase the ease of transition into the university setting. However, I feel the
exclusion occurring in the Freshman Connection could have lasting negative effects
for these students in terms of their ability to achieve the learning outcomes for the
Freshman Connection program and ultimately become better connected to WCU.

Unintended Finding- Campus Racial Climate
The 12 African American students all discussed their perceptions of the
African American student culture on campus. These perceptions came from
observations of the most socially visible Black students who congregated around the
same area in the center of campus. In fact, some made strong efforts to avoid the
physical area where these students socialize on campus. The one student who does
spend time in this physical space has identified it with the nickname “Crenshaw”
referring to a Black dominated residential community in Los Angeles. For him, this
area represented a positive and comfortable place on campus where he could be
himself. Although he was referencing an area on campus where Black students
socialize, the other students in this study attributed negative stereotypes to the
“Crenshaw” area. They described those who congregate there as being lazy, less
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likely to graduate, and not at all like them. As a result, all but one of the 12 students
in this study had chosen not to associate or socialize with other African American
students in this area.
Despite hearing of their perceptions of other Black students, the 12 students
did not project any comments that led me to believe they viewed themselves as
making racist statements or that they considered WCU a place where racist thoughts
prevailed. Most of them actually bought into these ideas that their Black peers
would not end up obtaining college degrees. Given most of the African American
students I interviewed came from either multiracial families or predominantly
Caucasian high schools, they may be unable to identify with other African American
students or confront racist beliefs. In fact, they may have been socialized in a way
that ignores racist thoughts in exchange for greater rewards in a white dominated
society. The decision to avoid associating with other African American students
who are labeled as least likely to succeed may be the result of such socialization.
Based on their suggestions to have more African American students in their classes, I
believe they are desirous of making stronger connections to their own race,
especially if they are seeing themselves excluded from classroom group assignments
by Caucasian students. However, they are cautious to make these connections
outside of their classes based on stereotype threat and cannot make them in their
courses based on the limited number of other African Americans within their
courses. Since one of the learning outcomes for the Freshman Connection is to assist
students in making social connections outside of campus, I suggest below that the
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issues of stereotype threat and the overall Black student experience be investigated
further at WCU.

Recommendations for Practice
One of the first implications of this study is for WCU to develop an
intentional process for enrolling African American students in the Freshman
Connection program. Advisors need to be fully versed on learning communities and
the Freshman Connection program specifically. They also need to be aware of the
literature on African American student retention success strategies and advise
students to seek opportunities that will increase their chances of success. Based on
the results of this study, I recommend WCU only place three or more, but not less
than two, African American students in a cohort of the Freshman Connection. This
will enable each Freshman Connection cohort to be representative of the campus
demographic of African American students. This more accurate representation will
allow for the African American students to avoid beginning their collegiate career as
the “only Black student” in all three of their courses. This practice would help avoid
Tatum’s (1997) discussion of Black students’ feelings of exclusion by having more
of their own race represented.
A second implication of this study is to educate faculty on the outcomes of
successful learning communities and on creating multicultural learning environments
conducive to African American students. I believe much of the segregation
occurring within the Freshman Connection program is unintentional and
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unidentifiable to the faculty. Once faculty are equipped with the knowledge and
skills on facilitating learning environments that counter a white dominated
perspective, African American students will have a stronger voice and a greater
ability to connect with more than their own race. As a result, I recommend WCU
create a faculty training session involving the reported and expected outcomes of
learning communities focusing specifically on being inclusive of the specific needs
of African American and other minority students.
This training session should be designed to educate those faculty in the
program, usually adjunct, who may have very limited knowledge of what a learning
community is to provide students, particularly in a multi-cultural classroom
environment. Such a program would consider Hurtado and Carter’s (1997) findings
regarding integration for African American students. They posit an African
American’s sense of belonging is acknowledged when they see themselves as part of
the larger group. Therefore, faculty should be cognizant of how to assign group
work without creating racial subgroups. By including the work of Staton-Salazar
(1997), Jones (2001), Bensimon (2007), and Ladson-Billings’ (1995), faculty will be
taught how to become positive role models for minority students that are able to
provide the social capital these students may not be able to get from anyone else.
The program can also provide Freshman Connection faculty with culturally relevant
teaching practices leading to the development of a learning community that
eliminates racial subgroups, demands high academic performance for all students
and creates opportunities for students to learn from the various races and cultures
107
present in the class. In fact, working on this dissertation has provided me with my
own personal experience of first realizing the needs of African American students
and then making changes to incorporate a classroom environment conducive to a
greater understanding of facilitating a multiracial difference. These realizations and
experiences assisted me in the creation of a training seminar for Freshman
Connection faculty listed in Appendix J.
As I noted in Chapter 1, I continued to teach in the Freshman Connection
program while completing this dissertation. My summer 2007 and fall 2007
University 100 classes (Appendix D) were just as diverse as the two I had the
previous two years. Both cohorts were connected with a basic skills course, math
and writing respectively. Both had twenty students with each class enrolling only
two African American students. Early in the summer class, one of the two African
American student’s grades began to drop and she began to withdraw socially from
the group. Neither one of these students participated in my study. She began sitting
out of the circle of chairs and away from the rest of the students. Her participation in
class discussions ceased and she began turning in late and incomplete assignments.
As I was completing my literature review during the time of the summer
course, my knowledge about learning communities was greatly enhanced. I learned
while most of the research on learning communities was not specific to African
American students, the outcomes of such programs in general have created stronger
supportive peer groups, involvement and persistence in college for students in the
program. Additionally, prior research on learning communities has shown that
108
students attain higher grade point averages, feel better about their college experience
and reported a benefit to shared learning with peers.
After the fourth week and the completion of my literature review, I began to
change my approach in engaging students who I felt were disconnecting from the
learning community. Previously, I would ask students directly what they felt were
the reasons for their withdrawal. I would ask why they were no longer vocal in class
and why their assignments were not of the quality of their earlier work. Most of the
students responded that nothing was wrong or that they were in control and could
handle things fine. Despite my declaration of being a supporter and that my “door
was always open,” the students never came to me for assistance.
For my summer student, I decided to take a much more direct approach to
reengage her. First, I decided to make an assignment of having students meet with
me twice during the semester for a fifteen minute informal conversation. The only
preparation required for the student was to pre-schedule the time we would talk. I
decided the best location would be at the on-campus coffee shop, meeting during the
hour after class. Based on student comments, I found that holding conversations
outside of my office were more comfortable for the students. By announcing this
assignment to the entire class, I avoided the possibility of singling out just a few
students who I felt were having trouble.
This “assignment” gave me an opportunity to get to know the students on a
different level. I learned of their aspirations, their challenges with starting college,
and about how they were experiencing the class. I learned that this one African
109
American student felt that a few subgroups were forming among the class and that
she was not a part of them. She commented on not having much in common with the
other students, how her work schedule made it difficult to study and socialize with
others outside of class, and how her academic performance, particularly in basic
skills math was quickly being outpaced by the others. While I was witness to the
formation of one of the subgroups she had mentioned, I was not aware of the extent
to which these subgroups were isolating this student, most importantly outside of
class when much studying and learning was happening. The awareness of a
student’s isolation in my class led to a second change.
While I utilize mostly small group work in seminar courses, I have always
allowed the students to choose their own groups or I would assign groups based on
where students were sitting to make for an easier transition from large to small group
discussion. In order to begin to break up the subgroups, I began to pre-select the
groups students would be in. First, I would break up the most obvious subgroups to
work with students they had never worked with. Then I began to be even more
strategic by placing students together who I knew shared similar or different
perspectives on a subject based on their journal writing. I followed the group work
up with follow up conversations about how the groups worked together. I also
utilized experiential activities in which students began to learn about each other at a
level they would not otherwise have had the chance to. One example of an activity is
entitled “Cross the Line.” This activity allows for students to determine
110
commonalities and differences in life experiences. I have provided the content of
this activity in Appendix I.
Shortly after having made these changes in practice, I began to see the
African American student in my class engage at a level I had not seen before. She
discussed with me how much better the class was going and how she had been
studying with a few of the other students more. While the changes seemed to have
worked for her, they may have come too late as she did not pass her basic skills math
class. Just before the academic year concluded, she was forced to stop out of the
university and make up her basic skills math class at a community college.
I used these new teaching practices in my fall 2007 course. I immediately
began group activities by allowing students to naturally pick who they would work
with. Every other week, I strategically placed students with those I had not seen
them work with. Simultaneously, I assigned journal topics that asked them to share
important aspects of their lives in an effort to help them make connections with each
other. I forewarned students that I planned to ask them to share their journals with
the class before they chose what to write about. An example of the most powerful
journal assignment was when I asked them to write about a time when they felt
discriminated against. The next class session was dedicated to them reading their
journals to the group and then going home and writing about one student’s story they
felt connected to. The next class session involved the students reading to the class
the particular stories they connected to the most and why. Both African American
students came to me after class and commented on how they connected with students
111
of different races who they had assumed they had nothing in common with because
of their race differences. Additionally, some of the Caucasian students informed the
class how much they were made aware of their white privilege because they could
not remember a time they had ever felt discriminated against like many of their
minority peers. Now that it is spring of 2008, I often see both of these students
around campus and I take the opportunity to check in with them. They often discuss
how their class experiences in the Freshman Connection assist them with getting to
know others in their non-cohort classes. Both are involved in co-curricular activities
and are academically succeeding to date. I cannot claim the activities I assigned and
the changes I had made in my classes are the sole reason why the African American
students in my class are doing well. However, I attribute my newfound knowledge
of research on learning communities along with the results of this dissertation as a
starting point toward a greater understanding of how faculty can utilize the learning
community as a way to address specific needs of African American students.
A final implication of this study is for West Coast University to recognize the
need for further inquiry into the African American student experience on campus.
WCU can begin this process by creating a standing campus wide committee
representative of key faculty, staff, administrators and students that will undertake
such a monumental yet important task. Similar to this dissertation, the committee’s
work can begin to address issues based on the descriptions provided by Black
members of the campus community. Once identified, the campus community can
112
begin the process of eradicating those thoughts and actions that are affecting the
institution’s ability to retain African American students, faculty, and staff.

Implications of this Study
This study begins to fill a large gap in the literature on learning communities.
As mentioned in Chapters 1 and 2, almost no literature exists specifically focusing
on the experiences of African American students in multiracial learning
communities. As a result, many campuses have moved forward with the
development and implementation of programs mirrored from the literature anxiously
awaiting similar results. Unfortunately for many of these institutions like WCU, the
results are mixed. This study begins to provide greater insight into how campuses
can provide programs that increase the success and graduation rates for all students.
This study provides a consultative approach to assist campus faculty and
administrators in ensuring African American students are able to socially and
academically integrate into a campus environment in which they are a minority. The
training seminar listed in Appendix J can be utilized to prepare faculty who know
very little about learning communities and how to facilitate them for a multiracial
program. Ultimately, an increase in the success of African American students will
lead to greater equity in employment, lifetime earnings and advancement of future
generations in society.

113
Limitations of this Study
There were several limitations to this study that must be addressed. One of
the most apparent issues I knew I would face when conducting this research, was
how the students would react to me as a Caucasian male who worked at the
university. Acknowledging this as possible points of power over the students, I
attempted to lessen the power differences in the interview protocol. I identified
myself as a student at the University of Southern California, so as to find a more
common ground with each participant as a fellow student. I conducted my
interviews in a private but openly accessible area by students in the university’s
student union instead of my formal office. I dressed in jeans and a basic button up
shirt so as not to appear like a college instructor. Finally, I talked a little about my
own experiences as a college freshman prior to beginning my interview questions.
Despite these purposeful attempts at making myself approachable and more like
them to limit the power differential, there was no hiding of the fact I am White.
While I did not perceive any of the students limiting or editing their answers because
of my race, I cannot ignore the possibility that students may have described their
experiences differently had I been African American.
A second limitation of my study involves being a novice qualitative
researcher. As this dissertation is my first research project, my inexperience must be
considered as a limitation. Even though I conducted many practice interviews,
coding of data, and drafts of my research proposal, I now realize there were
opportunities for probing deeper with answers that I may have missed. As each
114
interview progressed, I noticed in reading the transcripts my interviewing skills
improved over time. Unfortunately, more information was gained from the later half
of the students than the first and this could have been avoided if I had been a more
skilled researcher.
A third limitation of this study is that it contains data from 11 female students
but only one male. Out of the 32 African American students in the Freshman
Connection cohort available to participate in my study, only four were males. This,
in and of itself, speaks to the gendered nature of the African American community at
WCU and will be mentioned again among future research needed. As a result, the
data collected speaks mainly to the experiences of African American female students
in the Freshman Connection which may have projected a more positive experience in
the program than if more males had participated.
A final limitation of this study that must be considered is that one-third of the
participants who identified primarily as African American on their student records,
also considered themselves to be of multiple races. While these students discussed
in great depth their African American heritages and experiences, they also discussed
strong connections to their other racial backgrounds. These other identifications
could have skewed their experiences within the coding of their data, particularly as
the themes surrounding the ‘ability to identify with their peers who were of another
race’. As a result, their multiracial upbringing may have contributed to their
reluctance to associate with the more visible African American community at WCU.

115
Future Research
In this study, I learned of the experiences of 12 African American students in
a basic skills learning community at a diverse university in Southern California.
While this dissertation will contribute to the larger issue of retention and persistence
of African American students at West Coast University, it does not suggest the
experiences of these 12 students would mirror that of all African American students.
Additionally, this project raises a number of additional questions for future research
at WCU.
First, as I had mentioned earlier in this chapter, additional research involving
the experiences of African American men should be conducted. This paper does
little to inform why so few African American men are participating in the Freshman
Connection and what their experiences would be like as a larger demographic. A
follow up study could look at the advising process specific to African American men
and what information they are receiving about such retention programs like the
Freshman Connection. It would also be helpful to learn through such an inquiry, if
there are differences between African American men and women as to how they
perceive their participation in such a learning community. It may be that African
American men are less likely to be open to being in a learning cohort and instead
prefer to be much more independent.
Additional research needs to be conducted on the knowledge and effective
practices of faculty who teach in the Freshman Connection. Considering many
faculty who teach in the program come from the Sociology and English disciplines,
116
do they know how to facilitate multicultural community building experiences that are
more conducive to African American students? What do they know about the needs
of African American students or the larger African American community on
campus?
As discussed above, despite some segregation within the Freshman
Connection cohorts, the students all commented positively on their experiences and
the contributions the program made to their future success at WCU. Considering the
differences in the retention rate of African American students and Caucasian and
Asian students, additional research needs to be conducted to determine what factors
may diminish WCU’s success at retaining African American students. Does the
desire of the students in this study to distance themselves from the more visible
Black student community at WCU contribute to their success or inhibit it? Do issues
of stereotype threat restrain first year African American students from making deeper
connections with other African American students outside of the Freshman
Connection? If so, how can WCU work to alleviate this threat?

Conclusion
Over the last decade, the average graduation rate of West Coast University’s
African American first-time freshman graduating in six years or less is 26.9%.
When stretched to graduating in 12 years or less, the number only grows an
additional 3.3%. Considering the ever changing economic region WCU serves with
rising costs of living, fewer employment opportunities, the completion of a college
117
education is imperative. If degree completion leads to the greater ability to improve
one’s standards of living, economically support a family, and contribute back to
society, then WCU is seriously failing our African American community. While
many colleges and universities struggle with their own minority graduation rates, the
poor performance of WCU with its African American demographic has a greater
impact given many of the students it serves will remain within the surrounding
economic region.
Colleges and universities have for a long time implemented numerous
programs to support underprepared African American students. Programs such as
the California State University’s Equal Opportunity Program, Upward Bound, and
others have had some success but are not able to serve all the students who are in
need of such specific attention. The creation of learning communities, has been one
program contributing to greater retention rates as they make it easier for students to
socially and academically connect to the larger university. In assessing the growing
popularity of such programs specifically for basic skills students, WCU quickly
introduced the Freshman Connection program. Within its first year, WCU was
witness to higher retention rates for basic skills students in the program compared to
those not in the program. Unfortunately for WCU, like most other learning
communities at other institutions, little was known on how such programs were
contributing to specific demographics. Since the initial WCU Freshman Connection
report indicated no reduction in retention rates for any student demographic, some
have argued this as an initial success which warrants considerable growth of the
118
program. I have argued in this dissertation that a large growth in success for some
students over others is an inequitable success and should not follow an “If it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it” mentality of program evaluation.
The findings from this qualitative study support the popularity of the use of
learning communities as a way to integrate students into the academic and social
components of the university. Despite a number of incidents of segregation within
individual cohorts, students attributed the forming of significant peer relationships,
increased knowledge of campus resources, a greater ability to navigate the campus
structure, increased study skills, higher grade point averages and the passing of their
basic skills courses to their involvement in the program. While this supports
continued use of the Freshman Connection program at WCU, I advise the university
to make use of the ‘recommendations for practice’ section of this chapter. Many
alterations to the program are needed to ensure the needs of the African American
students are being addressed. The issues of advising, providing structured learning
experiences without segregation, training faculty on facilitating multicultural
connections and pedagogies, and careful and deliberate placement of students within
cohorts will improve the student experience. Additionally, I urge WCU to engage its
Black staff and faculty and the larger campus community in discussions regarding
the perceptions of its Black student community. I am disheartened by some of the
comments the students made regarding their Black peers on campus along with their
stated desires to distance themselves from such an important community on campus.
119
Ultimately, for WCU to increase its persistence and graduation rates of its African
American students, the success of its learning communities will not be enough.
120
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125
Appendix A
Office of Institutional Research Report 2006

126

127

128

129

130

131

132
Appendix B
Fall 2005 Freshman Connection Cohorts
Note: The Freshman Connection is a pilot project for 240 first-time freshmen who
will be placed into learning communities composed of nine units of linked classes as
shown here. All classes will meet MWF in Fall 2005. All students enrolled in either
the business or undecided learning communities are in basic skills English classes.
All faculty names have been removed from these charts.

Cohort #A: 6 MWF groups with 20 each = 120 students in Cohort A. Business majors.
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
CHS 098
11-1150,
JR203
Class
#17216
PAS 098
11-1150
SH287
Class
#14237
PAS 098
12-1250,
SH287
Class
#14238
ENGL 098
11-1150
JD1593
Class #16826
ENGL 098
12-1250,
SH221
Class #16828
ENGL 098
12-1250, JR203
Class #16829
UNIV 100
10-1050,
JR218
Class #
16767
UNIV 100
10-1050,
MZ112
Class #
19359
UNIV 100
10-1050,
JD2522
Class #
19365
UNIV 100
10-1050,
JD1593
Class # 16765
UNIV 100
11-1150,
SQ101
Class #
16766
UNIV 100
10-1050, SQ
102
Class # 19366
Psychology 150 (GE Sec. D). MWF 1-1:50 p.m. in SQ 104. Class #14622.

Cohort B: 6 MWF groups with 20 each = 120 students in Cohort B. Undecided majors.
Group 7 Group 8 Group 9 Group 10 Group 11 Group 12
AAS 098
8-8:50,
SH194
Class #16959
PAS 098
9-950, SH287
Class #14235
CHS 098
10-1050,
JR115
Class #17215
ENGL 098
10-1050,
JH1202
Class #16821
ENGL 098
11-1150,
JH1204
Class #16825
ENGL 098
11-1150,
JH1206
Class #16824
UNIV 100
9-950,
MZ113
Class #
16768
UNIV 100
10-1050,
OV002
Class # 16769
UNIV 100
9-950,
OV002
Class # 16770
UNIV 100
9-950,
JH1202
Class # 16771
UNIV 100
9-950,
JH1204
Class # 16772
UNIV 100
9-950,
JH1206
Class # 16776
Sociology 150 (GE Sec. D). MWF 12-12:50 p.m. NA*. Class #13976
133
Appendix C
Sample U100 Fall 2005 Syllabus
University 100 Fall 2005_____________________________________________
Check Your Head~ Beastie Boys

Ticket #: 16770 Professor: L. Riccomini
Days/Time: MWF 9-9:50AM Email: lisa.riccomini@csu
Office Hours: Mentor:
Office: St 425; 677-0916 Email:
Classmate #1:
Classmate #2:
University 100 Website: http://www.csun.edu/~univ100/

Class HyperNews Address:

LRC: Student Services Building, 4
th
floor, Rm 408. 677-2033 http:// www.csun.edu/lrc

CSUN Center for the Visual and Performing Arts: 677-2488 http://cvpa.csun.com
Course Materials
Required texts:
• CSUN 2004-2006 Catalog.
• Ellis, Dave. Becoming A Master Student, Concise 10
th
ed. Make sure you purchase
a new edition that does not have missing pages.
• Picciotto, Madeleine. Critical Thinking: A Campus Life Casebook, 2
nd
ed.

Required materials:
• Mini Stapler-Unstapled work is not accepted.
• One spiral or ringed notebook for class notes and work. Do NOT throw anything
away for this class!
Freshman Connection: The aim of the Freshman Connection is to link subject matter,
faculty, and course policies; to use “involving pedagogies” (experiential, hands-on, peer
reviews, discussion, group and pair work, possibly service learning); and to foster students’
development of social and academic relationships as members of the university community.
Our Cohort:
University 100 (16770) MWF 9-950AM Professor Riccomini
Chicano Studies 098 (17215) MWF 10-10:50AM Professor Renee Moreno
Sociology 150 (13976) MWF 12-12:50PM Professor Michele Scaife
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You must be concurrently enrolled in all three classes. If you drop one, you must drop all—
so don’t drop any!
U100 Course Goals
University 100 provides first time CSUN freshmen the opportunity to develop the skills and
strategies necessary for excellence in academic, personal, and professional life.
Upon completion of the course, you will be able to
i. Demonstrate familiarity with the history and purpose of higher education;
ii. Discuss the role of the university in society;
iii. Describe the roles, rights, and responsibilities of university students, faculty,
and staff;
iv. Demonstrate problem solving and goal setting skills;
v. Describe the concepts presented in the CSU Northridge mission, values, and
vision statement;
vi. Demonstrate familiarity with academic policies and programs and show
proficiency in locating that information in the university catalog;
vii. Assess your strengths and weaknesses in basic academic and
communication skills, including reading and listening with comprehension,
organizing ideas for presentation, writing brief reaction papers and reports,
speaking in public, participating in group discussions, and working
cooperatively in diverse communities.
Course Policies
Course Requirements:
i. CSUN Student email account
ii. Complete and submit all required assignments (see schedule below);
iii. Respond to surveys and questionnaires requesting feedback on this course;
iv. Participate constructively in class and electronic discussions;
v. Attend class and participate actively;
vi. Keep appointments you make with me and our class mentor;
vii. All work is due the morning of class and must be typed and stapled unless
otherwise instructed.
Grade Distribution
• Two writing assignments: 1
st
essay 50 pts; 2
nd
essay 75 pts 125 points
• Collaborative Critical Thinking Project 150 points
• Research assignments:
Pretest (10) Postest (15) Annotated Bibliography (100) 125 points
• Resources Scavenger Hunt 125 points
• 1 Cultural Event report: 100 points
• Weekly HyperNews entries 100 points
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• Participation/Daily Activities/Homework 100 points
• 5 Learning Styles Applications 50 points
• Mentor appointments: two at 25 points each 50 points
• 3 Self Report Cards: three at 25 points each 75 points

GRAND TOTAL FOR THE SEMESTER………… 1000 POINTS
Grade Determination
A = 940-1000 pts B- = 800-829 pts D+ = 670-699 pts
A- = 900-939 pts C+ = 770-799 pts D = 630-669 pts
B+ = 870-899 pts C = 730-769 pts D- = 600-629 pts
B = 830-869 pts C- = 700-729 pts F = below 600 pts

Additional assignments: I reserve the right to make other assignments as necessary. You will
receive advance notice of these additions and changes.
Participation & Attendance Policy: Come to class and be on time. This is not a lecture-
based course. Please do not think that you can miss class so long as you get a copy of
someone’s notes. Since this class is based on discussion and student interaction, it is
important that you come to every class prepared and on time. While I will assume that you
have a good reason for missing any amount of class time, absences cannot be made up and
absences and tardies will negatively affect your grade in the course.
Absences: If you miss class, you miss important work that cannot be made up. Missing 6 or
more classes may result in a failing grade.
Tardies: Be on time. It is disrespectful both to me and to your fellow students to interrupt
the flow of the class by coming in late.
Academic Dishonesty: also known as plagiarism should never happen in this class or in any
of your classes. In any assignment, words and/or ideas that are not your own need to be
correctly documented, otherwise it is considered plagiarism. If you plagiarize, I will reduce
your grade accordingly and will contact Dr. William Watkins, the Assistant Vice President
for Student Life. In class, we will be reviewing ways to cite sources in order to avoid
plagiarism; however, I encourage you to meet with me if you are uncertain about whether
your writing could be misconstrued as plagiarism.
Talk To Me: Got questions? Comments? Concerns? Let’s talk.
136
Cell Phones must be turned off and put away. Don’t be rude, please. If your phone or
pager rings during class, your participation grade will be affected.
If you need special course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or you
have special medical information to share, please speak to me immediately after the first or
second class.
Major Assignments:
HyperNews:
Hypernews Discussion Leader: For one week this semester, you will each serve as the Hyper
News discussion leader. This means you must post at least one discussion topic and also
must respond to at least 5 of your classmates’ responses. We will discuss this more in class.
Weekly HyperNews: Each week you are expected to respond to the HyperNews Discussion
leader and your classmates’ discussion.
Cultural Event:
1. You are required to attend one cultural event anytime during the semester. This event
should be a CSUN sponsored event. You may attend a play, concert, film festival ballet,
opera, gallery, etc. There may be a small admission charge for some events. You will need to
access the CSUN webpage and explore the different events and activities scheduled for the
semester.
2. You are required to write a 300 word “review” of the event posted to the HyperNews site.
Posts are due one week from the date you attend the event and you must attach a ticket
stub/program/evidence of attendance to a 3X5 index card with basic event information (date,
time, type, location, etc) and turn in to me. Additionally, over the course of the semester,
you are required to respond to at least 4 of your classmates’ Cultural Event reviews.
Directions:
Post a one paragraph critical review of the event (play, art show, reading, ballet, political
event, etc). It is your responsibility to consult Los Angeles Times, New York Times, LA
Weekly, etc for samples. "I like the play," or "I didn’t like the play" are useless opinions
unless you can support your position. Explain why.
• What was the point of this event and how was it communicated?
• What impressed or affected you most and why?
• How did attending the event change your understanding or yourself, someone else,
or the world around you?

Compose this assignment on Microsoft Word or the equivalent first. Spell Check! Proof
read! Single-space and save, then copy and paste to your post.
137
Writing Assignments –connected to cohort?
*Note to Instructors: I try to make sure to require at least on visit to the LRC Writing
Center…using the following instructions: AN LRC visit is worth 5 points of this
assignment. In other words, if you turn in your paper without a writing center tutor
comment pink sheet stapled to the back (given at time of appt.) you will lose 5 points. Need
help generating ideas, Organizing or developing paragraphs, or checking your style? The
LRC Writing Center tutors can help!
Collaborative Critical Thinking Project: To be constructed by class beginning week four of
the semester. Instructions to follow.
Schedule of Readings, Assignments, and Resources
Schedule is subject to change and, in fact, will!

Unit I Weeks 1-5: The Ethics of Self: Who Are You?

Weeks 1&2: August 29- September 2 and September 5-9 (September 5 is Labor
Day: CSUN is closed!).

Readings: Freshman Experience Introduction
BAMS Ch.1: First Steps
BAMS Ch. 9 (in part): 1)Taking Care of Yourself; 2) Emotional Pain;
3) Seeing the Full Scope of Addiction (pages 216-226)

Assignments: Introduction to electronic discussion: HyperNews Information Page

Learning Styles Inventory; Discovery Wheel; Health Survey Journal
Cultural Event Assignment (Due November 18th)

Resource: Health Center Visit

Week 3: September 12-16

Readings: BAMS Ch. 2: Time

Assignments: Exercises including: Create a Lifeline;
Journal Reflections and homework
Time Monitor (start NOW; takes two weeks!)
Assign Essay #1 Current Event Essay. Assign Mon. 9/12 due on
Friday 9/16
Resource: Learning Resource Center Presentation

138
Weeks 4&5: September 19-23 and September 26-30

Readings: BAMS Ch.4: Reading
BAMS Ch.7: Thinking
CSUN Catalog: Policies on Nondiscrimination and Student Conduct
Critical Thinking: Case 2 Flag Day

Resource: Learning Resource Center Presentation

Assignments: Learning Style Applications, homework and journals
Ch. Exercises

College Campus Research Scavenger Hunt (presentations due 10/03
and 10/05)

Collaborative Critical Thinking Project Assignments and Topic
Selection Workshop: past topics have included NASA spending and
exploration; EOP cuts and Sacramento; multiple perspectives on
“Homeland Security”; FCC/entertainment industry censorship; LA
gangs

Time Monitor due. September 26th

Unit II Weeks 6-10: The Ethics of Education:
Who Are We? Our CSUN Community

Weeks 6 &7: October 3-7 and October 10-14

Readings: BAMS Ch. 3: Memory
BAMS Ch. 5: Notes
Critical Thinking: Case 6 Paper Chase
Critical Thinking: Case 3 Cult Following

Assignments: Ch. Exercises & Quizzes
Cultural Event Reminder (due Nov. 18th)
Career Assignment Essay #2 Assign Oct 14- Due Nov. 9th

Presentations: Scavenger Hunt

Resource: Counseling Center Presentation

Week 8: October 17-21
139

Readings: BAMS Ch. 9 (pp. 200-215 and 226-229): Resources

Resource: Library Research Week (location to be announced)

Assignments: Research Skills participation—Project Groups will work together
Annotated Bibliography (each student will construct an AB based on
the group project)

Week 9: October 24-28

Readings: Critical Thinking: Case 7 On Your Honor; Mini-Case 9 Cut and Paste
Critical Thinking: Case 14 Technical Difficulties

Assignments: Ch. Exercises & Quizzes
Resource: Financial Aid Presentation

Week 10: October 31- November 4

Readings: BAMS Ch. 6: Tests
Critical Thinking: Case 10: It’s a Tiot

Assignments: Study for your other classes

Unit III Weeks 11-15: The Ethics of the Community: CSUN and
Beyond

Weeks 11-13: November 7-11, November 14-18, November 21-25
(CSUN is closed for Thanksgiving on Nov. 24 and 25!)

Readings: BAMS Ch. 8: Communicating and Diversity
Critical Thinking: Mini-Case 3 Beg, Borrow, or Steal
Critical Thinking: Mini-Case to be decided by class

Group Project Workshops

Assignments: Ch. Exercises & Quizzes
Group Projects
Cultural Event Reminder (Due Nov 18th)
Resource: Career Center Visit

Week 14: November 28- Dec 2
140
Readings: BAMS Ch. 10: What’s Next?

Assignments: Ch. Exercises & Quizzes
Critical Thinking Projects due 11/28, 11/30, 12/2, 12/5, 12/7

Week 15: Group Project Presentations & Until Next Semester—Final Thoughts
December 5-9
141
Appendix D
Fall 2007 Freshman Connection Cohorts
Note: The Freshman Connection placed targeted first-time freshmen into learning
communities composed of 3-9 units of clustered classes as shown here. Those
learning communities that include basic skills courses consisted of: Pre-Business
(English, University 100 and Music); Undecided (English, University 100 and
sociology); and Psychology (English, University 100 and Psychology). Faculty and
advisor names have been removed from these charts.

Pre-Business (PBFC) Five groups with 20-24 students each = 108 students.
Group 1
PBFC 100CLG/1
Class # 18398
Group 2
PBFC 100CLH
Class # 18400
Group 3
PBFC 100CLG/2
Class # 18399
Group 4
PBFC 100CLI
Class # 18401
Group 5
PBFC 100CLJ
Class # 18402
ENGL 098 (20)
MWF 0900-0950
ED 1123
#15962
PAS 098 (20)
MWF 1100-1150
SH 282
#13841
ENGL 098 (20)
MWF 0900-0950
SH 371
#15964
English 155 (24)
MWF 0900-0950
SH 207
#16841
CHS 155 (24)
MWF 1200-1250
JR 132
#16297
UNIV 100
Section 14
MWF 1200-1250
SG 108
#15876
UNIV 100
Section 11
MWF 1200-1250
JD 1552
#15889
UNIV 100
Section 12
MWF 1200-1250
SG 110
#15890
UNIV 100
Section 13
MWF 1200-1250
OV 002
#15875
UNIV 100
Section 10
MWF 0900-0950
SG 101
#15877
MUS 107 Music Today (GE Subject Explorations: Arts & Humanities).
MWF 1000-1050, Cypress 159. Class #10007.
All 108 students together (Groups 1-5).

Undecided (UDFC): 6 groups with 20 or 24 each = 128 students.
Group 6
UDFC
100CLA/1
Class # 18355
Group 7
UDFC
100CLD
Class # 18360
Group 8
UDFC 100
CLA/2
Class #
18356
Group 9
UDFC
100CLA/3
Class # 18358
Group 10
UDFC
100CLE/1
Class # 18362
Group 11
UDFC
100CLE/2
Class # 18364
ENGL 098 (20)
MWF 1000-
1050
ED 1123
#15966
AAS 098 (20)
MWF 0900-
0950
ED 1125
#16809
ENGL 098
(20)
MWF 0900-
0950
SH 302
#15963
ENGL 098 (20)
MWF 1100-1150
SH 302
#15968
ENGL 155 (24)
MWF 1100-
1150
JR 354
#16553
ENGL 155 (24)
MWF 1000-1050
SH 307
#16001
UNIV 100
MWF 0900-
0950
JD 1552
Section 15
#15891
UNIV 100
MWF 1000-
1050
JD 1552
Section 16
#15878
UNIV 100
MWF 1100-
1150
JD 1552
Section 17
#15879
UNIV 100
MWF 0900-
0950
SG 108
Section 18
#15880
UNIV 100
MWF 1000-
1050
SG 108
Section 19
#15881
UNIV 100
MWF 1100-
1150
Oviatt 002
Section 20
#15882
(128) SOC 150 (GE Subject Explorations: Social Sciences).
MWF 1200-1250, Oviatt Library 025. Class #13724
142

Psychology Majors (PYFC):
2 groups with 20 or 24 each = 44 students.
Group 12
PYFC 100CLA
Class # 18353
Group 13
PYFC 100CLB
Class # 18354
ENGL 098 (20)
TR 1400-1515
SH 194
#16672
ENGL 155 (24)
TR 1100-1215
BH 317
#16555
UNIV 100 Section 21
TR 1230-1345
Oviatt 002
#15886
UNIV 100 Section 22
TR 1230-1345
SG 110
#15896
(44) PSY 150 (GE Subject Explorations: Social Sciences).
TR 1530-1645. SH 380. Class #14084.

Pre-Dental Cohort:
One MWF group with 25 students total.
UNIV 100 (25)
Section 25
MWF 1100-1150
SQ 103
#15899 Department consent required
CHS 100 (CHS).
TR 1400-1515
JR 130
#16265 No consent *

U100 Science & Math: One MWF group with 25 students total.
UNIV 100 (25)
Section 26
MWF 1200-1250
SQ 103
#15900
143

Liberal Studies Freshman Connection:
60 students total.

ANTH 222 (60)
MWF 1000-1050 in SH203
Class # 13943
ANTH 222 (60)
MWF 1100-1150 in SH203
Class #13944
TH 111 (30)
MWF 0900-0950
Nordhoff Hall 113
Class #10707
TH 111(30)
MWF 1100-1150
Nordhoff Hall 113
Class #10719
TH 111(30)
MWF 1200-1250
Nordhoff Hall 113
Class #10709
TH 111(30)
MWF 1000-1050
Nordhoff Hall 113
Class #10708
144
Appendix E
Faculty Recruitment Letter
October 31, 2007

Dear Freshman Connection Faculty Member:

My name is Jamison Keller, and I am not only a fellow Freshman Connection faculty
member but also a doctoral student at the University of Southern California. I am in
the process of conducting a research project on how students are experiencing the
Freshmen Connection program at . You have been selected to
participate in my study since you are currently teaching in the program.

Over the next few weeks I will be seeking to conduct classroom observations of
Freshmen Connection courses. I am particularly interested in learning about the
informal social interactions and connections between students who are experiencing
the Freshmen Connection together. All contact with me regarding this study will be
strictly confidential and in no way should be associated with any assignment or
expectation of the Freshmen Connection students. No other student or faculty
member will know of your decision to participate and all observational data collected
will not make reference to student or faculty names or other identifying factors. All
participants’ identities will remain anonymous.

If you would like more information about my research or would like to schedule an
observation, please contact me at or by email jamison.keller@
.edu.
Either way, it would be tremendously helpful if you let me know about your interest.

Sincerely,

Jamison Keller
145
Appendix F
Student Participant Recruitment Letter
October 31, 2007

Dear Freshman Connection Student:

My name is Jamison Keller, and I am a student at the University of Southern
California. I am in the process of conducting a research project on how students are
experiencing the Freshmen Connection program at . You have
been selected to participate in my study since you are enrolled in the program and
can provide great insight based on your current experiences as a Freshmen
Connection student.

Over the next few weeks I will be conducting interviews at with
students who are interested in assisting me in my study. In exchange for just 60
minutes of your time, I will provide compensation of $35.00. You can use this for
books next semester, the upcoming winter break, or whatever you may choose! All
contact with me regarding this study will be strictly confidential and in no way is
associated with any assignment or expectation of the Freshmen Connection. No
other student or faculty member will know of your decision to participate and all
interviews will take place in a neutral conference room on campus not identified with
any department. All participants’ identities will remain anonymous.

If you would like more information about my research or would like to schedule an
interview, please contact me at or by email jamison.keller@
.edu.
Either way, it would be tremendously helpful if you let me know about your interest.

Sincerely,

Jamison Keller
146
Appendix G
Participant Informed Consent
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education

CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
The Experiences of College Students in a Basic Skills Learning Community at a
Four-Year University
You are being asked to participate in a research study conducted by Jamison Keller,
Doctoral Candidate, under the direction of Dr. Estela Bensimon at the Rossier
School of Education at the University of Southern California. You were selected as
a possible participant in this study because you are a current student in the Freshmen
Connection program at California State University, Northridge. Your participation
in this study is voluntary and is completely unrelated to any requirements of any
courses associated with the Freshmen Connection. No course instructors or other
students will be made aware of your decision on whether you will or will not
participate in this study.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to determine how students experience the Freshmen
Connection Learning Community Cohort and how these experiences influence their
sense of belonging at the university. The study will specifically focus on how the
freshmen connection program facilitates a sense of community among students in a
racially diverse cohort.

PROCEDURES

If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be asked to participate in a 60
minute interview at a neutral location on the campus of California State University,
Northridge.

POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS

INFORMED CONSENT FOR NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH
147
There are no foreseeable risks or discomforts associated with your participation in
this study.

PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION

In return for your time spent in the 60 minute interview, you will receive a one-time
payment of $35.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO SUBJECTS OR SOCIETY

The benefits of the proposed research will be to gain a better understanding of how
learning communities influence a student’s sense of belonging on a campus
inadvertently impacting their future academic success and retention. The findings of
this study will inform university faculty, staff and administrators on how learning
communities among a diverse classroom of students should be designed and
implemented so as to maximize the benefits for all students.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be
identified with you will remain confidential and will only be disclosed with your
permission or as required by law.

Jamison Keller (primary investigator) will be the only individual with access to
digital audio files recorded during interviews. The digital audio files will be
uploaded onto a personal computer and protected by password. All digital audio
files will be transcribed by Jamison Keller and/or a professional transcriber. You
have the right to review the digital audio files and/or the transcriptions. These audio
files and transcriptions will be erased from the computer after two years from the
completion of this study.

You will be given a pseudonym as an identifier for the interviews to ensure
confidentiality. When the results of the research are published, proposed within my
completed dissertation, and/or discussed at conferences, no information will be
included that will reveal your identity.

PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL

You can choose whether to be in this study or not. If you volunteer to be in this
study, you may withdraw from this study without consequences of any kind. You
may also refuse to answer any questions you do not want to answer and still remain
148
in the study. The investigator may withdraw you from this research if circumstances
arise which create the need to do so.
149
RIGHTS OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS

You may withdraw your consent at any time and discontinue participation without
penalty. Below are listed the Experimental Subject’s Bill of Rights of every person
who is asked to be in a research study:
1. To be told what the study is trying to find out;
2. To be told what will happen to me and whether any of the procedures, drugs,
or devices is different from what would be the standard practice;
3. To be told about the frequent and/or important risks, side effects or
discomforts of the things that will happen to me for research purposes;
4. To be told if I can expect and benefit from participating and, if so, what the
benefit might be;
5. To be told the other choices I have and how they may be better or worse than
being in the study;
6. To be allowed to ask any questions concerning the study both before agreeing
to be involved and during the course of the study;
7. To be told what sort of medical treatment (if needed) is available if any
complications arise;
8. To refuse to participate at all or to change my mind about participation after
the study is started. This decision will not affect my right to receive the care
I would receive if I were not in the study;
9. To receive a copy of the signed and dated consent form;
10. To be free of pressure when considering whether I wish to agree to be in the
study.

If you have any questions regarding your rights as a research subject, you may
contact either:
1. University Park IRB
Office of the Provost for Research
Grace Ford Salvatori Building, Room 226
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1695
(213) 821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu
2. Research and Sponsored Projects
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8232
(818) 677-2901

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IDENTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATOR

If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact:
Jamison Keller
818-677-5111
jamison.keller@csun.edu
151
Appendix H
Interview Protocol
1. How did you find out about the opportunity to enroll in the Freshman
Connection? Why did you decide to enroll? How was it described to you?

2. What was your reaction to the cohort experience your first few weeks? How
has that changed over the past six-seven weeks?

3. Can you describe what a typical day at school is for you?
4. What was the most challenging aspect of beginning college for you? How is
the FC addressing that challenge?

5. What are your interactions with other students like in the FC?
6. What are your interactions with your professors like in the FC?
7. How is the FC helping you get connected to campus?
8. How is the FC preparing you academically for future success?
9. In what ways are each of the three courses different from one another?
10. What are your ultimate goals for yourself in college?
11. Who are your role models?
12. What group activities are assigned in your classes and how do you choose
who to work with?

13. Would you like to share and additional thoughts about the FC?
14. Demographic questionnaire
152
Appendix I
Cross the Line Activity
We live in a diverse world. In this exercise we will explore the diversity among us by
thinking about our values, our backgrounds, our teachers, and our experiences. We
might even discover that our class is much more diverse than any of us would
assume. This activity will involve labeling and personalizing some of this diversity.
This personalization might prove uncomfortable at times. Eventually, however, it
might empower our class to break down some of the stereotypes and assumptions
that we, as a product of our cultures and experiences, hold.

This exercise is fairly simple. I will ask that all of you gather on one side of the
room and face towards its center. I will call out specific
categories/labels/descriptions, and ask that all of those to whom this applies, walk to
the other side of the room. For example, I might request that anyone with glasses
please cross the room. If this describes you and you feel comfortable acknowledging
it, you would walk to this side of the room (demonstrate). Once there you would turn
and face the crowd you just left. Get in touch with your feelings and think about
those people on both sides of the room- then I will ask you to return to the side you
started from. After a few seconds, I will continue with a new category. A number of
categories will be called out. Remember, there is no pressure to cross the room if
you don’t feel comfortable doing so. YOU will need to make that decision.

At the conclusion of the activity, we will discuss what we felt and what we learned.
There may be times when this activity makes you feel slightly uncomfortable. I
would urge you to lean into that discomfort since it may mean that you are about to
gain an important insight about yourself and our brothers.

However, if the discomfort becomes intense, you may stop participating at any time.
No questions will be asked and we will respect your decision, however, we would
encourage you to remain as an observer.

Ground rules
There are two important ground rules for this activity:
1) The first involves listening. Let’s have silence throughout the exercise- no
talking, snickering, giggling, laughing or nonverbal messages.
2) It is imperative that we respect the dignity of each brother who is here. All
that is shared should remain confidential- nothing that is offered should leave
this room. However, if after the Session you really need to talk to a
particular classmate, be sure to ask his permission.
If there are no more questions, we can begin.

153
Presenter begins by asking questions from the following list. Presenter occasionally
may need to reemphasize that the purpose of this activity is to deepen our
understanding of the people in the room, and to put brothers in touch with “feelings”
so don’t allow laughter or talking. Determine in advance which questions to ask
whereas all questions would be too tedious for this activity. The point is to start with
easier or “lighter” questions and move toward more “difficult” or revealing
questions.

Choose from these questions:
Anyone who was born in this state…cross the room.
Anyone who has visited another country
Anyone who prefers morning to night
Anyone who has never flown in an airplane
Anyone who owns their own car
Anyone is oldest in the family
Anyone who is the youngest
Anyone who is an only child
Anyone who never thought they would be in a fraternity
Anyone who has done something they regret due to alcohol
Anyone who has been in a fight to prove that they were tough
Anyone who received a 3.5 GPA or higher last semester (quarter)
Anyone who received lower than a 2.5 GPA or lower last semester (quarter)
Anyone who has been in love and been hurt

At this point, I would like to add a component to this activity. Now as each brother
crosses the line, I will ask a few of them to complete one of the following three
statements while those who have not crossed the line will need to listen to very
carefully:

“As a (fill in from below), one thing I never want to hear again is_____________.”
“As a (fill in from below), one thing I never want to see again is_______________.”
“As a (fill in from below), one thing I never want to have done to me again is_____.”

Once we have had a few people complete their statements, I will ask a few others
who did not cross the line to repeat back what they heard from those who completed
the statements. They must only repeat back what they heard and not add any
additional comments.

Anyone who is Atheist
Anyone who is Jewish
Anyone who is a person of color
Anyone who feels that he knows very little about his cultural heritage
Anyone who would describe his family as blue collar or working class
154
Anyone who would describe his family as middle class
Anyone who would describe his family as upper class
Anyone who sometimes has low self-confidence
Anyone who sometimes feels lonely
Anyone who considers himself to be a Democrat
Anyone who considers himself to be a Republican
Anyone whose natural parents are divorced
Anyone who is adopted
Anyone who has had a parent pass away
Anyone who believes it is alright for someone to have a date of the same gender at a
social event
Anyone who has a family member who is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered
Anyone who is choosing to abstain from sex until marriage
Anyone who has experienced the effects of alcoholism in the family
Anyone who has experienced the effects of drug addiction in the family
Anyone who has had a friend or relative who attempted to commit suicide
Anyone who has not yet crossed the line

Invite students to ask any reasonable questions they choose.

D.3 Debrief Exercise 25/75
Presenter then facilitates a discussion about the activity.

What kind of feelings did you have as you participated?
How did you feel when there were very few of you on one side of the room?
Did you find yourself making judgments of others?
How did the movement of others influence you?
What did you learn through this activity that we can use to make a stronger chapter
and a more welcoming environment for others?
What did you learn from this activity that will make you a better leader?
Through this activity, whether intentionally or not, did you share your values?
Through this activity, whether intentionally or not, do you think that you learned
about the values of other brothers?
Do values matter?
Are there times in life when values are ignored?
What is the result when values are ignored or forgotten?
155
Appendix J
Freshman Connection Training Workshop

Faculty Seminar on Facilitating Inclusive Learning Communities for African
American Students
Objectives for WCU Freshman Connection Faculty:
1. Learn the various learning community models being used in higher education.
2. Learn what the current research tells us about the benefits of the course cohort
model.
3. Understand how Social Integration theories have contributed to the development
of learning communities
4. Understand how the literature on African American student retention can guide the
development and implementation of learning communities so they can be
more inclusive of WCU African American students.
5. Learn how WCU students have experienced the Freshman Connection program
6. Learn specific teaching methods and activities to provide a more inclusive
environment for all Freshman Connection students.

Seminar Outline:
Components Time
Frame
Resources/References
A. Welcome 10
min.

B. What are Learning
Communities?
15
min.

B.1 Learning Theories
-Experiential
-Social/Shared
Dewey, J. (1938) Experience and Education, 1997
reprint. New York: Touchstone.
Meiklejohn, A. (1932) The Experimental College,
2001 reprint. University of Wisconsin Press,
Madison, WI.
B.2 Models
-Residential
-Freshman Interest Groups
-Coordinated Studies
-Linked Courses
Gabelnick, F., MacGregor, J., Matthews, R. S., &
Smith, B. L. (1990). Learning communities:
Creating connections among students,
faculty, and disciplines. New Directions for
Teaching and Learning, 41, 19-38.
156
B.3 Effective Outcomes
-Strong peer networks,
increased GPA, shared
learning, higher campus
involvement, increased
retention, increased
attendance, increased
student interaction
Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as communities:
Exploring the educational character of
student persistence. Journal of Higher
Education, 68(6), 599-623.
Tinto, V. (1998). Learning communities and the
reconstruction of remedial education in
higher education. Paper presented at the
“Conference on Replacing Remediation in
Higher Education” at Stanford University,
January 26-27.
Tinto, V. & Goodsell, A. (1993). Freshman interest
groups and the first year experience:
Constructing student communities in a large
university. Paper presented at the Annual
Meeting of the College Reading and
Learning Association, Kansas City, MO,
April, 1993).
C. Social Integration Models
-Social and Academic
Integration
-Rites of Passage
-Suicide (withdrawal)
10
min.
Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A
theoretical synthesis of recent research.
Review of Educational Research, 45(1), 89-
125.
Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving College: Rethinking the
Causes and Cures of Student Attrition.
Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago
Press.
Van Gennep, A. (1960). The Rights of Passage.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Durkheim, E. (1953). Sociology and philosophy.
Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
D. African American Student
Retention
-Sense of belonging
-Culturally Relevant
Pedagogy
-Campus racial climates
15
min.
Hurtado, S., Milem, J., Clayton-Pederson, A. &
Allen, W. (1999). Enacting Diverse
Learning Environments: Improving the
Climate for Racial/Ethnic Diversity in
Higher Education. ASHE-ERIC Higher
Education Report Volume 26, No. 8.
Washington, D. C.: The George
WashingtonUniversity, Graduate School of
Education and Human Development.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good
teaching! The case for culturally relevant
pedagogy. Theory into Practice, 34(3), 159-
165.
E. WCU Study & Findings 15
min.
Chapters 4 & 5
157
F. Sample Teaching
Strategies for Inclusive
Community Development
20
min.
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally Responsive Teaching:
Theory, Research, & Practice. New York,
NY: Teachers College Press
G. Questions 5 min.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This evaluative study explores the experiences of twelve African American students enrolled in a basic skills learning community entitled "Freshman Connection" at an urban public four-year university. Participants were all first time freshmen participating in the Freshman Connection program designed to successfully complete nine units including either their basic skills English or math courses and remain enrolled beyond the first year. Participants were observed in one of their three linked courses and interviewed during their last two weeks of enrollment in the program to evaluate their experiences and determine if the Freshman Connection was meeting their needs as minority students. The study provided mixed results as to the success of the program for these students. It was determined the program provided academic and social integration to the campus. However, students reported racial segregation and stereotyping occurring within and beyond the learning community. Based on the results of this study, I set forth an agenda for improvements to the program so that the retention of African American students is improved and all students feel a part of the learning community.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Keller, Jamison Joseph (author)

Core Title The experiences of African American students in a basic skills learning community at a four year public university

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Publication Date 02/20/2009

Defense Date 06/18/2008

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag African American,basic skills,College students,learning community,OAI-PMH Harvest,retention

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Bensimon, Estela Mara (committee chair), Jackson, Michael L. (committee member), Watkins, William (committee member)

Creator Email jamison.keller@csun.edu,snu43@yahoo.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m1979

Unique identifier UC1208450

Identifier etd-Keller-2165 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-148009 (legacy record id),usctheses-m1979 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Keller-2165.pdf

Dmrecord 148009

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Keller, Jamison Joseph

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu