What is CCSJ's Learning Community Program??

The Learning Community Program is one of the major elements of CCSJ's CORE (Centering on Retention and Enrollment) Initiative. It is the main component of a General Education student support structure which also includes an orientation course for all incoming freshman (College Survival) and a General Education capstone course that assesses the success of their general education.

The Learning Community Program provides first-time freshman with extra academic and social support needed to ensure success in college. The program has three main elements: 1) an academic structure of linked courses and supplemental instruction; 2) a mentoring program of faculty and staff who closely monitor student progress; and 3) a calendar of cultural and social outings.

What are the benefits of a Learning Community??

The Learning Community Program helps students develop the sense of community necessary for academic success. It provides a sense of belonging to the college and to other students who share the common goal of learning. There are several specific benefits of the program:

• Enriched social and learning environment
• Enhanced intellectual and social development
• Opportunity to form strong bonds with peers and faculty
• Increased student involvement and motivation
• Access to shared cultural activities
• Service learning opportunities in the community
• Increased tolerance and respect for other students

MENTORING PROGRAM

CCSJ’s CORE or General Education Program is committed to providing students the extra support needed for college success. The centerpiece of this support is the Learning Community Mentoring Program. The mentoring program helps students adjust to and succeed in college by providing them with guidance, support, and a greater understanding of/linkage to the resources and opportunities available to them.

Mentors include staff and faculty of the college who are assigned a designated group of students because they have an understanding of the purpose of the Learning Community and their role as a mentor and because they have agreed to assume this role. 

Mentors are expected to:

1. Meet with their mentors on the scheduled orientation day to introduce themselves, describe their role, disseminate/exchange contact information, get to know their mentees, and set the time frame for the first follow-up contact.
   
2. Review their mentees’ portfolios to obtain general background, assessment, and educational information that may be helpful in guiding them.
3. Help mentees complete all items on the Orientation Checklist (see attached) by the first week of class, if they did not do so during the formal orientation period
4. Make contact with mentees bi-weekly during the first month of the semester to “touch base” on their adjustment to the college and/or to assist with any issues they may be confronting. Contact can take the form of a phone call, email, or face-to-face meeting depending on the needs, schedule, and desires of the mentees and mentor.
5. At a minimum, meet face-to-face with the mentee at the end of each month during the first semester to “check in” on their progress/challenges in their program (courses, peers, life, etc.); offer guidance, support, referrals as needed; and remind them of upcoming co-curricular activities in the college that may be of interest to them.  Additional contacts may be arranged based on the needs of the mentee and mentor.
6. Retain brief notes (1-2 lines) on the nature of their contacts with their mentees for reference, and in the event a transfer to another mentor is required.
7. Attend Learning Community meetings to provide a brief update on the status of their work with their mentees.
8. Participate in an end of semester debriefing/evaluation session to reflect on the mentor role/component of the LC program.
9. Maintain a linkage with their mentees during the second and third semesters when the potential for drop out is high.
10. Celebrate successes with mentees.

Mentor-Mentee Reassignments.  In the event there appears to be a better “fit” between a mentor and a mentee than those assigned, changes in assignments can be made.  The assigned mentor and the new mentor need only communicate with each other about the need for a change and coordinate the transfer process. 

The transfer process involves confirming the change with the new mentor, sharing relevant information that has transpired to date (including the student’s portfolio), and notifying the person who made the original assignment of the change.
 

The Learning Community Social Calendar

The Learning Community Social Calendar is a calendar of enriched co-curricular activities that helps build a sense of community and belonging among students, faculty, staff, supplemental instructors, and mentors. It provides the social support students need to weather difficult times in their first year of college.

Under the leadership of a Social Calendar Coordinator, faculty and mentors develop the calendar at the beginning of each semester.  Calendar activities vary, ranging from simple communal lunches in the college’s Black Box Theater lobby and barbecues on the college’s lawn to more adventurous outings to local social and church missions and field trips to Chicago-area plays, art museums, and cultural events.

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