Development of the current initiative began in the fall of 1998 when a Freshman Experience Task Force was assembled by the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Composed of 23 UNL faculty members, staff and students, the group met through the 1998-1999 academic year to examine the issue of retention, recruitment, quality of scholastic experience, and academic acculturation for first year students.
The group’s work was characterized by three distinct phases; information, acquisition and assimilation, (including a visit from Dr. John Gardner of the National Resource Center for the First Year Experience and the Student in Transition) the emergence of specific principles that would guide the work of the task force, and finally, three communities designed to focus on a specific dimension of the first year experience.
The following goals were established for learning communities at UNL:
“The primary goal of the University Learning Communities is to integrate the social and academic experience of students through the creation of small communities of faculty, staff and students in which all share an academic interest and participate in co-curricular activities and in which students intentionally co-enroll in at least two courses. The expectation is that these communities will enhance (a) the students’ academic achievement and retention, (b) their sense of belonging to the university, and (c) their connection of career or life goals to the educational experience.”
The report concluded:
“Each freshman community will have a structure that consists of: co-enrolled courses that meet degree requirements; a common focus which identifies the communities’ purpose; sponsorship by an academic unit, including an appropriate partnership with students affairs; co-curricular activities designed to integrate academic and social experience. Each community will function in a way consistent with the following: co-enrolled courses will be selected to further the goals of the community, co-curricular activities to involve students, faculty and staff, especially during weeks one through six, will be designed and implemented by a sponsorship team typically composed of a peer mentor-faculty-staff; registration for co-enrolled courses will be handled centrally; recruitment will involve Admissions, Housing and sponsoring academic units.