Frequently Asked Questions about Learning Communities

1. What is a Learning Communitiy?
2. What are the advantages of choosing an LC?
3. OK – I’m sold. How do I choose LCs that are good for me?
4. I am planning to take the English Language and Composition AP exam, but obviously I don’t know my score yet. What should I do?
5. I have been invited to join the Honors program. Which LCs would be good for me?
6. I am a PLP student. Which LCs would be good for me?
7. As an Honors or PLP student, how does my choice of Quest (Honors/Leadership) Housing interact with choosing an LC? Should I choose an LC, and what happens if I do?
8. I plan to major in one of the mathematics-intensive majors (Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems or Information Science). Which LCs should I pick?
9. I am planning on majoring in Business. Which LCs should I pick?
10. I am planning on majoring in Music. Which LCs should I pick?
11. I am on one of the athletic teams at CNU. Which LCs should I pick?
12. How many LCs can I select? How many must I select?
13. What if there is only one LC I want?
14. What should I do to maximize my chances of being in an LC?
15. How do I reserve space in an LC?
16. How is space in the LCs going to be assigned?
17. If I choose to live within an LC, may I also request a specific roommate?
18. If I have already requested a specific roommate but now wish to join an LC, how does this affect me?
19. If, after joining an LC, I meet someone at Setting Sail (orientation) that I really want to room with, what can I do?
20. Can I live with someone who does not wish to participate in an LC, and yet participate myself?
21. If I join an LC now, can I drop the LC courses and select others at Setting Sail?

Answers:

1. What is a Learning Community?

   A Learning Community (LC) is a group of 18-24 students who live together, take two classes together and build strong relationships within the community. In addition, each Learning Community has a “Peer Mentor,” an upperclass student who helps you and your fellow members succeed academically. This year we are also offering one LC (LC 28) for non-residential students.
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2. What are the advantages of choosing an LC?
   
   • The LC makes CNU even more learning-friendly. Instead of having four or five classes with different people in each class, you will have friends from your residence hall in two of your classes.
   • We have selected great courses and instructors for inclusion in our LCs. All courses in these LCs satisfy CNU's Liberal Learning Curriculum requirements, so these course combinations will work well for most students. You simply need to find the course combinations that are most interesting to you or most appropriate for your intended major.
   • A Peer Mentor will be assigned to your LC. The Peer Mentor will spend about four hours a week working with your LC on academics: study groups, test review sessions, informal group tutoring  - the possibilities are endless. As a member of the LC, you will help decide how best to work with your Peer Mentor.
   • You have guaranteed registration in the two courses that are part of the LC. When you come to “Setting Sail,” our first-year orientation program this summer, you and your advisor will only need to choose two or three more courses.
   • We have reserved many of the best spaces in the best residence halls for the LCs in Potomac River, York River and Santoro Halls.
   • You will do better academically. Data from previous years indicates that students participating in an LC have a higher GPA and are less likely to be on academic probation.
   All of these advantages work together to make you more successful and to give you a great living/learning experience during your first year here at CNU.
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3. OK – I’m sold. How do I choose LCs that are good for me?
   

   There are no "bad choices" among these learning communities, but depending on your background and your intended major, some choices may be better than others.
   
   The first 13 LCs combine English 123 – Freshman Writing – with another course and are good choices for those who need to take English 123. They are NOT good choices for those anticipating AP credit for English or for Honors students.

   LCs 1-2 pair English 123 with an introductory science course designed for non-scientists that satisfies half of the “Investigating the Natural World” Area of Inquiry (AofI) requirement. These are good choices for everyone except science majors.

   LCs 3-5 pair English 123 with another course that satisfies one of the AofI requirements. Choosing among these is simply a matter of selecting which of the other courses seems most interesting to you.

   LCs 6-7 pair English 123 with Statistics and Economics and work well for all students, especially Business majors.

   LC 8 pairs English 123 with Business Calculus, and is designed for Business majors who are ready for Calculus.

   LCs 9-10 pair English 123 with Spanish 200. All CNU students must demonstrate foreign language fluency at the 200 level. These are good choices if you are not going to be a Spanish major but have taken three or more years of Spanish in high school.

   LCs 11-13 pair English 123 with a First-Year Seminar. All incoming freshmen are required to take a First-Year Seminar, and the only way to get into these particular seminars is to be in these LCs. If they sound interesting to you, go for it!
   
   All of the remaining LCs, with the exception of LC-28 (reserved for commuters), do not include English 123 and are suitable for students anticipating AP English credit. Several of these have been developed to meet the needs of specific majors.

   LCs 14-16 pair a First-Year Seminar with Psychology, Economics or Theater, and are good choices for most students, as well as for these majors.

   LC 17 pairs Math 125 with Biology for non-scientists, and is a good choice for most students except certain science majors.

   LC 18 combines two music courses, and is only recommended for music majors, for whom it is perfect!

   LCs 19-20 combine physics and computer science and are good choices for Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Science and Physics majors.

   LCs 21-24 pair a Biology course and a Chemistry course and are only recommended for Biology or certain Chemistry majors (for whom these are excellent choices).

   LCs 25-27 are “themed” LCs, which combine two closely related classes. All of these classes meet the liberal learning requirements at CNU, and any of these are good choices for most students. Each is also especially good for certain majors.

   LC 28 pairs English 123 and Statistics and is reserved for commuter students. If you plan to commute to CNU and need to take English 123 and Statistics, and many students do, this is a great choice.

   LCs 29-30 are reserved for Leadership students.

   For additional help in selecting courses, please refer to the First-Year Student Course Selection Guidebook 2009-2010 . If you are uncertain about which LC to choose, please give us a call at (757) 594-8848.
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4. I am planning to take the English Language and Composition AP exam, but obviously I don’t know my score yet. What should I do?
   Do NOT select an LC that has English 123 as one of its courses, since a good score on this exam will satisfy the English 123 requirement.
   
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5. I have been invited to join the Honors program. Which LCs would be good for me?
   As an Honors student, you are not required to take either ULLC 100 or ENGL 123. We recommend that you choose from among LCs 18 – 27, each of which works well for certain majors.
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6. I am a PLP student. Which LCs would be good for me?
   LCs 29 and 30 have been designed for you, but any other LC compatible with your academic goals will work.
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7. As an Honors or PLP student, how does my choice of Quest (Honors/Leadership) Housing interact with choosing an LC? Should I choose an LC, and what happens if I do?
   You can choose either Quest Housing or a Learning Community. If you want to live in Quest Housing, do not select an LC. If you want to join an LC, feel free! You will then live with the other students in that LC. Note that LCs 29 and 30 are reserved for Leadership students, and both of these LCs will be housed in the same residence hall as Quest.
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8. I plan to major in one of the mathematics-intensive majors (Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems or Information Science). Which LCs should I pick?
   Do NOT select an LC that includes Statistics (Math 125), as it is not required for these majors. LC 19 has been designed for Computer Science, Information Systems and Information Science majors while LC 20 has been designed specifically for Computer Engineering and Physics majors. Some Computer Science majors may wish to take LC 20 to keep the option of Computer Engineering open.
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9. I am planning on majoring in Business. Which LCs should I pick?
   Business majors are required to take Math 125, Math 135 and Economics 201. Thus LCs 6-8, LC 15 and LC 27 are excellent choices for you.
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10. I am planning on majoring in Music. Which LCs should I pick?
    As a Music major, you must take several music classes your first semester. LC 18 has been especially designed for Music majors, and you should select this one.
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11. I am on one of the athletic teams at CNU. Which LCs should I pick?
    Because most athletic teams have afternoon practices, you should choose LCs with morning or early afternoon (finished by 2:15 p.m.) classes.
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12. How many LCs can I select? How many must I select?
    You may designate up to three choices: a first choice, a second choice and a third choice. If spaces are left in your first choice, you will be assigned to it. If not, you will be placed in your second or third choice.
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13. What if there is only one LC I want?
    Select only that one. You will be assigned to it, if there is space available. You will not be assigned to an LC you did not select.
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14. What should I do to maximize my chances of being in an LC?
    Select three LCs and reserve your space quickly
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15. How do I reserve space in an LC?
    This is done as part of the Setting Sail reservation process.
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16. How is space in the LCs going to be assigned?
    Space is assigned on the basis of the reservation date. Each LC will also be evenly divided by gender.
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17. If I choose to live within an LC, may I also request a specific roommate?
    You may live with your requested roommate provided that you both join the same LC. Be sure to enter your roommate's name in the space provided, and make sure that you both select the same LCs in the same order.
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18. If I have already requested a specific roommate but now wish to join an LC, how does this affect me?
    Choosing to live in an LC supersedes all other previous requests; however you and your chosen roommate may both participate in the same LC.
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19. If, after joining an LC, I meet someone at Setting Sail (orientation) that I really want to room with, what can I do?
    Once you have made a choice to live in an LC, you may ONLY room with a friend if space is available in your chosen LC.
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20. Can I live with someone who does not wish to participate in an LC, and yet participate myself?
    Because of the nature of the LC and its emphasis on the combination of academic and social interactions, we are unable to honor this type of request.
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21. If I join an LC now, can I drop the LC courses and select others at Setting Sail?
    Because the LC concept involves both residential and academic components, once you have joined an LC, we are unable to change either. Your advisor at Setting Sail will have a list of your LC classes and will help you to select complementary courses in accordance with your academic goals.
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