Introduction
General Resources
Michigan State University Resources

Although there is no single definition of learning communities, they are usually a curricular structure that links interdisciplinary courses around a common theme. They enroll a cohort of students with the intention of building community among students, their teachers, faculty members, and disciplines. Learning communities may be non-residential or may be residential living/learning communities. The first link below is an introduction to learning communities. The second link is a mega-site with information about all aspects of learning communities. The following sites provide examples of various structures and end with an extensive bibliography of learning communities literature. The final entry is a journal dedicated to publishing learning communities scholarship and practice.

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Learning Communities: National Learning Commons--Frequently Asked Questions (Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, Evergreen State University).
Provides an overview of learning communities by answering frequently asked questions about them.
http://www.evergreen.edu/washcenter/lcfaq.htm

Learning Communities: National Learning Commons (Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, Evergreen State University).
A comprehensive site on Learning Communities, set up to "serve as a national resource for curricular learning community work." Contains links to publications from their national monograph series and online resources for starting, maintaining, and assessing learning communities. Includes a searchable directory of national learning community projects and a moderated listserv.
http://www.evergreen.edu/washcenter/project.asp?pid=73

"Participation in Living-Learning Programs at the University of Michigan: Benefits for Students and Faculty," Karen Kurotsuchi Inkelas (CRLT Occasional Paper #15, 2000, University of Michigan, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching). PDF/Adobe Acrobat.
Describes U of M's seven different living-learning programs and their benefits for students and faculty.
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/publinks/CRLT_no15.pdf

Michigan Learning Communities (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor).
An overview for students of U of M's learning communities with answers to FAQs and a match-up tool for students to see which learning community is the best fit.
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mlc/default.asp

Learning Communities at Syracuse University
Description of residential and non-residential learning communities at Syracuse U.
http://lc.syr.edu/

Academic Residential Communities at Seattle University.
Describes Seattle's program for freshman learning communities and the themes available for students to choose from, including "theme floors" in the residence halls.
http://www.seattleu.edu/student/housing/page.asp?pID=18

Louisiana State University Learning Communities
Gives an overview of LSU's non-residential learning communities with links to the themes and interdisciplinary syllabi used in past years and presently.
http://appl003.lsu.edu/acadaff/aaffairs.nsf/$Content/Learning+Communities?OpenDocument

University of Nebraska at Lincoln Learning Communities. PDF/Adobe Acrobat.
The handbook used at UNL to form, maintain, and dissolve a learning community. Includes a brief history of the learning communities initiative at UNL.
http://www.unl.edu/learncom/lc_manual.pdf

Learning Communities Annotated Bibliography (University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Engineering).
A well-annotated bibliography of publications on learning communities.
http://www.engr.wisc.edu/services/weel/coalition/bibliography.html

Learning Communities Journal (Miami University of Ohio).
First published in Summer 2008, this peer-reviewed journal provides a scholarly forum for all areas of faculty and student learning communities. Print and online subscriptions available.
http://celt.muohio.edu/lcj/

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Academic Scholars Program
http://www.msu.edu/~asp/

Honors College
http://www.msu.edu/unit/honcoll/

James Madison College
http://www.jmc.msu.edu/

Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University: A Residential College for the Natural Sciences and Their Impact on Society
http://www.lymanbriggs.msu.edu/

MRULE Multi-Racial Learning Experience
http://www.mrule.msu.edu/

RISE Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment
http://naturalscience.msu.edu/students/rise/

Residential College in the Arts and Humanities
http://www.rcah.msu.edu/

ROIAL Residential Option In Arts and Letters
http://www.roial.msu.edu/

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