National research indicates that many benefits result from simply having a cohort of students take the same cluster of courses. However, the benefits are even greater if the faculty teaching the courses work on some form of integration or linkage between two or three of the clustered courses. For example, a history course might be paired with a section of English Composition. Writing assignments in the English course could be molded around materials being discussed in the history course. Of course, the exact nature of the integration and collaboration could vary widely and should be tailored to best suit the educational needs of the courses involved.
Integrated courses are different from team-taught courses.
Proposals are solicited from faculty teams to work on integrating courses that will be part of a Freshmen Learning Community for next year. Creativity is strongly encouraged as to the exact nature of the integration. The FLC program offers faculty development grants that support training in developing linked courses and to provide an opportunity so that faculty can work on collaborating. The seminar will introduce the theories and techniques involved with integrated courses. Please note that funding for this program is anticipated.