Dictionary Learning Community A group of courses in which students enroll as a block and which are intentionally taught as a unit. Since 1984, Seattle Central Community College 's Coordinate Studies students have participated in program ranging from 11 to 18 credits and team-taught by two to four instructors. Students attend class for 4 - 6 hours a day as if enrolled in one course. Coordinated Studies students are more involved in activities, hod more positive views of the college, and persist into the second year at higher rates. A FIG consists of 20 - 24 students sharing a cluster of two or three courses organized around a common theme.
Students also attend a weekly seminar organized by a peer.
FIG students have higher grades and higher persistence rates. The University of Missouri-Columbia has adapted FIGs by adding a residential component. Groups of 20 students housed on the same residence hall floor share three academic courses and a peer-taught freshman seminar. This provides enhanced access to faculty, staff, and peer mentors. In large universities, most learning community programs are implemented horizontally across colleges.