• Annu Prabhakar, Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati
• Brett Rexroat, IT Senior Student, University of Cincinnati
• Denise Johansen, Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati
• Virginia Westheider, Academic Director, University of Cincinnati

This presentation will describe the freshmen Learning Community (LC), fall 2007, in the department of Information Technology (IT) at University of Cincinnati. We define a LC “as a group of approximately 25 first-year students who take two or more courses together.” Students are encouraged to take their learning beyond the classroom through Blackboard discussions, student groups and extracurricular activities. These activities in and out of the classroom build support for first-year students as they adjust to a new campus, different daily routines, and other issues that can interfere with the academic success. Results of this program will be discussed.