Frequently Asked Questions

If you are the type of student who likes to learn with others, who wants to explore a potential major or career, or who simply wants to plunge into 360 degree involvement, this is the program for you. Being involved in a LC helps you:

• make a big campus seem smaller - this helps you make an easier transition to college life
• make friends in your area of interest right away
• create a supportive network with other students, peer educators, and professors
• connect your learning in paired classes and understand their relevance in your everyday life
• interact with a Peer Educator who acts as a mentor and campus resource for academic issues

Each LC has a Peer Educator (PE). The PE is an upper-class, undergraduate student who assists with the LC Seminar, serves as an academic resource and helps freshman and trasfer students make the connections that are crucial to college transition.

You will be pre-enrolled in the LC Seminar course and designated paired courses specific to your LC. During orientation, you will work with an academic advisor to choose other courses that will work as requirements to create a full-time schedule (an average of 15-16 credit hours). If you have received prior credit in either of the paired courses, you will be allowed to substitute the course for another that will help you fulfill credits toward graduation.

Your contractual agreement for residence living is for an academic year.

LCs are designed to appeal to students' interests while fulfilling liberal arts requirements. It is not necessary to declare a major related to the community in order to participate. Exceptions: LCs in professional schools

The courses you take within the LC will count toward your general education requirements, major requirements or elective requirements. The courses attached to the LC are specially designed to give you a foundation of knowledge from which to draw during your seminar discussions. We have chosen themes that students find interesting, such as: Nursing & Allied Health, Law and Society ... You can explore a major, like Theatre & Film, or simply sample a subject you have always found interesting, like psychology. Either way, the courses you take within the LC will help you fulfill requirements needed to graduate in four years.

FSI (Freshman Summer Institute) is a learning community designed for incoming freshmen who would like to begin their first college semester in the summer. The program runs for four weeks and gives students the opportunity to make an easier transition to college. The FSI program is run through the Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center. You may find more information on their website at www.advising.ku.edu/fsi.

Many FSI students also participate in fall and spring learning communities. Click here for more information about the benefits of LCs.