The Rise and Fall of the First-Year Learning Communities Program

1:45-2:35 p.m.

Location: Cassatt B

Type: Informative/panel

Audience: Linked Courses

Presenters: Carlos Huerta and Rita Sperry, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) launched the First-Year Learning Communities Program (FYLCP) in fall 1994 to welcome the inaugural class of first-year students. The program was an initiative to enroll all full-time first-year students in learning communities (LCs). The FYLCP evolved into a nationally recognized program with leadership and faculty emerging as LC national leaders. Members of FYLCP leadership were active with the NLCC and instrumental in the formation of the National Learning Communities Association. The FYLCP appeared to be fully institutionalized on campus and in the national LC landscape. However, in February 2024, the TAMU-CC president sent a campus-wide memo announcing that the linked classes of the FYLCP were ending in fall 2024 and a new college-based program would replace it. This presentation will tell the story of the rise and fall of the FYLCP and offer insight into warning signs of administrative betrayal.