Freshman Learning Communities in Criminology and Criminal Justice: An Effective Tool for Enhancing Student Recruitment and Learning Outcomes

Freshmen Learning Communities (FLCs) or Freshmen Interest Groups (FIGs) recently emerged on the landscape of higher education as an innovative means of improving educational outcomes. Building around a cohort‐based pedagogical model, FLCs use thematic foci, block scheduling, and faculty collaboration to ease the transition into the first‐year college experience. This paper outlines the logic and structure of a criminology/criminal justice‐based FLC. It details how pedagogical variations such as writing across the curriculum and web‐based design can be included. A large body of input and output data is considered that measures how students respond to the FLC experience. *The authors wish to thank the administration of Georgia State University, especially the persons in the Office of Undergraduate Studies and Office of Institutional Research who graciously aided in course and data preparation. We also thank the other FLC instructors and students over the years who made this paper possible.

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