The Daily Bulletin Archive

Susan Mary Paige, lecturer in Academic Success; Amitra A. Wall, professor of sociology and interim associate provost; Joseph Marren, chair and professor of communication; Amy DiBartolo Rockwell, first-year experience and accessibility services librarian; and Brian Dubenion, student retention specialist in Student Success, had an interdisciplinary qualitative research study, “The Learning Community Experience in Higher Education: High-Impact Practice for Student Retention,” published as a research monograph in the Routledge Research in Higher Education series. The research is based on the authors’ work in full-immersion learning community (LC) experiences at Buffalo State. The authors presented eight in-depth case studies featuring first-person student accounts of four consecutive LC student cohorts (2010–2013). In analyzing the emergent student themes, the authors focused on the maturity students developed as they progressed toward their degrees and graduate school. In addition they evaluated the impact the LC experience had on (a) the students’ post-LC college experiences, perceptions, successes, and obstacles they faced; and (b) the students’ persistence in college.