Learning Communities Program Being Expanded

The Learning Communities Program, first launched as a pilot program in the spring at SUNY Rockland, is being expanded this fall semester into eight communities.

Faculty members Kathleen Carroll, Joseph Falco, Martha Rottman, Susan Deer, and Dr. Eugene Henderson have teamed up with President Cliff L.Wood to set up a unique Peer Mentoring program designed to make adjusting to college life less strenuous for incoming students.

As part of the project, students will be paired with peer mentors, a carefully selected group of students, who will serve as role models and offer advice and support to the program participants.

"This can help students help one another," commented President Wood on the peer mentor-mentee relationship. "By adding a peer mentoring component, it will make it much more comfortable for the student to receive criticism and ask questions, and will overall strengthen the whole first-year experience."

The program links together a group of students who take a set of classes from various academic disciplines together. By working as a group, the plan aims to improve academic achievement and increase student retention, as well as graduation rates.

The linked courses involve an English course such as English Composition, English as a Second Language, and

English Skills, paired up with American History, Sociology, or Psychology.

Moreover, peer mentors are to maintain weekly contact with their mentees. Each mentor is to sit in on the linked courses with his or her mentee for at least an hour, for up to five hours a week. Additionally, the peer mentors are to meet personally with their mentees twice a month.

"It's an opportunity to pass on the information that all the old students know and help the new students lean it," said peer mentor Farah Naz. "Overall, it's a very good program that helps the old students in getting involved and helps the incoming students to get familiar with the campus and its environment."

To become a mentor, students are required to have a minimum 3.0 GPA, be knowledgeable of RCC programs and services, and be comfortable working with students of different cultural backgrounds.