Report to the Community 2009 - Inver Hills Community College

Strategic Direction 2
Promote and measure high-quality learning
programs and services
Learning Communities
In October, 2009, Minnesota Public Radio
featured Inver Hills’ Learning Communities,
a cohort of students who take two, three or
four classes together. Through integration of
assignments, outside activities, and close contact
with the students, Learning Community instructors
are, according to the MPR report, “reaching out to
students who face academic or fi nancial challenges
before those problems force them to drop out.”
Data from learning communities at Inver Hills
and around the country suggest that students who
6 | www.inverhills.edu | Report to the Community 2009
participate are more likely to have a successful
college experience. Across the board, students
enrolled in learning communities (including
students who are the fi rst in their family to attend
college and other underrepresented students)
show signifi cant increases in retention over their
non-learning community counterparts.
Because of these fi ndings, faculty, counselors,
administrators and staff have worked to increase
the number of Learning Communities being
offered from three in 2006-2007 to sixteen in
2008-2009.
Inver Hills actively reviews its
academic programs and student
service opportunities, initiates change,
builds on successful ideas, and uses
faculty and staff as an engine to drive
improvements in the ways we serve
students.