Melvin W. Jones Scholars Learning Community: A community for - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Melvin W. Jones Scholars Learning Community: A community for fjrst-year non-majority students.

Our Campus • Established as a land-grant institution in 1869 • Carnegie Foundation Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive • Student body 22,973 • Faculty and stafg 5,870 • Alumni 186,000 • Externally funded research $102,497,596

Student Enrollment • T otal Student Body 22,973 • First-time Freshman 4,235 • Male 12,070 • Female 10,903 • Black 589 • Hispanic 733 • Native American 158 • Asian 1,156 • White & Unknown 20,337

Learning Community Structure at our Institution • Communities are initiated by sponsoring academic unit • Open to fjrst year students only • Students are co-enrolled into two to three courses together fjrst semester • Students live on the same part of a residence hall fmoor • Peer mentors and faculty sponsors develop co-curricular activities on a monthly basis for participants • Our fjrst community started in 1994 was the Freshman Learning Community, followed by the Psychology and Journalism, 1996 • One full-time position split between Academic Afgairs and Student Afgairs to coordinate all Learning Community initiatives

Learning Communities T oday Learning Communities Scholars Communities • • Biology 23 College of Education & Human Sciences Advantage 25 • Business 50 • EN Thompson International Scholars 20 • Criminal Justice 10 • Justin Smith Morrill Scholars 10 • Engineering 90 • Melvin W. Jones Scholars 25 • General Studies 40 • Pre-Law Scholars 15 • Joint ROTC 20 • William H Thompson Scholars 125 • Mass Media Perspective 20 • Music 45 T otal in Scholars 220 T otal in Learning Communities 308 • Natural Resources 10 Combined 528

Formation of MJS • Initiated by the faculty and stafg Black Caucus • Goal of providing a community for minority students on a pre-dominantly white campus • Community Focus – Academic Support – Develop Leadership Skills – Engage in Community Service – Connect with Lincoln Community • Initial Community Challenges – First non-discipline based LC – What unit will sponsor the community – Funding sources – How to identify the community

Advisory Board • Faculty Dr. Colleen Jones • Admissions, • Special Assistant to Multicultural the Chancellor Recruiter • Faculty in the • Career Services College of Business • Housing, Residence Administration Director • Spouse of Melvin • Academic LC W. Jones Coordinator • Student

Courses • ETHN 100: The Minority Experience – Introduction to the interdisciplinary study of American Indians, African Americans, Latinos and other racial minority groups in the United States. • ALEC 102: Interpersonal Skills for Leadership – Introduction to the principles and practices of positive interpersonal relationships for leadership development. An experiential approach, fjeld projects and a supervised service project.

Activities • Weekly Meetings – Similar content to a “foundations” course – Leadership development • Workshops – Career Networking – Academic Achievement • Dinner with the Chancellor • Community Outreach – Service Projects – Community Navigators

Community Snap Shot Community Size Demographics Cohorts Hispanic 28 Multiracial 24 2004 31 African American 82 2005 37 Native American 7 2006 34 White3 2007 43 Asian 1 T otal 145 Male 50 Female 95

Community Snap Shot cont. College Agricultural Science 1 Fine and Performing Arts 7 Architecture 5 Journalism 17 Arts & Sciences39 Public Afgairs and Community 5 Business Administration 20 Nursing 4 Education and Human Sciences10 Undeclared 28 Engineering 7

Funding Sources • Support from Admissions & Housing • Melvin W. Jones Foundation • Initiative for T eaching and Learning Excellence Grants (internal) • Other Funding Factors – Students do not pay a program fee to participate in this community – Student organized fundraising

Campus Impact • Jones Scholars Alumni Student Organization • Student Leadership & Employment • Majority Students • Development of new Scholars communities

Back Page Dr. Doug Zatehcka Director of Housing (402) 472-3561 dzatechka1@unl.edu Keith Zaborowski Associate Director of Housing for Residence Life (402) 472-3885 kzaborowski1@unl.edu AnnMarie Williams Academic Learning Community Coordinator (402) 472-0698 awilliams6@unl.edu