Conference Session

FPD8 -- Systems, Nanotechnology & Programming

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

S. Scott Moor, Indiana University Purdue University-Fort Wayne (ET)

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

following week. Most of the problems built to the final two challenge problems. The eightchallenge problems given in Fall 2005 and planned for Spring 2006 are briefly reviewed below.1. Song Script: The first problem was to rewrite a simple MATLAB script. Students were Page 11.945.4provided with the code for a MATLAB script that would play a simple song. This script isshown in Appendix A and was based on suggestions by Dr. Shreekanth Mandayam at RowanUniversity.7 The code in appendix A includes annotations that are provided to the students.Students were then asked to rewrite this script so it played a different tune. It must include atleast

Conference Session

FPD VI: Presenting "All the Best" of the First-year Programs Division

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lorelle A. Meadows, University of Michigan; Robin Fowler, University of Michigan; Elizabeth S. Hildinger, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

; and tobring them into the engineering community here at the University. It is a project-based class inwhich students work in teams and individually to master first-year level technical content in oneof the major engineering disciplines and to become competent in the major genres of technicaland professional communication.The current form of the course is the end result of a process that began in 1991, when the Collegeof Engineering faculty involved in the development and implementation of the communicationcurriculum, working with a small group of technical faculty interested in reaching out toengineering students at the beginning of their college careers, created a plan for a first-yearengineering class that would couple communication with an

Conference Session

FPD V: Increasing Engagement and Motivation of First-year Students

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela Thompson P.E., University of Louisville; Patricia A. Ralston, University of Louisville; Jeffrey Lloyd Hieb, University of Louisville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

. Since 2006, entering freshman take an “Introduction to Engineering” course, a two credithour course that meets the university’s “freshman experience” requirement. The course also givesfreshman engineers an introduction to the engineering profession, engineering design, differentengineering disciplines, and critical thinking. In the fall of 2011, there were 450 students in 12 sectionstaught by an instruction team of four faculty and six graduate teaching assistants. Critical Thinkingbecame an explicit part of the course in response to the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP),and the introduction to engineering course is responsible for teaching students the critical thinkingframework adopted by the university. Another significant

Conference Session

FPD 2: Building Community

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Betsy F. Willis, Southern Methodist University; David A. Willis, Southern Methodist University; Mark Fontenot, Southern Methodist University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, and common expectations in the workplace.Program Description - Student SelectionCandidates were initially screened in collaboration with the Director of UndergraduateRecruiting and Retention in the Lyle School of Engineering. The screening process consisted ofthree phases: initial review, admissions file review, and interview. The initial review began withthe program directors reviewing the pool of admitted students who were US citizens, met theminimum financial need based on their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)application, and were planning to enroll in the Lyle School of Engineering. The programdirectors also reviewed the academic potential of the candidates. The academic potential of acandidate was determined by their

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division Poster Session

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kerry Meyers, Youngstown State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

 / Yes ‐ it affirmed what I originally thought It has dissuaded me from continuing in engineering /  Has this project influenced your commitment to continuing in engineering in general?  Neutral ‐ No influence positive or negative / Yes it  has affirmed my plans to continue in engineering 11 12 How well do you feel your team has worked together on this project?  Low 1:  Poorly to High 5:  Very well Please rate your level of enjoyment in working on this project.  13

Conference Session

FPD VI: Presenting "All the Best" of the First-year Programs Division

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeff M. Citty , University of Florida; Angela S. Lindner, University of Florida

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

and to help peer mentor troubleshoot any potential issues that come upduring the weekly meetings. Students who earn a 3.0 or higher GPA after the fall semester haveto meet with their mentor only on a monthly basis during the spring semester. All students whoearn a 2.99 GPA or below must continue weekly meetings with their peer mentor through thespring semester. A mid-semester community activity is also planned both for the fall and springsemester to encourage the students to continue their relationship with their teams as well as theentire learning community. In addition, students are encouraged to discuss their next semestercourse plans to foster students enrolling in the same or similar courses.Students are also prepared to participate in a

Conference Session

FPD V: Increasing Engagement and Motivation of First-year Students

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carrie Robinson, Arizona State University; James Collofello, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

they have utilized their skills.In the fall 2011 semester, FSE 294 students were assigned to read: Trowbridge, L. W., Bybee, R. W., & Carlson-Powell, J. (2000). Questioning and discussion. Teaching Secondary School Science: Strategies for Developing Scientific Literacy. Prentice Hall, pp. 183-193. Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (1998). Cooperative learning returns to college: What evidence is there that it works? Change, 30(4), pp. 26-35.For both readings, students were asked to post to a Blackboard discussion forum and provide anexample of the reading’s applicability to their UGTA role, discuss the merits or weaknesses ofthe article, and outline a plan for implementing what they learned

Conference Session

FPD VIII: Crossing Bridges and Easing Transitions into the First Year

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacqueline Q. Hodge, Texas A&M University; Margaret Hobson, Texas A&M University; Bugrahan Yalvac, Texas A&M University; Magdalini Z Lagoudas, Texas A&M University; Jefferey E. Froyd, Texas A&M University; Natela Ostrovskaya, Texas A&M University; Tatiana Erukhimova, Texas A&M University, Department of Physics and Astronomy; Cesar O. Malave, Texas A&M University; William H Bassichis, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Teaching from the Association of Former Students.Cesar O. Malave, Texas A&M University Dr. Csar O. Malav is the Associate Dean of Engineering in the Dwight Look College of Engineering and Assistant Agency Director of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) at Texas A&M Univer- sity. He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a M.S. in Operations Research from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He obtained a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of South Florida. He has taught in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering since 1987. Dr. Malav’s current research interests are on the development of operational planning models for manufacturing sys- tems. He teaches graduate

Conference Session

FPD II: Increasing Engagement and Motivation of First-Year Students

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Julie J. Parish, Texas A&M University; Kristi J. Shryock, Texas A&M University; Dimitris C. Lagoudas, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

discussed, as well as aresearch plan for analyzing the effectiveness of the course adjustments.IntroductionThe problem of retaining students is pervasive throughout all of the engineering disciplines.1, 2Within the aerospace community, the impact of an aging workforce is a cause for alarm withrespect to both the national economy and national security.3 Several U.S. governmentcommission reports have investigated the problem, one observing4, 5:The industry is confronted with a graying workforce in science, engineering and manufacturing,with an estimated 26 percent available for retirement within the next five years… Clearly, thereis a major workforce crisis in the aerospace industry. Our nation has lost over 600,000 scientificand technical aerospace

Conference Session

Service Learning and Societal Issues in the First Year

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian Savilonis, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; David Spanagel, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Kristin Wobbe, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

students the course objectives and how the course was structured to deliver thoseobjectives. In addition, course format and operation were more clearly explained to theincoming students, so that their expectations would be more in line with what they wouldexperience.The Donahue Institute will be conducting focus groups with this cohort of GPS students thisspring to identify the perceived impact of these courses a year later. These data will also beavailable in June.Assessment of 2009 Offerings: A similar set of assessments is planned for the most recentofferings of the GPS.ConclusionThe Great Problems Seminars were designed as an experiment to bring WPI first yearengineering students into meaningful contact with current events, societal problems

Conference Session

FPD 11: Culminating Considerations

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Silvia Husted, Universidad de las Americas Puebla; Judith Virginia Gutierrez; Nelly Ramirez-Corona, Universidad de las Americas Puebla; Aurelio Lopez-Malo, Universidad de las Americas Puebla; Enrique Palou, Universidad de las Americas Puebla

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, andEnvironmental Engineering Design uses active, collaborative and cooperative learning Page 24.922.5  techniques; course structure and its alignment to the confluence model of creativity of Sternbergand Lubart8 is displayed in Figure 2.Figure 2. Introduction to Chemical, Food, and Environmental Engineering Design course structure and its alignment to the confluence model of creativity of Sternberg and Lubart.8“Concepts” (Figure 3) introduce students to the engineering design process, problem-solvingtechniques, working in teams, engineering as a profession, and planning for success that studentsthen apply in “Laboratory

Conference Session

FPD 4: Peers and Perceptions

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeff Johnson, LeTourneau University; Alan D. Niemi, LeTourneau University; Matthew G. Green, LeTourneau University; Lauren Elise Gentry, LeTourneau University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Interest Groups (FIGs)” in each First-Year Transition Class of ~24 Students.[1:FIGs are 6 to 8 students, 2:FIG Peer Mentors are older students,3:FIG Industrial Mentors are local practicing engineers linked to one first-year transition class Section.]Additional FIG ComponentsIn the fall, as part of the engineering version of the University’s first-year transition course, theFIG activities are launched with a DVD seminar entitled Success4Students.9 The 3+ hourseminar has six segments that address the following topics:  Select your destination (where do you want to be in five years?)  Determine your path (focusing on goal setting for the semester)  Planning to succeed (emphasizing the importance of planning your schedule for the week

Conference Session

FPD9 - First Year Learning & Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Whalen, Northeastern University; Susan Freeman, Northeastern University; Beverly Jaeger, Susan Freeman and Beverly Jaeger are members of Northeastern University's

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

or interesting they were. Not all of the activities were used by every Professor, in whichcase students were instructed to place an ’n/a’.While Engineering Design sections are taught by individual instructors, the course is conducted with a Page 13.164.3team-planning approach. All three of the authors were involved in co-coordinating this course over thesemesters of interest. Team meetings were conducted for all instructors every two weeks throughout thesemester. It was established that instructors of this course conduct the learning modes in a similar fashion.Accordingly, the results across the sections were combined to yield

Conference Session

FPD5 -- Placement & Early Success

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Beverly Jaeger, Northeastern University; Susan Freeman, Northeastern University; Richard Whalen, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

it is oriented to fact, verbal because of the written and spokenwords, active because of the teaming, and sequential because of the natural order of the process.Minor Design Project: Planning & Building / Preparing Demo & Demonstrating. This firstproject is assigned early in the course to individual students or small teams. The same task isgiven to the entire class. They are to build and demonstrate a device of their own design. Theyexperience the design process hands-on with a strong emphasis on the design steps of problemformulation, abstraction and synthesis, and implementation, with some iteration. There aremultiple demonstration days, during which the students review others’ projects and show theresults of their own work. Some

Conference Session

First-Year Programs: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the First Year

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Janet Aderemi Omitoyin, The University of Illinois at Chicago ; Renata A. Revelo, The University of Illinois at Chicago; Betul Bilgin, The University of Illinois at Chicago; Houshang Darabi, The University of Illinois at Chicago; Rezvan Nazempour, The University of Illinois at Chicago

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

resources.While students felt competent in their abilities to pursue an engineering degree, they describedcompetence as individual knowledge and understanding of engineering and access to resources.These resources were described as people (e.g., advisors, tutors), and as non-human resources(e.g., libraries, relevant laboratories, tutorials). Having access to resources made them feelcompetent and confident in themselves in the present and in their future. Often studentsconflated competence with confidence, which we plan to discuss in a separate study, but ingeneral, students felt like competent learners. Therefore, they felt confident they can becomeengineers in the long run. Access to resources made sense as contributing factors to students’competence

Conference Session

First-Year Programs: First-Year Experiences

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jill Davishahl, Western Washington University; Jeffrey L. Newcomer, Western Washington University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

the latter. It is from these roots that the premajor orientation was developed.Project ApproachDesign & Implementation of Premajor OrientationIn fall of 2019, a small group of faculty and staff began planning a new student orientationspecifically designed for engineering & design premajor students. With the knowledge that manyof these students had already participated in university-wide orientation sessions, this sessionwas created to focus on department specific content including norms, expectations, andstandards. Understanding the importance of creating a welcoming, inclusive, and equitablelearning environment, the development team placed a strong emphasis on sharing behavioralexpectations, creating a common language, and engaging

Conference Session

FPD7 -- Service Learning

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Kazmer, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; John Duffy, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Beverly Perna, Tsongas Industrial History Center

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

were not wellenough defined, and that some very good projects received a lower grade than poorer projectsthat were selected for exhibition by the client.These student criticisms are not easily addressed since no single client can provide a project ofsufficient breadth to support all engineering majors and interests. In the future, we plan to solvethese problems by agreeing that the theme would be “inventions of historical significance” andtraining our judges to accept and exhibit the best explanatory/demonstration exhibits regardlessof whether they addressed the client’s themes and teaching objectives. Alternatively, or inaddition, we are considering adding the College of Engineering itself as an SL client for studentsto develop exhibits that

Conference Session

First-Year Programs: Wednesday Potpourri

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Natasha Perova-Mello, Oregon State University; Sean P. Brophy, Purdue University, West Lafayette (College of Engineering)

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

awareness of each other’s thinking and shareddecision making associated with their design process and final reporting. What an effective teamneeds are executive skills for managing a design process that transitions their ideas into a plan,research, build, test and refine cycle. Project management tools can support the processes ifteam leaders know how to track and facilitate the process. One of the goals of this first yearengineering course is to develop these skills in the team members so they can effectively usethem for future design activities like senior design and multidisciplinary projects in industry. In this paper, we present results from a qualitative analysis of student responses to open-ended questions designed to elicit their

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division Technical Session 3; The Best of All the FPD Papers

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephanie M. Gratiano, Roger Williams University; William John Palm IV P.E., Roger Williams University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Conference Session

First-year Programs Division Technical Session 10: Paying Attention to Retention

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William John Palm IV P.E., Roger Williams University; Charles R Thomas, Roger Williams University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Conference Session

The Best of First-Year Programs Division

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Darlee Gerrard, University of Toronto; Kirstin Newfield, University of Toronto; Narges Balouchestani Asli, University of Toronto; Chirag Variawa, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

university, the University of Toronto. In order to address theseconcerns, both the first-year engineering students’ and course coordinators’ perspectives must beunderstood. By considering both perspectives, this study provides insights that may informcourse scheduling, course curriculum development and integration of campus resources toimprove student experiences with the first-year engineering workload. Further, this informationwill help our faculty to better support students' transition to university. The result of thisresearch may also lead to improved recruitment efforts and better planning of engineeringprograms. We hope that by tackling the issue of workload we will enrich and further improve thestudents' experience. Numerous research studies

Conference Session

FPD IV: Innovative Curriculum Elements of Successful First-year Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian M. Argrow, University of Colorado, Boulder; Beverly Louie, University of Colorado, Boulder; Daniel W. Knight, University of Colorado, Boulder; Nathan E. Canney, University of Colorado, Boulder; Suzana Brown, University of Colorado, Boulder; Adam J. Blanford, University of Colorado, Boulder; Corrina Ladakis Gibson, University of Colorado, Boulder; Eric Donnelly Kenney

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

completed the course. Table 2 Fall 2011 master schedule; max enrollment indicated in parentheses. Time Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri 4:00 Plenary Module Plenary 4:30 (90) (60) (90) 5:00 Module Module Module 5:30 (30) (30) (60) 6:00Plenary SessionsThe plenary sessions were delivered by a team of two instructors who focused on topics of theengineering profession that are common across the disciplines and majors. Given that the plan

Conference Session

Research on The First Year II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Melissa Dagley-Falls, University of Central Florida; Michael Georgiopoulos, University of Central Florida; Cynthia Young, University of Central Florida

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, they must become socially and academically integrated into theuniversity44 and the associated communities found within. One area of research stemming fromthis concept has been the study of the relationship between student sense of community andintentionally planned learning communities. There are a number of studies supporting thebenefits of learning communities and the positive associated outcomes45-48. However, very littleresearch on STEM learning communities reported providing a residential component. For thosethat did boast residential learning communities (RLC), assessment on the residence portion wasminimal. Further, residential learning communities identified by Ohland and Collins49 and othersevolving since that time50-54, found

Conference Session

FPD 4: First-Year Engineering Courses, Part I: Multimedia, Large Classes, and TAs

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kimberly C. Huett, University of West Georgia; Barbara B. Kawulich, University of West Georgia; P.K. Raju, Mechanical Engineering Dept, Auburn University,Al; Chetan S Sankar, Auburn University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

. The engineering college offers at least three undergraduate degrees in engineering,including chemical, electrical, and aviation-related disciplines. Most students in the introductoryengineering course were seeking degrees in engineering, and a small number were pursuingbusiness degrees. The two-hour course sections were delivered in a traditional classroom setting(in contrast to the lecture theater/lab split at RU). Because students are in class fewer than twohours per week, course activities that were not completed during the class session were oftencompleted outside of class.Course Context: Major Assignments & Course ActivitiesIn spite of some contextual differences described above, the courses were planned together andsyllabi were

Conference Session

First-Year Programs (FPD) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alyssa N Berg, University of Colorado Boulder; Janet Y Tsai, University of Colorado at Boulder; Virginia Lea Ferguson, Mechanical Engineering; University of Colorado; Boulder, CO; Beverly Louie, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

mentees with well thought-out and level-appropriate projects appreciatedthat they liked being included in the research.The mentees with ill-defined projects mentioned that their project didn’t have a direction or agoal and criticized their mentor’s lack of a plan they could follow. Several studentsrecommended that future projects have more structure. Overall, while the mentees credited theirmentors for being understanding and having the ability to explain their research projects, thementees were of mixed opinions about their mentors’ abilities to create a well-structured projectfor them to accomplish in a short time frame. Not surprisingly, we found that the most effectiverelationships included those with a well-defined scope and mentor who

Conference Session

First-Year Programs: Student Perceptions and Perspectives

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Nora Honken, University of Cincinnati; Angela Boronyak, University of Cincinnati; James Edward Roethler, Spalding University; Aimee M. Frame, University of Cincinnati; Cedrick Kwuimy, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

earned her undergraduate degree in Biological Engineering from the University of Georgia.Lt. James Edward Roethler, Spalding University My name is James Edward Roethler. I am a Doctoral Student at Spalding University, specializing in forensic and adult psychology. I am also a 2LT in the United States Army, and plan to be a career psychologist with the military.Dr. Aimee M. Frame, University of Cincinnati Aimee Frame is an Associate Professor-Educator and current Undergraduate Program Director for Me- chanical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. She received her MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA and her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Uni- versity of

Conference Session

First-Year Programs: Virtual Instruction in the First Year II

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jaya Dofe, California State University, Fullerton; Sudarshan T. Kurwadkar, California State University, Fullerton

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

objective of this course is to provide project-based learning (PBL) andintroduce these students to major projects in Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and ComputerEngineering projects so that they can make an informed decision about their major. The PBL is anactive learning method that aims to engage students in acquiring knowledge and skills throughreal-world experiences and well-planned project activities in engineering disciplines. The coursecomprises four team-based unique projects related to Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and ComputerEngineering. The project involves using a variety of engineering tools like AutoCAD, Multisim,and Arduino platforms. For the first time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hands-on project-based EGGN-100 course was

Conference Session

First-Year Programs: Design in the First Year

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Ariana Gabrielle Smies, Michigan Technological University; Erin Vandenbusch; Michelle E. Jarvie-Eggart, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

make these projects seem more real andpurposeful to students.2 Despite struggling and expressing frustration with the open nature of theseprojects3,4, students involved in these open-ended projects reported greater enjoyment, increasedinterest, and increased learning through the open-ended projects4-9. In contrast, students who chosefrom a few strictly planned (predefined) projects expressed more dissatisfaction with their projectchoice than those completing open-ended projects8. This increased level of interest may havelongitudinal benefits, as students participating in open-ended projects have been shown to expressgreater interest in participating in new projects in the future8.First-year open ended design projects often include some form of

Conference Session

First-year Programs: Virtual Instruction in the First Year 1

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Huihui Qi, University of California, San Diego; Carolyn L. Sandoval, University of California, San Diego; He Liu; Matthew Robin Kohanfars, University of California, San Diego; Edward I Lan, University of California, San Diego; Cristian H. Tharin; Tania K. Morimoto, University of California, San Diego

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

and thought-provoking curriculums for the engineering department at UC San Diego. My master’s degree background is aimed towards the field of medical technology, where I am able to work in a design laboratory that specializes in researching and developing medical devices. I plan to continue my education to obtain a Ph.D., directing my impact on engineering education and translational research at UC San Diego.Mr. Edward I Lan, University of California, San Diego Edward Lan earned his B.S in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego in 2017. He moved on to work in the aerospace industry at Applied Composites San Diego (Formerly San Diego Composite) directly after graduating, developing new

Conference Session

First-Year Programs: Recruiting and Retention

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Charmane V. Caldwell, Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering; Roxanne Hughes, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

andstudent affairs, and adequate resources), as well as a supportive academic (e.g., common courses,faculty advising, academically supportive climate) and co-curricular (e.g., study groups, socialactivities, career workshops) environment. The pinnacle of the best practices is an integration ofthese various layers and an assessment plan that allows practitioners to make changes.There are two types of research that has been conducted on LLCs: those that compare acrossmultiple programs and those that focus on one particular program. Research comparing LLCsacross programs have shown that they can have a positive impact on first-generation participants'transitions to college [2]; increased sense of belonging in their college [3]; and increasedopenness to