Improving retention and reducing isolation via a linked-courses learning community

Despite a rebound in enrollments, men of color and women remain underrepresented in computing. The literature indicates that student-student interaction, affinity for the computing major, and reduced feelings of isolation are important for retention of underrepresented groups in computing. Learning communities connect students with each other and faculty to improve collaboration, interaction, and enthusiasm. In an effort to improve retention of female and minority students at our institution, we have created two cohorts of a linked-courses learning community for development majors. Here we report on the academic performance and retention for the first cohort and on the impact of the community on attitudes toward computing among the second cohort. The linked-courses learning community showed improved retention rates and academic performance for students participating in the first cohort, and results from surveys administered to the second cohort show that participation in the community diminished feelings of isolation.