Freshman Learning Communities

Please find here the "Tech Savvy First Year" story about how some FLCs are using iPads or Flip cameras in their courses. Click here for iPad/Flip camera documentation.

Want to make friends? Want to take courses that interest you? Want to succeed in college?

Then look into Freshman Learning Communities (FLC), an innovative and successful approach to your first semester at Georgia State University.

In 2011, and for the ninth year in a row, U.S. News & World Report listed the FLC program at Georgia State University among the “outstanding examples of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success.”

What are Freshman Learning Communities?

• 25 students enrolled together in the same courses for fall semester
• Courses centered around a field of interest
• Introduction to the university and its resources
• 4-5 core curriculum courses that fulfill degree requirements
• Overview of success strategies and necessary academic skills

Why should you be excited to join an FLC?

• Smooth transition from high school to university life and culture
• Immediate connection to other students, faculty, campus and Atlanta communities
• Higher success rates in GPA, retention and time it takes to graduate
• Wide variety of schedules to choose from

The foundation built during the first year is key to a student's success; that's why we offer Freshman Learning Communities (FLC), a great opportunity for first-year students to connect with Georgia State University and each other during the fall semester.

FLCs link clusters of courses, usually four or five, from the Core Curriculum with the GSU 1010 New Student Orientation course. Each FLC is built around a field of interest (Arts, Business, Education, Health Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Policy Studies, Social Sciences, Undecided) that brings together students who are drawn to a particular major related to the field. Through their involvement in an FLC, students form a small, friendly community within a large, research university.

Each FLC is designed around general education Core Curriculum courses that will apply to any major. In other words, you do not have to declare a major in order to register for a specific FLC; you can simply participate in an FLC for which you have an interest. If at the end of the first semester you decide to select a major in a different area, you can be sure that your courses will count as part of your general education requirements.

For more information on FLCs, e-mail FLC@gsu.edu, contact Nikolas Huot at nhuot1@gsu.edu, or feel free to drop by the Office of Undergraduate Studies in 224 Sparks Hall.