The impact of learning communities on the retention and social integration of Latino students at a highly selective private four-year institution

UnrestrictedCollege student retention has been a concern for institutions of higher learning for the past forty years. Although numerous models and theories have been posed to explain and solve student retention, attrition rates among Latino students continue to increase. Greater access into the higher educational community has not translated into increased retention levels. As a result, colleges and universities have explored and implemented learning communities as a vehicle to increase student retention. Although literature on learning communities exists, there was still a dire need to focus efforts on the affects that learning communities have on Latino student retention.; The objective of this study was to understand the social factors that impact Latino student retention who were enrolled in learning community during their freshman year. The results indicated that the learning community provided Latino students an environment that was comfortable, supportive and allowed them to make friendships that assisted them socially and academically. In addition, the results also suggested that the learning community positively influenced their decision to persist into their sophomore year. If these students had to do it all over again, the overwhelming majority indicated that they would have reenrolled in a learning community