General Studies Learning Community

Post Hall Annex, Room 4
Anthony Dotterman, Director and Senior Lecturer
p – (516) 877-3433
f – (516) 877-3435
e - Dotterman@adelphi.edu
w – general-studies.adelphi.edu

General Studies Learning Community is a one-year, intensive program for freshmen whose potential for academic achievement has been identified by the University through interviews with faculty, administrators, and counselors, and who may benefit from the small classes and individualized attention of the program. In addition to a rigorous, mandatory liberal arts curriculum, the program provides comprehensive academic support services, including individual tutoring and counseling. Those students who successfully complete the one-year General Studies Learning Community program are invited to enroll for their sophomore year in one of the other undergraduate programs at Adelphi.

General Studies Learning Community Curriculum

General Studies Learning Community students take 13 credits each semester, including 3 credits of composition each semester. The course work, which meets all Adelphi degree requirements, is challenging and rigorous, and focuses on developing each student’s capacity to read, write, and think in a creative and sophisticated manner.

Tutors and Counselors

Given their intellectual potential for college-level work, General Studies Learning Community students often gain by strengthening their basic academic skills: critical reading and writing; problem solving; studying; taking tests. To aid them in developing these abilities, faculty tutors work diligently with General Studies Learning Community students. On entry to the program, all General Studies Learning Community students are assigned for tutoring. Recognizing that the psychological and emotional lives of young men and women play an important role in determining academic success, General Studies Learning Community mandates participation in counseling sessions, conducted by full-time academic counselors who can help students make the adjustments that college life demands

General Studies Learning Community Academic Regulations (General Studies Learning Community Students Only)

Academic Dismissal

Students may be dismissed from the General Studies Learning Community program and from Adelphi University under the following circumstances:

After one semester—if the student earns less than a GPA of 2.0 and the faculty, administration, tutors, and counselors believe that the student does not have a reasonable chance of achieving academic success at the University.

After two semesters—if the student has less than a 2.0 cumulative GPA, the student may be dismissed from the General Studies Learning Community program and from Adelphi University.

Academic Probation

General Studies Learning Community students may be placed on academic probation at the conclusion of the fall semester if they earn less than a GPA of 2.0. Students placed on probation will sign and adhere to a General Studies Learning Community Academic Probation Contract, which specifies the nature and duration of contact time with their tutors and counselors during the spring semester.

Course Load

All General Studies Learning Community students are required to register as full-time students, taking a maximum of 13 credits per semester.

Cocurricular Activities

Due to the academic rigor of the program, General Studies Learning Community students are encouraged to place schoolwork at the forefront of their priorities, and therefore are prohibited from joining intercollegiate athletic teams during their first year and from pledging for fraternities and sororities during their first semester in the program. To pledge during the second semester, students must be in good academic standing and have a GPA of 2.0 or higher.

Incompletes

Students can receive a grade of I (Incomplete) only with the written permission of the Associate Dean. The Incomplete must be resolved within four weeks of the end of the semester in which the grade of I was given. After this time, the I will become a grade of F.

Pass/Fail Option

No Pass/Fail grades are permitted in the General Studies Learning Community program.