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Academic Communities

Academic Communities Program
University Advisement and Enrichment Center, Suite 180
MSC06 3680
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
https://firstyear.unm.edu/

Program Specialist
Lisa Montoya
lhahn01@unm.edu

Professional Support Intern
Kiana Alvarez

Academic Communities

UNM offers several opportunities for students to engage in their education. Academic Communities are classes dedicated to helping students develop:

• Academic and social community
• A sense of engagement in their education
• The skills necessary for academic success
• An understanding of the culture of higher education
• Close relationships with University faculty and staff
• Critical and creative thinking skills 

Since 2000, over 10,000 students have overwhelmingly endorsed Academic Communities; they are more engaged in their education, achieve higher grades, and stay in school in greater numbers than freshmen who do not select from these courses.

First-Year students have the choice of:

First-Year Learning Communities

The First-Year Learning Communities (FLCs) are designed to give students a rich, focused, and interdisciplinary learning experience during their first semester at UNM. An FLC consists of two general education courses linked together in content and theme. Both courses have the same roster and count for full credit, with every learning community earning at least 6 credit hours. Because FLCs are built with general education courses, every FLC counts toward graduation, regardless of major.

Transition Communities

Transition Communities are 1 or 3 credit hour first-year seminars that help students excel in their first year at UNM through fostering skills for academic success and helping students discover and connect to the university. Students who participate in the Transition Community program can expect to sharpen college success skills, explore their majors, and develop degree plans. Courses are offered for students in a variety of majors, affiliations, and interest areas.

Big Questions

Big Questions courses offer an opportunity to explore the breadth and depth of unique topics areas, which create cross-disciplinary opportunities and breaking curricular boundaries for students. These courses are taught by UNM faculty who specialize in cutting-edge topic areas and are supported by other faculty or community professionals. These courses give students an opportunity to engage in inquiry and analysis, and to work with a variety of professionals to answer the world's biggest questions.

Academic Foundations

Academic Foundations courses are designed to support student mastery of the quantitative and critical thinking skills necessary for success at UNM. Students are referred to Academic Foundations courses by their academic advisors via a placement process.