Our Learning Community

What is a Learning Community?

A learning community refers to a small group of students who come together with a shared set of academic goals. Within this group, they collaborate closely with one or more professors. Highline College offers what we call Cohort Learning Communities to facilitate the formation of these supportive student groups. When students join a learning community, they enroll in courses that are either thematically related or enriched through peer-to-peer learning experiences.

Participating in a learning community offers several advantages. It fosters social connections and a sense of belonging among students, both inside and outside the classroom. This sense of connection tends to enhance their engagement with the academic community, ultimately increasing their chances of achieving academic success.

Furthermore, being part of a learning community provides additional support mechanisms. These programs have dedicated faculty and advisors who work closely with students, and they collaborate with other student support services to ensure students receive comprehensive assistance throughout their educational journey.

Promise Practices

Our Promise Practices serve as Community Guidelines, influencing our decisions and actions as a Program and our students’ expectations.

• Purposeful Navigation – Promise at Highline is all about helping our students grow as they go through college, start their careers, and become responsible citizens. We want to give them the opportunity to set clear goals and work towards them with purpose and determination. It’s a place where students can really think about what they want to achieve and take steps to make those dreams a reality.
• Be Present – When you join our community, it’s important to just be yourself. But also, remember who you are and what you believe in, and be aware that this can affect how you see things and how you relate to others. Most importantly, stay open to learning new things. We’re all here to grow and understand each other better, so always be ready to learn from one another.
• Promote & Protect Community –  Promise is like a special place where students can feel really proud to be part of the community that’s forming here. In this community, we make sure to treat everyone’s experiences and viewpoints with kindness and respect. It’s a place where everyone’s voice matters and where we celebrate the unique things that each person brings to the group.
• Perpetuate Communal Capital –  We promise to keep our group’s wisdom, memories, and the way we live together alive. We’ll work together and hold onto our customs, so that we can pass down what makes us unique and what we’ve learned to the next generations, making our community stronger over time.

Cohort Learning Community (CLC) Courses – FALL 2023

• College 101 – Strengthening Navigational Skills
• English 101 – English Composition 1
• Ethnic & Gender Studies 100 – Introduction to Ethnic Studies
• Sociology 101 – Introduction to Sociology

Cohort Learning Community (CLC) Courses – SPRING 2023

• MATH 146+ – Introduction to Statistics Plus Extra Support
• English 101 – English Composition I
• ENGLISH 102 – English Composition II
• PSYCH 100 – General Psychology

Cohort Learning Community (CLC) Courses – WINTER 2023

• College 101
• SOC 101
• PSYCH 101 Black Psychology
• ENG 101 & 102
• Ethnic & Gender Studies (EGS) 137 – African American Experience
• EGS 180 Histories & Cultures of Oceania
• EGS 143 Contemporary Issues in Asia America
• EGS 150 Latino/a Histories: Race, Migration & Resistance
• EGS 217 US Racial & Ethnic Politics