OASIS helps college students bridge the gap between their academic and social lives (which contributes to higher rates of persistence and meaningful learning) through our OASIS Learning Communities (OLCs). Students who participate in the Academic Transition Program (including Summer Bridge) and the Student Support Services Program's STEP are enrolled by cohort in a number of the first quarter courses (e.g., chemistry and math) and in the OASIS workshops (e.g., chemistry, math, and writing) that correspond to those courses. Such cohort placement reduces perceptions of isolation by ensuring that a relatively small number of students will see one another frequently across several academic activities with subsequent engagement in collaborative learning.

In addition, the students are enrolled by cohort in weekly OLC seminars. The seminars incorporate content and elements from the nationally successful model of freshman seminars (Kuh at al., 2008). The one-hour, non-credit bearing seminars are highly interactive and collaborative. Both an OASIS professional staff member and an undergraduate student mentor facilitate the seminars. A number of the OLC seminars enroll students by their UCSD college. Those seminars enjoy the direct support of staff from each college who co-facilitate the seminars with OASIS professional and student staff and are generally located at their respective colleges. In addition, each quarter the colleges' academic advisors visit OLC seminars to assist students with their course enrollment for the following quarter.

The OLC seminars serve as a unifying element to link and integrate students' coursework, academic support, and sociocultural transition in a manner that maximizes their learning experiences. Given the wide range of variables that affect the early adjustment of university students, this multidimensional integration of their transition process is critical.

OLCs Offer:

• A consistent, small group of peers that serves as a support network for academic success & sociocultural satisfaction
• A space to discuss transitional issues & concerns throughout the year & establish study groups
• Help students learn the necessary tools to excel at UC San Diego
• Meet 1 hour per week throughout the first year
• Facilitated by OASIS staff & student mentors
• Students who have participated in an OLC, on average, have a higher GPA than those who do not