(552e) The Engineering and Computing Residential Living and Learning Community at the University of South Carolina

To help students with the transition to university living, the University of South Carolina has created the Engineering and Computing Community (ECC), a residential living and learning community. The ECC helps students in the College of Engineering and Computing with a strong focus on entering freshmen. Many activities throughout the year help the ECC students develop personally, professionally, academically, and socially. A one-hour professional development course has been offered for these students, focusing on various enrichment activities. In the 2016-2017 academic year, multiple factors apparently helped improve the success of the community. These include:

1. Linked courses were implemented for the first time in the ECC. Multiple sections of Calculus and Pre-Calculus were reserved initially for ECC members. This allowed students to take key courses with other students that were living in the same building.

2. University tutoring services relocated to the first floor of the ECC residential living and learning community. This allowed ECC students to have easy access to help with coursework.

3. Multiple Resident Mentors (RM) hired from the USC College of Engineering and Computing. These RMs help serve as role models for the ECC students, guiding them toward improved academic success.

4. For the first time, USC College of Engineering and Computing students became a majority in the ECC residential living and learning community building. Having a high concentration of engineering and computing students may help with ECC academic success.

While facing many ongoing obstacles, ECC activities appear to be helping students with their initial progression in the College of Engineering and Computing at USC.