A Learning Community is a group of students with shared interests who are enrolled in two or more classes together. Three freshmen halls, Epsilon 1 & 2, and the new residence hall under construction are all designated for learning community students. However, on campus residence is not required for community students. All freshmen are encouraged to join a learning community, space permitting. National research shows that students in a learning community report a more positive social life and higher levels of student-faculty interaction (National Survey of Student Engagement Annual Report 2007). At USA, student who joined learning communities were more likely to persist to year 2, and had higher academic success rates, than students not in learning communities.