This study sought to define the current state of higher education for low socioeconomic status (SES) students, the effects of learning communities in higher education, and the benefits of more selective institutions. The study examined a primary research question that addressed the relationship between learning communities and integration level of low SES students at a high cost institution: To what extent does the participation in a learning community increase the level of integration for low SES students at a private, selective, high cost university? A group of 106 Pell Grant eligible freshmen at an institution fitting this description completed the Institutional Integration Survey (IIS) to answer this question (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1983). The survey results were analyzed for difference in integration level between respondents who participated in a learning community and non-participants. The results of this study found a statistically significant difference between the two groups in institutional integration level. This result indicated that low SES students who participated in a learning community were more integrated with the university than their peers who did not. The analysis found significant differences across the Peer Group Interaction, Academic and Intellectual Development, and Student Integration Subscales of the IIS. In the context of Tinto's work, a better-integrated student across the academic and social systems is more likely to persist and retain. The results suggest institutions can increase low SES student integration and persistence via student participation in learning communities even when those students are faced with the hurdle of high institutional cost. These findings will help higher education administrators interested in influencing the integration level of low SES students in non-financial ways.
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