Key Communities

Key Communities is a comprehensive first-year learning community program at Colorado State University designed to support student success, particularly for underrepresented populations (first-generation, low-income, and ethnically diverse students). The program serves approximately 475 first-year students annually, organized into five communities of 75-150 students each, with each community further divided into clusters of 19 students. Students participate in integrated course clusters linking a Key Seminar with one to two university core curriculum courses, live together in a centrally located residence hall, and engage in structured co-curricular activities. The program includes a two-day orientation before fall semester, an early warning system for academic monitoring, dedicated full-time coordinators and undergraduate mentors, and intentional community-building traditions. Key emphasizes academic integration, personal and social integration, and cultural integration through frequent contact among faculty, staff, and students both inside and outside the classroom.