EPIC FLCs include courses that are taught by faculty who have gone through the EPIC program’s Faculty Development. These faculty intentionally bring interdisciplinary materials into their classes to allow students to see the connections between their courses and other courses. Students can therefore receive a better understanding of how they are building their education as soon as they start at Georgia State.

The pandemic shut down many experiential learning opportunities, but walking tours created a safe, outdoor, high-impact experience.  While several faculty at our institution have used walking tours in their classes for years, the pandemic highlighted the strengths of using walking tours, particularly community building in a time when so many students felt isolated.  As more students and faculty are coming back to campus, walking tours are a way to reconnect students and faculty to our campus.  We are currently working on assessments to measure the effects of walking tours, like integrative learning, community building, and content retention.

An advantage of FLCs for students is a common group of courses in a given semester. The EPIC Program provides coffee for faculty instructing these common courses who are interested in sharing their syllabi and what they teach in their courses. This provides the opportunity to create new professional connections and reveal how courses fit together.

EPIC FLCs include Perspectives courses that promote project-based learning. Students can choose Perspectives courses like Project Labs or larger courses that focus on Atlanta-based learning and are led by interdisciplinary faculty.