This study focused on the degree to which the clusters established as part of a new general education system at the University of California, Los Angeles promoted an opportunity for increased academic integration for first-year students enrolled in the clusters as compared to first-year students in the typical general education curriculum. The cluster sequence was composed of a large lecture and 6 to 8 smaller (15 to 25 students) 2-hour discussion sections in the fall and winter quarters with a related seminar in the spring quarter. Cluster lectures were team taught to span academic divisions and to promote critical thinking. In the second year of the cluster program (first full year of operation), approximately 400 students were involved, a small portion of the undergraduate enrollment. Survey responses were received from 73 cluster and 108 noncluster students. Survey findings, which centered on seven variables, suggest that cluster participation had an impact on student outcomes, over and above other college experiences. The learning community cluster experience did help students begin to integrate into the college experience on a number of levels. Specific effects were seen on academic integration, quality of faculty interaction, and quality of interaction with peers in an academic setting. (Contains 1 figure, 8 tables, and 27 references.) (SLD)