The Seminar is a rigorous academic course, where instructors will incorporate readings from their own disciplines and from a common reading list, and will require written responses. The Seminar is a forum for discussing the purposes of higher education and the role of general education, and for easing the transition to the college environment. The course will address diversity and ethical issues relevant to the university community, and will include hands-on learning activities such as attendance at lectures, performances and exhibits, visits to local natural environments, and service opportunities. The College Writing courses, taught by the English Department, will introduce first-year students to college level writing. The Mathematics course is an activity-based course serving as an introduction to applications of mathematics to daily experience.
Emphasis is on the development of conceptual understanding rather than on computational drill.
Out of class projects in which students do mathematical analysis of observations will be required. Higher-level mathematics courses will also satisfy this requirement. The Oral Communication courses will be the same as in the current program. Learning Communities Learning Communities implement the Integration of Knowledge Fundamental Principle. The goal of participation in a learning community is to discover and appreciate the relatedness of disciplines and knowledge.