The Academic Program:
Curriculum

Wooster's curriculum has many strengths and distinctive features, from First Year Seminar and the Independent Study program to an expectation that students will acquire a breadth of knowledge and an understanding of inquiry across the major fields of intellectual endeavor. As new fields of knowledge are defined, it is increasingly important that students learn how knowledge is derived in these as well as traditional fields and how all fields are interrelated. It is likewise important that students have the opportunity to develop the skills necessary for the critical formulation, evaluation, and expression of ideas. The development of this knowledge and these skills is essential preparation not only for independent study but also for a lifetime of independent learning, thinking, and decision-making in a complex and diverse society and a rapidly changing world.

Objective: To strengthen the coherence of the curriculum

• To adopt new general education requirements based on the knowledge, understanding, and skills that all students graduating from Wooster should possess.
• To raise the standard of student writing in particular.
• To increase opportunities for interdisciplinary work which explores and demonstrates connections among curricular areas.

Independent Study

The Independent Study program is the most distinctive aspect of Wooster's curriculum and is essential to the College's identity. Independent Study is such an integral part of the College's culture that it cannot be easily imitated by competing institutions. It is essential that both internal and external constituencies of the College understand the nature of the program and its benefits for students, faculty, and the institution. Independent Study is more than a capstone course; it is a coherent program of study that begins in the student's first year, continues through the sophomore and junior years, culminates with the senior-year experience, and shapes the entire Wooster curriculum.

Objective: To renew allegiance to Independent Study as a particularly effective mode of instruction and identify ways to strengthen it, to integrate and articulate it within the curriculum, and to make it better known.

• To ensure across departments more effective and consistent preparation of students for Senior Independent Study.
• To raise the visibility of the Independent Study program both on campus and off.
• To re-interpret Independent Study both internally and to external audiences, articulating the coherence and purposefulness of this broad educational experience.

The Academic Community

An effective academic community must offer to its members an environment in which all are challenged to see the world from many points of view. This ability to deal with difference, particularly among people and ideas, is an integral part of students' intellectual development and should be part of the learning experience in college. Among the greatest challenges which we as a nation face are the diversity of American society and the complexity of the global environment, and to be leaders our graduates must be prepared to meet these challenges.

Objective: To provide an academic community which enables all students to acquire the knowledge, experience, and tools necessary for responsible citizenship in a diverse and global society

• To increase from 8% to 12% by 2003 the percentage of American students from under-represented groups entering the College. The experience of similar colleges and the demography of Wooster's primary areas suggests goals of 6% African American students and 6% Asian-American, Hispanic, and Native American students combined.
• To have at least 7% international students and to seek greater balance among continents and countries represented.
• To increase the number of persons from under-represented groups on the faculty and staff across the College during the next five years.
• To devote greater and more consistent attention to diversity across the curriculum.
• To develop and strengthen special academic programs in such areas as service learning, internships and practica, and the many aspects of international education.

Faculty

The faculty are the heart of the academic program, and the College can thrive only when persons of intellectual strength and good will choose to make teaching at Wooster their life's work. Our commitment to excellence in teaching implies a commitment to small classes--an expensive proposition in terms of time and teaching load--and to excellent faculty. Moreover, the centrality of Independent Study in Wooster's mission requires that each faculty member be actively engaged in a discipline and demonstrate this engagement in scholarship of high quality. The objective and goals for the faculty stem from the belief that support for faculty as both teachers and scholars is an essential long-term investment.

Objective: To ensure the excellence of the faculty by supporting both teaching and scholarship, by affirming their essential interconnection, and by assisting faculty to gain national visibility in their disciplines as teacher-scholars.

• To establish faculty salaries in each academic rank in the top half of the institutions in the Great Lakes College Association.
• To clarify expectations regarding teaching load, scholarship, and other responsibilities.
• To develop and support excellence in scholarship and research among the faculty.
• To encourage faculty to seek external grant funding as a replacement for College resources and provide support to faculty for obtaining individual research grants.
• To encourage and support more faculty participation in national disciplinary and higher education activities.

Campus and Community Life

Enrollment and National Recognition

Resources

Conclusion

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