New Foundations General Education Program for Student Entering Westminster Prior to Fall 2019

The New Foundations Program, for students entering before fall 2019, reflects Westminster's commitment to liberal learning in the arts and sciences. This means that Westminster is dedicated to educating a student broadly by requiring courses that explore the scientific, historical, cultural, social, ethical, and aesthetic contexts in which we live. By study of these contexts, students sharpen intellectual capacities, enhancing their abilities to think critically, to reflect imaginatively, to compare and integrate, to discern values, and to communicate clearly and persuasively. Further, through this study, students gain awareness of and respect for the world around us, its problems and potential; the individuals that make up that world and their cultural and personal distinctions; the nature of knowledge and learning and both their promise and limitations; and finally, ourselves, our intellectual, creative, and spiritual capabilities. Thus, the impact of general education at Westminster is to liberate, to free the student from narrow and parochial thought, and to enable the student to grow, change, and respond effectively to new and unforeseen circumstances.

The New Foundations Program seeks to foster:

skills in critical thinking, communication, quantitative reasoning and the use of computer technology
understanding of theories and methods of science
historical perspective
awareness of fundamental questions and values
sensitivity to artistic expression and critical appreciation
knowledge of human behavior and social institutions
appreciation of cultural diversity and global interdependence

Curricular requirements focusing on these goals ensure that students develop intellectual capacities and acquire the educational breadth necessary to pursue major and minor programs of their choice. In those programs, the student will have additional experiences that enhance their abilities relative to several of these educational goals.

Though the General Education Program consists of courses from many departments, these courses share many characteristics. They introduce key concepts and terminology; persons, works, events, key issues and ideas. They teach students to think critically about texts they read, arguments they hear, and situations they observe. They use techniques that involve a significant level of participation on the part of students and that require them to take direct responsibility for their learning and they demonstrate to students how to connect knowledge gained inside the classroom to the world outside.

Courses in the Westminster General Education Program are organized into three tiers:

(1) Foundational Tier;
(2) Contexts Tier; and
(3) Integrative Tier.

The tiered structure imposes a developmental order on the course work of students that encourages maximum intellectual growth at each stage. Thus, in the foundational tier, students begin by strengthening intellectual capacities. These capacities are then utilized in the contexts tier to gain a deeper appreciation of disciplinary knowledge.

With broad study of the disciplines in the second tier, students gain multiple perspectives through which they can assimilate and evaluate information. This breadth provides a basis for the third tier integrative course in which a multi-disciplinary analysis of a significant practical or theoretical issue is undertaken.

With the exception of physical education courses, all courses in the General Education Program earn at least three hours of academic credit. For the typical student, it is expected that the Foundational Tier will be completed in the freshmen year, the Contexts Tier by the close of the sophomore year, and the Integrative Tier by the end of the junior year. By completing the General Education Program on this timetable, students will have developed the intellectual capacities and breadth of knowledge needed for success in major and minor programs of study.

At the outset, students must acquire and sharpen the basic intellectual skills that provide access to the content of their education. These basic skills include critical thinking, communication, numerical literacy, and competence with technology. Critical thinking takes students beyond the monitoring of knowledge claims; it allows students to identify what is basic, to assess, and to reassemble thoughts and feelings in a more coherent manner. The development of skills in communication, particularly reading and listening, embellishes the perception of knowledge in any discipline, and the development of writing and speaking skills deepens the comprehension of disciplinary knowledge. Mastery of quantitative skills aids students in their ability to gather and use data to make empirical decisions. Acquisition of technical skills, especially those needed for using word processing, presentation, and statistical software and for accessing resources on the Internet, enables students to gather, analyze, and express ideas effectively and persuasively. Course work here provides the core of the Westminster General Education Program, as it is required of all students. Students are required to complete the following courses:

ENG 103 Academic Writing (3 hrs): An introduction to writing at the college level, based on the ?process approach?; accordingly, reading, thinking, and writing are treated as integrated skills, and
revision is viewed as an integral part of the writing process. In addition, word processing and use of electronic media are essential skills taught in the course.
MAT 114 Elementary Statistics (3 hrs) or MAT 124 Calculus I (5 hrs): An exploration of numerical data for the purpose of developing quantitative and problem solving skills, as well as expertise with worksheets and other computational software.
WSM 101 or 102 Westminster Seminar (1-3 hrs.): The Westminster Seminar investigates ways of knowing, showing students at the basic level how liberally-educated minds go about organizing the inquiries we conduct in various disciplines. Using active learning strategies, the course emphasizes processes, tools, and systems used in scholarly inquiry. The course promotes listening, speaking, and critical thinking skills and is delivered in small tutorial sections designed to stimulate intellectual questioning and establish frequent exchanges between students and Westminster faculty.
LST 101 The Leader Within (1 hr.): This course introduces all first-year students to the College's challenge of "developing leaders in a global community" by first becoming engaged, responsible members of the college learning community. Students will explore the meaning of "personal leadership" and ways in which they will make meaningful contributions to our campus and in the world. Additionally, they will develop a plan for academic and co-curricular success, become acquainted with Westminster's history, values, mission, and campus support services, and begin appreciating the value of a liberal arts education. Topics will engage students in discussions regarding life decisions and first-year transitional issues, including the areas of relationship-building, cross-cultural understanding, ethical leadership, wellness, and academic practices.
FL101 (4 hrs.): An introduction to a foreign language for the purpose of gaining insight into diverse languages and cultures.

In this second tier of the General Education Program, the emphasis shifts from developing capacities to exploring the fundamental ideas, questions, and methods of inquiry that mark several academic disciplines. Course work here is intended to ensure adequate educational breadth. However, the aim is not simply the accumulation of knowledge; rather, courses also relate how particular disciplines formulate and evaluate their beliefs.

The various modes of inquiry used by the disciplines yield contexts for understanding ourselves and our world. The six contexts that comprise Tier II are identified below along with the number of courses needed to complete the context. Specific courses approved to fulfill each context requirement are listed in the Schedule of Classes each semester. No course shall satisfy more than one context. Students must complete the following requirements in the Contexts Tier:

Scientific Inquiry Context: Two courses required; at least one course will include both a lecture and a laboratory.
Historical Perspectives Context: Two courses required.
Fundamental Questions and Values Context: One course required with meaningful study of values and fundamental questions of existence.
Artistic Expression and Critical Appreciation Context: Two courses required, at least one of which must be a course in literature.
Human Behavior and Social Institutions Context: Three courses required with courses in three disciplines.
Cultural Diversity and Global Interdependence Context: Two courses are required to fulfill this context. First, a second course of study in a foreign language, an approved study abroad experience, or a course focusing on a culture in which the language studied is spoken. In addition, students must complete a course with a significant non-Western (e.g., African, Asian, Latin American, or indigenous) component.

While the Contexts Tier allows students to explore the unique content and methodologies of various academic disciplines, there are subsequent needs to integrate disciplinary knowledge and to explore its relevance to contemporary issues and problems. Therefore, the General Education program requires a single course to be completed in the junior or senior year that draws together students from various disciplines for the sake of sharing their perspectives and discovering how an integrative approach can enrich understanding and facilitate solutions. Several courses will be offered annually. These courses require students to address contemporary issues and problems using a higher level of integrative and analytic skills than in previous general education courses. Further, integrative tier courses require students to share insights and conclusions about the issues at hand in research papers, essays, projects, and/or presentations.

Students must complete one integrative course (3 hours) approved by the Curriculum Committee. Students who successfully complete majors in any approved program of interdisciplinary study which is not housed in a single department will have automatically satisfied the Tier III requirement, if one of the courses successfully completed to satisfy major requirements is an approved Tier III course. A student taking an integrative course taught by a member of his or her major department may apply the course to satisfy 1) major requirements, or 2) the integrative requirement of the new Foundations General Education program, but not both.

Requirements

Earn the following credits in the Foundational Tier courses
(students entering Westminster are expected to enroll in these
courses or, in the case of MAT 114 or MAT124, an appropriate
prerequisite, in their first semester):


ENG 103 Academic Writing	3 hrs.
MAT 114 Elementary Statistics or MAT 124 Calculus I	3-5 hrs.
WSM 101 Westminster Seminar	3 hrs.
FL101, initial semester of foreign language	4 hrs.
Total	13-15 hrs.

Earn the following credits in the Context Tier courses:

Scientific Inquiry	7-8 hrs.
Historical Perspectives	6 hrs.
Fundamental Questions and Values	3 hrs.
Artistic Expression and Critical Appreciation	6 hrs.
Human Behavior and Social Institutions	9 hrs.
Cultural Diversity and Global Interdependence	6-7 hrs.
Total	37-39hrs.

Successfully complete an Integrative Tier course 3 hrs.

Total General Education Credit Hour Requirements: 53-57 hrs.

Earn 122 semester hours of course credit, with a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in the hours presented for graduation. No more than 2 hours of credit in developmental courses, 2 hours of credit in physical education activity courses, 7 hours of credit in 399 courses (internships), or 18 hours of credit in military science courses may be counted toward the minimum 122 credit hours required for graduation.
(a) Earn credit in ENG 103, a three-hour course in composition. All students entering Westminster College should enroll in (and remain enrolled in) ENG 103.
(b) Earn credit in two courses designated as Writing Intensive (WI) in the Schedule of Classes published each semester. The first course must be taken by the end of the sophomore year. At least one of the courses must be an upper-level course. Students transferring credit in composition must take three WI courses, with at least one upper-level course.

This writing requirement has been established in conjunction with Westminster's Writing Across the Curriculum Program, which views critical thinking and clear writing as integral to a liberal arts education and as essential to life beyond college. WI courses are not composition courses per se, but rather courses in various subject areas that pay particular attention to writing as a learning tool. While all courses at Westminster involve writing to some extent, each WI course assures that students will use writing as a means of learning the course material. During writing intensive courses students will produce written assignments at various times throughout the course and revise some portion of their work, they will study and practice writing in the discipline, and have individual conferences with the professor. These courses are specially designed to offer students the opportunity to learn about writing in the fields that interest them the most. WI courses are offered in almost every department. While courses are not designated WI in the catalog, they are noted as such in the Schedule of Classes published each semester.
Earn credit in one physical education activity course.
Complete at least 48 semester hours as a Westminster student, including the two semesters immediately prior to graduation. If necessary to meet requirements for a degree, a student may take up to 9 credit hours of approved courses at another institution after the last two semesters in residence. Any exception to this requirement must have the approval of the Vice President and Dean of Faculty.
Be certified by a department as having met the department's requirements for a major. No more than 40 credit hours in any one major subject may be counted toward the 122 credit hours required for graduation.
Complete one 3-hour, upper-level course that is housed in a division other than that of the student's major department. A student with more than one major will have fulfilled the requirement if two majors are housed in different academic divisions.

A student with an interdisciplinary major will have fulfilled the requirement if he or she has successfully completed upper-level coursework for that major from an academic division other than the one in which the major is housed. A student with an interdisciplinary self-designed major will have fulfilled the requirement if he or she has successfully completed at least on upper-level course in two different academic divisions.
All students must complete the College's "New Foundations" general education program. (See detailed requirements below.) This distinctive three-tiered curriculum provides the initial learning experience for all students, regardless of intended major or career objectives. New Foundations consists of seventeen courses chosen to enhance understanding of one's self and the world. Through this curriculum students develop dispositions and capacities that promote and enable lifelong learning as well as effective participation in society.