The Academic Program: An Overview and Introduction

Introduction

Guilford stresses breadth and rigor in its academic program. As a Quaker-founded college, it offers an educational experience that emphasizes the study of human values and the inter-relatedness of the world's knowledge and cultures.

The curriculum prescribes for all students a basic framework from which they choose courses. This framework consists of a set of general education requirements and 38 major fields in which students can pursue studies in depth.

Guilford also supports students in creating individualized programs and in selecting studies which will best contribute to their own development and interests. Faculty advisors readily assist students in exploring their interests and abilities and in relating their courses of study to future plans.

Students with varied talents and aims may profit from different methods of instruction. Guilford deliberately offers a selection of educational experiences: courses combining lectures with discussion or laboratory; seminars demanding more direct participation by the student; and opportunities for independent study.

The college encourages off-campus learning and foreign study, and advisors help students design internships in the community as a way of relating study and work experiences.

The Five Academic Principles

These principles govern all courses and other educational experiences at the college:

Innovative, student-centered learning
Guilford embraces effective and adventurous pedagogy. Learning formats are chosen to promote dynamic exchange among students and between students and faculty.
Throughout, Guilford places the individual student at the core of its educational mission. In an environment committed to the value of interdependence, each student is encouraged to develop an individual viewpoint through the sharing of ideas with other members of the college's intentionally diverse community.
Challenge to engage in creative and critical thinking
Guilford emphasizes these activities: identifying and solving problems; delving below the surface of things to understand phenomena in their complexity; considering how frameworks and perspectives affect observations and analyses; appreciating the interplay of believing and doubting; and combining intuition, imagination, and the aesthetic sense with reasoning, quantitative analyses, and factual knowledge.
Students learn not only to develop and synthesize ideas but also to articulate them clearly via the spoken and written word and other forms of creative expression. In particular, Guilford emphasizes writing as a mode of both learning and communicating, and thus students write intensively throughout their years here. Guilford especially values courses that connect different ways of knowing: hence the college's interdisciplinary emphasis.
Cultural and global perspectives
Guilford strives to prepare students to be citizens of the world. Thus the curriculum is designed to encourage students and faculty to respect and learn from people of other cultures and also to foster an understanding of ecological relationships within the natural environment. By interacting with people from different cultures and gaining sensitivity to other ways of life, students deepen their academic investigation of Western and other traditions. In the process, students are challenged to envision better societies and to work collectively with others toward mutual benefit.
Values and the ethical dimension of knowledge
The Quaker ethos deeply influences the academic program as it does all other aspects of college life. In particular, the curriculum nurtures the spiritual dimension of wonder, the pursuit of meaning in life, and sensitivity to the sacred. It also promotes consciousness of those values necessary to successful inquiry: honesty, simplicity, equality, tolerance.
The college's courses explore the ethical dimension of knowledge. This often requires close attention to such issues as gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social justice, and socioeconomics in historical and contemporary contexts.
Focus on practical application: vocation and service to the larger community
Noting Quaker founder George Fox's call for schools to teach "things civil and useful," Guilford's teachers help their students choose majors and sequences of supporting courses that fit their interests and aptitudes and lead to work and service possibilities that will bring personal fulfillment and challenge. The college also upholds each individual's obligation to the larger community: thus its commitment to personal responsibility, social justice, world peace, service, and ethical behavior. Rooted in the Society of Friends' social testimonies, the college aims to help its graduates learn to evaluate the effects of their actions and the implications of their decisions.

The Curriculum

The curriculum consists of five tiers:

I. Foundations

II. Explorations (Breadth and Critical Perspectives)

III. Major

IV. Minor

V. Capstone

Students must complete requirements in each of these five tiers. The general education requirements consist of the Foundations, Explorations and Capstone tiers. Students need a minimum of 128 credits for graduation, so the remaining courses a student takes may either count as electives or establish a second major and/or minor. Students who expect to study abroad or who plan to spend a semester off campus in an internship program should plan ahead carefully to fulfill requirements.

** General Education Requirements **

I. Foundations

Throughout their time at Guilford, students will develop skill competencies in the following specific areas:

Writing
Oral Communication
Research
Information Technology
Quantitative Reasoning

The platform for these competencies occurs generally in the Foundations courses; students then continue to develop these competenciesduring their course of studies.The IDS 400 courserepresents the completion of this development at Guilford.

The four required Foundations courses, which provide solid grounding in Guilford’s five academic principles, are:

1. The First Year Experience (FYE 101-cannot double count with major or minor, FYE 102). The First Year Experience is for traditional-age students. CCE students and graduates of The Early College at Guilford are exemptfrom this requirement. FYEaids in the academic and social transition to college life. This requirement includes a four-credit course and a one-credit lab. The four-credit course engages students in significant interactive and values-based inquiry. With a focus on speaking, listeningand experiential learning, each FYE course explores an interdisciplinary content area. The FYE 102 First Year Experience Lab helps introduce students to Guilford College and includes such topics as learning strategies, time management, computing, choice of career and major, library use and the honor code and academic honesty. The instructor for the course serves as the student's academic advisor until the student declares a major. If a traditional-age student enters with 12 or more transfer credits they are exempt from this requirement. Minimum grade to satisfy this requirement: D- for FYE. Students who fail this requirement may not retake this course but instead must take and pass (D- or better) an additional Historical Perspectives (see below) course or take and pass (D- or better) an additional interdisciplinary course (see below).

Traditional-age transfer students entering the spring semester with fewer than 12 credits must take the FYE 101, if offered, to satisfy the requirement. If the FYE 101 is not offered, the student must satisfy the requirement in one of the following three ways: (1) take FYE 101 in the following fall semester, (2) take a second IDS 400 or (3) take a non-IDS 400 course with interdisciplinary content that is approved by the FYE coordinator in consultation with the interdisciplinary division chair, and that is not being used to satisfy another requirement.

Adult Transitions (GST 101). This course, an equivalent of FYE 101, is limited to adults aged 23 years and older in their first term of courses at the college. Its curriculum is geared to first-time college students or students who performed less than optimally in their prior college experience. The course acclimates students to the rigor of academics at Guilford, orients students to the college and emphasizes critical thinking and analytical, critical reading and critical writing skills at the college level. The instructor of the course serves as the student’s academic advisor for the first semester, after which the student is assigned an advisor in the major.

2. College Reading and Writing: Many Voices (ENGL 102). This course provides a main site for identifying and working on the reading and writing skills that students need as members of the Guilford community. Course emphases include invention, arrangement, style, revision and editing, as well as college-level reading strategies.

Embracing the value of multicultural issues and perspectives in our society, the theme of the course is “Many Voices.” Readings celebrate a range of diverse populations that collectively define the American landscape, groups including Native Americans and Americans of African, Asian, Hispanic, Jewish and Arab descent.

To enroll in ENGL 102 requires a prerequisite of either a C- or better in ENGL 101, SAT/ACT scores of 530/23, or placement by the writing director. The English department reviews student essays at the beginning of each semester to confirm correct placement.Students with scores of three, four or five on an English AP exam are exempt from ENGL 102

Minimum grade to satisfy this requirement: D-.

3. Historical Perspectives. (Offered by departments throughout the college). This course focuses on historical change and how individuals and groups both initiate change and respond to social, economic and political forces. Taught by professors from across the college, Historical Perspectives courses link with College Reading and Writing in a two-semester first-year writing sequence. Course focuses include critical and research writing and responsible use of the Internet. Historical Perspectives courses are indicated with the letters “HP” at the beginning of the course title. Courses without this designation will not satisfy this requirement. This course may not double count with Breadth, but can double count with Critical Perspectives.

Minimum grade to satisfy this requirement: D-.

4. Foreign Language. This course provides an intensive, interactive experience in learning a foreign language and culture that prepares students to continue to be lifelong learners of languages and cultures. All incoming students without relevant transfer credits who have taken more than one year of either French, German or Spanish in high school and who wish to continue studying that same language must take a placement exam in the appropriate language before enrolling in a foreign language course. Students who score below the minimum (see below) must satisfy the foreign language requirement by taking a 101-level course. Such courses are offered in Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.

CCE students may also satisfy this requirement either by passing the foreign language placement exam or taking a 101-level course in Chinese, French, German, Japanese or Spanish. CCE students may also take Spanish or French 111. Traditional-age students are not eligible to take SPAN 111.

For the foreign language requirement to be waived, a student must qualify for a learning disability as defined by the state of North Carolina. If the foreign language waiver is granted, the student must substitute a course with an international or intercultural emphasis that has been approved by the foreign language department.

Foreign students whose native language is not English will be exempted from the foreign language requirement. No credit will be awarded for their native language unless they wish to enroll in an advanced-level course.

Minimum grade to satisfy this requirement: D-.

Spanish Placement Exam
SCORE	SUGGESTED PLACEMENT
below 286	Spanish 101
286-374	Spanish 102
375-440	Spanish 201
above 440	Spanish 220
German Placement Exam
SCORE	SUGGESTED PLACEMENT
below 328	German 101
328-416	German 102
417-548	German 201
above 548	German 202
French Placement Exam
SCORE	SUGGESTED PLACEMENT
below 280	French 101
280-357	French 102
358-392	French 201
above 392	French 202
There is no placement exam for Chinese or Japanese.

However, students who have studied Chinese previously are encouraged to speak with Dasa Mortensen, and those who have previously studied Japanese are encouraged to speak with Hiroko Hirakawa, before enrolling in a course in either of these languages.

Quantitative Literacy. Guilford also has a Quantitative Literacy requirement. Students may satisfy it in several ways:

1. Earning a Math SAT score of 650,

2. Receiving a score of 15 or below on the Guilford Quantitative Literacy test

3. Taking GST 110, a 2 credit course that focuses on quantitative literacy or

4. Passing any mathematics course offered at Guilford or a transfer course equivalent.

II. Explorations

A. Breadth

To gain educational experiences in each of the five disciplinary divisions, students are required to take one “Breadth” course in each of these divisions. The following list identifies these disciplinary divisions, as well as the academic departments belonging to each (interdisciplinary programs like African American studies and environmental studies span the areas of study but are not primarily located in any one of them).

Not all courses taught in each of these divisions will satisfy this requirement. Those courses that do satisfy one of the Breadth requirements are so identified in individual course descriptions.

Arts

Art, Music, Theatre Studies

Business and Policy Studies

Accounting, Business Management, Justice and Policy Studies, Sport Studies

Humanities

English, Foreign Languages, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies

Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Biology, Chemistry, Geology and Earth Sciences, Physics

Social Science

Economics, Education Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology

Minimum grade to satisfy the Breadth requirement: D- in each of the courses taken to satisfy this requirement.

B. Critical Perspectives

Additionally, each student must complete three specially designated critical perspective courses. These three courses can double-count with Breadth courses, a Historical Perspectives course, major and minor courses or a capstone course. Those courses that will satisfy the Critical Perspectives requirement are so identified in individual course descriptions. Only courses so designated may be used to satisfy this requirement. The three categories are:

1. Intercultural, which focuses on an approved course on Africa, Asia, Latin America or the Middle East.

2. Social Justice/Environmental Responsibility, which focuses on race, class, gender, sexual orientation or the environment.

3. Diversity in the U.S., which explores sub-cultures within the United States.

Minimum grade to satisfy the Critical Perspectives requirement: D- in each of the courses taken to satisfy one of the three requirements.

III. The Major

Each student must choose a major field of specialization. It is expected that students should declare a major on-line by the time they have earned 32 credit hours. Students may pursue options outlined below, including disciplinary majors, double majors, joint majors or interdisciplinary majors.

For a student to earn a major at Guilford, the student must complete at least half of the major credit requirements at Guilford. This requirement applies to all majors a student earns. If a student returns to Guilford following graduation to complete a second major, the designation of the original major will not be changed, but a notation will be made that the requirements for the second major have been met.

Minimum grade to satisfy the major: C- in each of the courses required for the major.

Disciplinary Majors

All majors require a minimum of 32 credit hours. Certain majors require a larger number of credit hours. See the information about the specific department in Chapter IV for all requirements for completing that major.

Major programs in accounting, business management, community and justice studies, computer information systems, criminal justice, education (K-6), education (9-12), forensic biology, history, political science and psychology may be completed through either daytime or evening classes.

The major must be earned at Guilford.

Double Majors

A double major is two distinct majors of which one must be a disciplinary major. To earn a double major, a student must complete all requirements for each of the two majors. With a double major, no minor is required for graduation. If these two majors offer different degrees (A.B., B.S., B.F.A.), only one degree will be awarded to the student. The student will choose which degree is awarded. Both majors, however, will be listed on the student’s permanent academic transcript.

Students wishing to have more than one major must take a minimum of 32 credit hours in each major. The 32 credit hours for each major must not overlap with the other major.

Both majors must be earned at Guilford.

Joint Majors

A student may choose to petition for a joint major in two disciplines, involving a waiver of the 32-credit requirement for a major, subject to the following limitations:

the total number of credits earned for the combination of the two majors cannot be fewer than 56 and for either one of the majors cannot be fewer than 24.

both departments involved in the joint major must approve of the joint major, and either department may prescribe any or all courses that must be completed satisfactorily.

the associate academic dean must approve the joint major (for consideration, the petition must be brought to the associate academic dean at least one semester in advance of the intended graduation date).

interdisciplinary majors cannot be used as one of the two majors.

There are normally two types of joint majors:

Students may joint-major in two closely related fields, such as mathematics and physics, taking some coursesthat areappropriate for both. Or a student wishing to major in psychology and in sociology and anthropology might petition for a joint major utilizing the course in Class, Race and Gender for both.

Students may, with the advice and consent of two departments, wish to focus upon two very different areas, perhaps on one of the traditional arts and sciences and on one of the pre-professional fields. Such a student might petition for a joint major, for example, in art and business management.

Both majors must be earned at Guilford.

Interdisciplinary majors

A student selecting an interdisciplinary major completes a minimum of 32 credit hours (eight courses) in that field as specified by the program. With the exception of Integrative studies and peace and conflict studies, all interdisciplinary majors require that students double-major with a disciplinary major. Both majors must be completed at Guilford.

IV. The Minor

In addition to the major course work, each student who is not pursuing a double major, triple major, joint major, B.F.A. degree, or an Integrative Studies major must choose a minor. A minor is a focused collection of a minimum of 16 credit hours that either provide a second, mini-depth area or involve study related to the major. Students are free to take any minor so long as it does not have the same name as the major: thus an English major would not be able to use an English minor to satisfy the minor requirement. Other conditions for combining specific majors and minors are described for specific departments in Chapter IV. Minors may be either disciplinary or interdisciplinary.

Minimum grade to satisfy the minor: D- in each of the courses required for the minor.

Students should declare a minor on-line by the time they have earned 32 credit hours.

V. Capstone (IDS 400)

Each student who has senior status (a minimum of 88 credits completed) must take an interdisciplinary studies (IDS) course with a 400-level prefix (e.g., IDS 412: Nature, Culture, Religion). Students may take an IDS 400 class before they have earned 88 credit hours; however, under no circumstances will the course satisfy the IDS requirement if the student has not already completed 88 credit hours prior to when the course began.

The IDS course will allow students to draw upon the knowledge and skills gained from previous college work and explore issues that cross traditional disciplinary lines. Cross-disciplinary writing will be a principal focus.

The IDS may only double-count with critical perspectives, minor or an Interdisciplinary major.

VI. Electives

Sufficient electives are needed to fill out the minimum of 128 credits needed for graduation. Electives may be taken in any department or field to supplement the student’s interests.

There are some limitations on the number of credit hours a student may earn in independent studies, internships and physical education classes. For detailed restrictions please refer to the sections on independent studies, internships and physical education classes.

Accreditation & Affiliation

Guilford is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30330-4097; telephone number 404-679-4501; www.sacscoc.org) to award baccalaureate degrees. It is also affiliated with the Council on Post-secondary Education.

Guilford is on the list of colleges and universities approved by the American Medical Association, and the teacher education program is accredited by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Credits earned at Guilford are accepted at face value in admission to graduate and professional schools and in certification of teaching.

Guilford holds membership in a number of organizations formed by colleges and universities: the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the North Carolina Adult Education Association, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the North Carolina Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the North Carolina Honors Association, the National Collegiate Honors Council, the Friends Association for Higher Education, The College Board, the Southern University Conference and the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Universities.

Guilford is listed in the Baccalaureate Colleges-Liberal Arts category by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.