Posts Tagged ‘unique college’

Wave Goodbye to Ho-Hum Housing: Enter Wofford College and The Village

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Most college students can’t wait to ditch their 8×8 college dorm rooms for off-campus housing.  But at Wofford College, senior students are happily turning to an unusual housing option: apartment-style. We haven’t heard of students being excited about living on campus …until now! Laura Corbin, the Director of News Services, tells all!

The Village Housing at Wofford College: apartment-style living for senior students

Courtesy of Wofford College

So, what is The Village at Wofford College?
The Village is a complex of apartment-style housing in a neighborhood setting at Wofford College.  Each apartment has four bedrooms, two full baths, a common living room, full kitchen and dining area, and each unit comes with a porch or patio complete with its own rocking chairs.

The apartments are arranged in a variety of buildings – single-story one-apartment houses up to two-story apartments with four apartments.  The styles and colors of the buildings vary, providing a break from traditional row after row of look-alike apartment buildings.

Our readers are definitely not thrilled with the thoughts of 8×8 dorms.  What are the perks of living in The Village?
The Village is filled with perks.  Aside from apartments that mimic what students will see as they move out into the world on their own, The Village provides for opportunities for students to gather in commons areas – such as the amphitheater where outdoor concerts are held, the bocce ball courts, the beach volleyball courts or the basketball courts.  The Village also is next door to the campus tennis courts.  In addition, the full kitchens give students the chance to cook their own meals, and host their fellow students as well as faculty for meals and social activities.

The Village Housing at Wofford College

Courtesy of Wofford College

Why keep Wofford College senior students on campus?
Keeping senior students on campus does a number of things.  First, it’s an opportunity to bring the senior class back together, again to foster that collegiality.  They have been “mixed together” with sophomores and juniors after having spent their first year together in freshmen residence halls.

Coming back as seniors gives them a chance to enjoy their final year of college together.  Also, having the seniors together in The Village provides a great transition out into the world.  The apartment-style housing gives the sense of more independence, and allows the seniors to prepare for even more of that when they graduate and move on with their lives, probably living in apartments of their own.

Did we see something about front porch rocking chairs and borrow-a-bike program?  Now that’s just cool.  What else does The Village offer its residents?
Yes, each apartment comes with its own rocking chairs on its front porches, encouraging students to sit outside and chat, wave and talk with each other as they walk to their own apartments, and just chill out.  The camps also has a borrow-a-bike program.  In addition to the bocce, basketball and volleyball, The Village also has open green spaces for cookouts, Frisbee throwing and other outdoor activities.  A Village laundry center also has study and meeting spaces.

Wofford College's Phase 5 of the ever-expanding The Village housing!

Courtesy of Wofford College

Anything else we should know?
Absolutely!  The Village is expanding, opening Phase V this fall.  This phase features room for 80 students in loft-style apartments on the upper two floors of a three-story building that will anchor The Village area.

The facility will feature the Grand Galleria, an open-air eating and gathering space that will allow easy access and encourage flow into and through the building.  It also will include a deli/market for The Village students to do their grocery shopping for fresh food preparation.

There will be other meeting spaces, high-technology classrooms, and the Center for Professional Excellence, which houses Wofford’s Career Services, Success Initiative and other programs aimed at providing students with necessary skills to move into their careers or graduate programs.

Who We Are: Information you can trust. For 20 years My College Guide has produced an annual magazine chock full of free college info for high-achieving high school sophomores. Check out our participating colleges. If you’re a student, enter for a chance to win an Apple iPad or iPhone or cash!

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Posted in Choosing a College, College Campus, College Life, Housing | No Comments »

Lawrence University’s Crown Jewel: Bjorklunden

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Some colleges can point to a strong liberal arts background. Others can mention inclusion on the Colleges that Change Lives list. Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin can do both — and they’ve got one more unusual feature: Bjorklunden. Referred to as the Northern Campus, Bjorklunden is part of what makes Lawrence University so unique. What is Bjorklunden? For starters, it’s an amazing student resource.

Bjorklundlen Image Courtesy of Lawrence University

Courtesy of Lawrence University

Special thanks to Ken Anselment, the director of admissions at Lawrence University, for taking time out a busy season to share Bjorklunden with us!

Okay, so, what is Bjorklunden?
A beautiful lodge nestled in 425 wooded Door County, Wisconsin, acres with more than a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline. A resort community? Almost.

It’s Bjorklunden Vid Sjon (Norwegian for the “birch forest by the water.”) The lodge sleeps about 100, and is decked out with a mudroom and wet lab, seminar rooms, observation decks (for telescopic views of the crystal clear skies of Door County), and music rooms, including a performance hall.

Bjorklunden doesn’t just sit there and look pretty? Students can actually have classes here?
About three-quarters of our students head up here at least once a year for French immersion programs, music recitals, cross-country practices, field research—or sometimes just to get away from it all.

Bjorklundlen Image Courtesy of Lawrence University

Courtesy of Lawrence University

What happens in the summer when students leave campus? Are there other ways that students use Bjorklunden?
Students also use Bjorklunden as a place for summer employment. Living and working in Door County, Wisconsin’s premiere summer vacation destination, is a pretty good gig.

We also use the facility throughout the summer to offer seminars to the community on topics as varied as you can imagine: “Beauty Will Save the World: Dostoevsky’s The Idiot;” “The Comic Genius of Aristophanes;” “Basic Crossword Construction;” “Angels, Bird Droppings, and Fish Liver: The Book of Tobit.”

How do you believe a Lawrence University student’s education is enriched by this unique northern campus?
Lawrence is a community of micro-communities, and a great way to see that in action is to spend a weekend at Bjorklunden, where you’ll have students from diverse backgrounds but with a common affinity—they all play bass, or they’re all biology majors, just to cite a couple of examples—have a shared residential, dining and social experience beyond the reason they’re gathering. It’s a great way to forge more connections for when they return to campus.

Bjorklundlen Image Courtesy of Lawrence University

Courtesy of Lawrence University

Anything else you would like to add that our college bound readers need to know?
Few (if any) colleges are so fortunate as to have this kind of asset available for student, faculty, staff and community use. It really is one of the crown jewels of Lawrence University.

My College Guide thinks it sounds pretty incredible, too – and what better way to get a feel for a college like Lawrence University than with the college campus visit?

Who We Are: Information you can trust. For 20 years My College Guide has produced an annual magazine chock full of free college info for high-achieving high school sophomores. Check out our participating colleges. If you’re a student, enter for a chance to win an Apple iPad or iPhone or cash!

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Posted in Choosing a College, College Campus, College Classes, College Life, Fun Stuff | 1 Comment »

Second Life and Higher Education: Endless Possibility

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Second Life is a fun way for colleges to engage, connect, and keep costs down – and that’s good news for everyone!  It’s no wonder that it is quickly becoming the go-to platform for colleges to reach out to the higher ed community.

The Sistine Chapel recreated on Vassar College's Second Life Island

Gary Hayes/Gary Hayes

From interacting with the world or just a select few, Second Life lets colleges choose who has access to what, which makes seminars and classes possible — and stops griefers (a term to describe attention-seeking, and unwelcome, SL users).

Colleges are incorporating elements of campus life into Second Life. The University of Kentucky isn’t the only college to embrace the possibilities of Second Life.  For example, The University of North Carolina Pembroke has over 50 different Second Life locations that range from a wheat field to an art gallery in addition to the usual computer labs and classrooms.

The University of California Irvine has created a virtual library on Anteater Island, which faculty and students have integrated into University of California Irvine college classes, like Reasoning and Modeling with Graphical Models and Computer Games as Art, Culture and Technology.

Sometimes higher education takes Second Life construction beyond anything you would find on campus!  You can view the beauty of the Sistine Chapel without ever leaving home – if you head to the Sistine Chapel on Vassar Island.  Indiana University, and the IU-based Synthetic Worlds Initiative, has created a slew of virtual reality worlds, from Shakespearean Arden and the Victorian-era LondownTown, to Greenland, which investigates trade and diplomacy in the Stone Age, and United Islands, a more modern look at government.

Unusual or everyday, the main point of higher education on Second Life is to enhance learning.  As the University of Oregon (and its partners) know, learning languages can be rough, especially with a tonal language like Chinese.  So – they created MyChina Life, a Second Life world to help students study the Chinese language by actually interacting with Chinese speakers!

North Carolina State University Second Life Campus

orionpozo

Second Life is becoming almost indispensable to Health related industries.  In a very real, as it happens kind of way, the platform provides a way to test trainees on reaction and knowledge.  The University of Kansas Medical Center’s uses Second Life simulations for its Nurse Anesthesia Education Program.

The University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health created a program to test public health officials at their ability to handle various disasters (think small pox or anthrax).  Idaho State University uses SL for its bioterrorism awareness and preparedness program – testing response reactions to man-made or nature related crises.

Want more?  The University of Texas purchased over 50 Second Life regions in 2009 for a campus-wide (and beyond) level of learning and sharing – and to help the university “go green.”  Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Buena Vista University, and Montana State University’s Creative Research Lab are a handful of other colleges that have become a part of Second Life!  The State University of New York doesn’t have a campus wide presence just yet – but they do have plenty of sub-groups!

Colleges and universities are interested in spreading knowledge too – and host virtual events!  Drexel University recently hosted the virtual symposium Education for Everyone.  Emerson College provided a place on its island for the Floating 6 Event to take place, an event that encourages discussion regarding art and video games.

There are many ways that colleges and universities are using Second Life – it’s unbelievable!  These are just a few examples – know of any others?  Share your observations in the comments section below.

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Posted in Choosing a College, College Campus, College Classes, College Life, Fun Stuff, Online Tools, Preparing for College, Technology | 1 Comment »

Want a Unique Academic Experience? Try One of These Schools.

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
768px-EdithKinneyGaylordCornerstoneArtsBldg-TimothyHursley

Timothy Hursley

At most colleges, you need to complete two full years of general education requirements and then focus on your major requirements. You take between three and five courses at a time, and are graded on a scale from A to F. But some unique liberal arts colleges are bucking the trend, establishing innovative academic programs that help students to discover and engage with their passions. If you don’t want a run-of-the-mill academic experience, take a look at these unique schools.

Colorado College. This small school in gorgeous Colorado Springs offers the unique Block Plan, which allows students to focus on one course at a time for a three-and-a-half week period (though some intensive courses require multiple “blocks”). This innovative structure gives students the opportunity to plunge into their studies, engaging in field trips and independent projects along with several hours a day of classroom instruction and discussion. There are rarely any lectures: the average course size is just 16 students. After the intense block course is over, students have 4-and-a-half day weekends, in which they can either relax on campus or take advantage of one of the school’s many adventure excursions, such as hiking or mountain biking.

St. John’s College. This small school has two campuses: one in Anapolis, Maryland, and another in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The lecturers are folks you may have heard of: Plato, Aristotle, and Freud, to name just a few. Rather than spotlighting individual professors’ courses, the entire school follows a Great Books curriculum, in which all students spend the first two years reading, discussing, and engaging with the same books and other media, ranging from the ancient to the modern. There are no lectures; instead, students are given the chance to debate ideas and philosophies on equal ground with their instructors. And you won’t find any textbooks teaching you how to interpret the texts: here, the classic books, and your fellow students and professors, are your only guides.

Brown University. Brown is part of the Ivy League, but has vetoed the competitive academic atmosphere of its counterparts in favor of a more flexible curriculum, focused on the students’ interests. At the school, there are no general education requirements; students are allowed to enroll in any courses they choose, including classes at the nearby Rhode Island School of Design. There’s also no need to worry about grades for courses outside of your concentration: students may elect to take courses for “satisfactory” or “no credit,” which means that the fear of not performing up to par won’t stop them from trying something new.

Reed College. At Reed College, in Portland, Oregon, students work with professors in 10-to-1 ratios, typically in roundtable conference style. Though they receive grades at the end of courses, they aren’t mailed to the students, and few are aware of their GPAs—discussion and engagement with the courses are far more important than exam scores. The rigorous academic program concludes with a year-long senior thesis, which can be anything from a scientific project to a novel-length book, which students will then defend before faculty members. Reed also offers a unique program called Paideia, which allows anyone—faculty, students, and janitors alike—to create their own weeklong courses, which have included esoteric subjects like Underwater Basket Weaving and Garden Gnome Construction.

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Judge Judy 101? Five of the Weirdest College Courses Around

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

You might think of college as a time to knuckle down on Marxist theory, organic chemistry, advanced French poetry, and other courses involving copious note-taking and tortuous final exams—but while you’re likely to deal with plenty of complex courses, many schools also offer a selection of subjects on the lighter side. While these courses may not be any easier to pass than their classic counterparts, they sure seem like a lot more fun.

Whether you’re a Harry Potter obsessive, a Trekkie, or a daytime court show junkie, you’re sure to find something to appeal to you here—check out My College Guide’s list of the top five unique college courses.

Spiderman_movieScience from Superheroes to Global Warming – UC Irvine

Did you ever wonder how exactly Spiderman climbs those 500-foot skyscrapers? How did Superman get his x-ray vision? In the freshman-level course “Science from Superheroes to Global Warming” at University of California, Irvine, Professor Michael Dennin ponders these and other physics-based questions with his students, helping them learn about the properties of physics through an exploration of iconic superheroes and their powers.  It’s probably one of the only classes in the world where Marvel Comics are required reading – and best of all, if you can’t make it to Irvine, you can take the course online for free, through UC Irvine’s OpenWare program.

TOS-Crew0Religions of Star Trek – Muhlenberg College

In Professor Susan Schwartz’s “Religions of Star Trek” class at Muhlenberg College, students watch episodes of the classic show and discuss the religious views of Captain Spock and the rest of the crew. Though the course deals with fictionalized religions, it provides the students with a lens to look at ethics and religion as a whole, without focusing on the religions that they know. The course lets students “step back and look at religion as part psychology, part philosophy, part artistic expression and performance ritual,” Schwartz told the Christian Science Monitor.

flat_screen_gino_rivera_01.svg.medLearning from YouTube – Pitzer College

If YouTube has taught you anything, it’s probably something along the lines of not to go sticking your fingers into baby’s mouths. But according to Alexandra Juhasz, a media studies professor from Pitzer College, the massive video site has plenty to teach us about society. In the class, students are required to watch YouTube videos and leave comments, and even upload their own videos to the site (including profound thought pieces like a video of a boy eating a ham sandwich). Fittingly, the class is also available on YouTube for public viewing.

Judge_Judy

Susan Roberts

What can Judge Judy teach you about the legal system? Probably not much, actually—but in this Rhetoric class at UC Berkeley, students will learn about the subversion of logic common to court TV shows, in which defendants repeatedly use nonsensical arguments. The course stresses that it is not a primer in legal studies, but rather an exploration of reality TV pseudo-logic, and why so many people seem to fall for it. But if courthouse reality shows are your guilty pleasure, this class provides the perfect justification for flipping on the TV every morning. Just remember to take notes!

250px-Harry_Potter_BooksHarry Potter 101 – various schools

Finally, where would we be without a college course dedicated to the teachings of J.K. Rowling? There are many courses that analyze the science, philosophy, and literary pedigree of the entire Harry Potter oeuvre, so take your pick from the lot. Even the Ivies are getting in on the act: Yale now offers Christian Theology and Harry Potter, which analyzes the world of the warlock, and how it fits with Christian themes like innocence, sin, and resurrection. Harry Potter may not seem like the academic type, but the books are actually a perfect fit: since most college students have grown up reading about the child warlock, he’s the perfect guide to more challenging subjects. “It’s amazing how many connections you can draw between the theology that we’re reading outside of class and the Harry Potter that we’ve known for 10 years,” a student from the course, Cat Terrell, told CNN.

Whether you’ve already graduated or you’re currently sifting through course catalogs, you’re sure to have stumbled on some other wacky course offerings. Tell us about your favorites in the comment section below!

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Posted in College Classes, College Life | 9 Comments »