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We believe the best educational experiences we can provide for you are
those that allow you to develop skills that will serve you throughout
a lifetime of learning. Consequently, we offer a curriculum founded upon
a rich and acknowledged liberal arts tradition. We offer five bachelor
degree programs, each with a common foundation of general education requirements
designed to support the educational goals of the College.
You may choose to major in any of the recognized disciplinary or inter-disciplinary
areas or, in consultation with a faculty committee, you may design your
own major to aid in any specific academic interest or goal you might
have. This option for allowing students to participate in designing their
own academic programs is one that we believe not only encourages enthusiasm
and responsibility but also adds to the intellectual vitality of the
College. We also provide for tutorials and independent study in which
you may pursue a topic of special interest in close cooperation with
a faculty member.
There is historically recognized a common body of knowledge and skills
possessed by well-educated people. Our degree requirements are framed
with that body of knowledge and skills in mind, and our courses are intended
to foster and preserve it. At the same time, we work hard to keep our
programs flexible, our courses up-to-date, and our outlook toward education
innovative. Therefore, three other types of learning experience are available:
practicums and internships in off-campus and non-traditional settings,
international experiences, and interim term projects.
The College operates on a four-one-four academic calendar, which means
that students enroll in four courses in the fall, one in the winter,
and four in the spring. The interim term each January offers students
an opportunity for intense investigation of a particular subject for
a period of approximately four weeks. It may be a project proposed by
a faculty member or one designed personally by you and a faculty sponsor;
it may be held on campus or anywhere off campus, domestic or foreign;
it may be an overall introduction to a subject area or a specialized
interest investigated in depth. Whatever the project you choose, interim
term is a time intended to provide you with a unique opportunity for
creative, experiential, and independent study.
Our obligation as a liberal arts college is to help you develop your
capacity to make and communicate responsible decisions based on information
accurately gathered and astutely analyzed. Guiding you to that end,
the faculty will direct you in developing your skills in reading, writing,
and speaking; in understanding the methods and principles of the sciences
and their significance in the modern world; in cultivating appreciation
of the arts; in understanding and appreciating our spiritual, social,
political, and economic institutions and heritage; and in achieving
competence in at least one field of knowledge that will help prepare
you for a profession or vocation.
Our faculty comprises a talented and well-qualified
group of men and women–more than ninety-two percent have a doctorate or the highest
degree granted in their field–who recognize effective teaching
as their primary obligation to the College. In class they present knowledgeable,
up-to-date material pertinent to their disciplines and strive to engage
students with that material. Out of class they make themselves available
for student inquiries, individual instruction, and directed research.
We believe personal attention to your individual academic concerns and
needs is an essential factor in the effectiveness of our teaching and
in the continuance of a healthy, inquisitive, intellectual environment.
While the faculty in general will be concerned with your scholastic
progress, you will be assigned one faculty member in particular to be
your advisor. This person will work with you in planning your course
schedules and in evaluating your progress toward your degree.
Because of its size, Birmingham-Southern enjoys
a small faculty-student ratio of 1:12. That, combined with a genuine
concern on the part of the
faculty for the total–intellectual and personal–welfare of
our students, creates an atmosphere in which many advisor-advisee relationships
become ones of friendly understanding and mutual respect. Especially
during your first year we encourage you to consult freely and frequently
with your advisor in adapting to all aspects of campus life.
Recognizing that not all student concerns might be dealt with by faculty
advisors, the College provides a Counseling and Health Services Center
staffed and equipped to give assistance in a variety of areas including
personal counseling, testing of aptitudes and vocational interests, and
career counseling. The Center also provides pre-professional guidance
through special advisors in the arts, behavioral and social sciences,
church-related vocations, economics and business administration, education,
health careers, and law.
The Student Government Association of Birmingham-Southern College, chartered
to operate under a constitution developed by students, faculty, and administrators
and approved by the Board of Trustees, is to a large measure responsible
for the self-governance of the student body. The SGA strives to create
and to maintain a well-balanced intellectual, educational, and social
program for all students.
One of the SGA’s most significant responsibilities
is the selection of the Honor Council, which handles any cases involving
students who
are accused of violating the Honor Code. If it determines that a student
has violated the Honor Code, the Council imposes appropriate penalties.
This process serves as an important force in maintaining the academic
integrity of the entire college community. Through this system of self-governance,
students play an integral role in providing a campus atmosphere in which
each may develop intellectually and socially with maturity and a sense
of self-esteem. Since high standards of conduct are essential for the
well-being of the total community, and since violations could result
in penalties ranging from reprimand to dismissal from the College, the
Honor Code is fully explained during orientation. You are also provided
with a copy of the Student Handbook, which details the provisions of
the Honor Code as well as social regulations and policies.
One final point of information we would like
to give you concerns finances. Birmingham-Southern’s annual tuition
and fees remain below the national average and significantly below
the tuition and fees of most
comparable private colleges in the South. Furthermore, to help you meet
these expenses we offer more than twenty million dollars in financial
aid for eligible students from all sources. During recent academic years,
more than ninety-nine percent of our students received some form of financial
aid from either institutional, outside, federal, or state sources. Aid
is also available through the Alabama Grant Program for Alabamians enrolled
in in-state private colleges.
At Birmingham-Southern we take pride in our tradition of providing a
high-quality liberal arts education; we are pleased with our continued
ability to take a flexible approach to maintaining proven educational
goals and standards; and we value mutual respect among all segments of
our college population. Now that you have an idea of who we are and what
we represent, we hope you will read further in our catalog and consider
carefully our degree requirements, curriculum, and co-curricular activities.
We hope you will choose to be an active member of our community.
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