Academics at New College

The academic program at New College puts the college's principles into practice. There are rules and deadlines, but the basic approach is to try to give both students and faculty the fundamental framework they need to scale the heights. New College believes in the values of a liberal education, with many possible paths to the bachelor's degree. The college does not establish required courses for all, or set distribution requirements, or deal in "credit hours." Courses are not graded. New College does call on you to engage; success depends upon motivation, diligence, imagination and enthusiasm. The objective is to acquire the skills of learning, the appreciation for knowledge, and the desire to continue intellectual pursuits throughout one's lifetime.	Contract System
	ISPs
	Thesis Projects
	Disciplines
	Faculty
	Course Schedule  and Syllabi

In simplest terms, each New College student's academic program begins with a written agreement between the student and a faculty sponsor. This agreement is called an academic contract. The contract serves as the registration form for a semester, and structures each semester's academic program. Each contract reflects specific educational goals which are changed and refined in successive contracts as the student moves into a major and then to a senior thesis. Seven successful contracts are required for graduation.

At the end of each semester students receive narrative evaluations from their professors. These evaluations rate performance as satisfactory, incomplete or unsatisfactory. The contract sponsor reads these evaluations and decides whether the goals of the contract have been met. The transcript lists all academic work successfully completed, but the contract itself must be satisfactory if progress is to be made toward graduation. New College believes that this evaluation procedure allows individual guidance and assessment for each student, heightens a sense of personal motivation, and does away with the distraction of grade competition.

In January the college changes pace, for a four-week interterm. In consultation with a faculty member, students construct intensive Independent Study Projects (ISPs), working alone or in small groups. A project may take any one of a number of forms: library research, laboratory work, internship, etc.

Contracts and ISPs help to illuminate an individualized path which leads to the choice of a major during the third year, and culminates in a senior thesis project done under the supervision of a faculty sponsor. As with an ISP, a senior thesis may take many forms: library research, field research, laboratory project, art show, music score or performance. Theses are defended in an oral baccalaureate examination before a faculty committee. This exam is usually held several weeks before graduation, and is open to the New College community. Every thesis is deposited in the Jane Bancroft Cook Library and becomes part of the permanent collection.

The excitement of being an undergraduate at New College comes from being active in small classes, from creating a one-on-one tutorial, from successfully completing field work, from attending professional meetings/conferences with professors, from combining all to form a comprehensive education.

Each New College faculty member is a scholar in one of the academic disciplines that together are called the liberal arts and sciences. In addition to working closely with New College students as advisors and professors, many of these faculty members are outstanding researchers in their respective fields.