Commonwealth College

Contact: D. Cory Pols
Office: 504 Goodell
Phone: 545-2483
E-mail: comcol@comcol.umass.edu
Website: www.comcol.umass.edu

Dean: Priscilla M. Clarkson; Director of Administration: Brett Snowden; Director of Advising: D. Cory Pols; Director of Academic Programs: Meredith Lind; Director of Community Service Learning: John Reiff; Associate Director of Student Programs: Melissa Beesley; Office of National Scholarship Advisement Director: Susan Whitbourne.

Commonwealth College is the honors college of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, offering a variety of educational, service, social, and advising opportunities to support its over 3,500 academically talented students. Commonwealth College is a campuswide program; students from all majors in every college are eligible to join the honors college. Only Commonwealth College students are eligible to graduate as Commonwealth College Scholars, and only Commonwealth College Scholars are eligible to graduate magna cum laude or summa cum laude (with high or highest honors). Commonwealth College students may also pursue Departmental or Interdisciplinary Honors.

Love of learning lies at the heart of Commonwealth College. The curriculum of the college emphasizes inquiry and facilitates critical analysis, independent research, collaborative work, and effective communication skills. Consistent with the land-grant mission of the University, Commonwealth College also promotes engagement with society. The college affords its students many opportunities for engagement through a variety of academically based opportunities including internships, co-ops, experiential learning courses, leadership training, and community service learning courses. The college also promotes student leadership through specific leadership courses, through its speaker series and alumni mentoring/shadowing programs, and by encouraging student participation in college activities including peer mentoring, committee work, and activity planning.

Honors students experience the advantages of a small college and the wide-ranging opportunities of a nationally recognized research university. The college encourages students to undertake research and supports their efforts by helping to identify faculty mentors, teaching thesis workshops, and offering research fellowships for financial assistance. The college also offers a lecture series that brings distinguished visitors to the campus to speak on selected national issues, publishes a newsletter, sponsors service projects and student gatherings, and administers a competitive awards program.

First-year honors students may select from several Residential Academic Programs (RAP) including Commonwealth College’s Honors RAPs, as well as the Talent Advancement Programs (TAPs) or other RAP programs designed for all university students.
Advising

All students in the college are encouraged to meet regularly with a Commonwealth College adviser, as well as with an adviser in the department of their major. Faculty, staff, and peer advisers are available to assist students with their questions or concerns as they progress through their academic careers. This includes advice on honors course selection; how to integrate their honors requirements with their major department, academic college and other university requirements, study abroad and community service; and referral information about other services. Graduating honors students may request a letter of recommendation for prospective employers and graduate schools.

Each major has a departmental honors coordinator who advises students on the subset of requirements associated with departmental honors. Advising concerning other academic matters (e.g., late course adds, late course drops, credit limit increases) are handled through the advising office of the student’s academic dean.
The college’s Office of National Scholarship Advisement (ONSA) assists eligible students applying for national competitive fellowships such as the Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, and Truman Scholarships. ONSA advises students on requirements, qualifications, personal statements, and the interview process.

The Curriculum

The honors curriculum includes entirely enriched honors courses, colloquia, interdisciplinary seminars, independent study, service learning, and a capstone experience requirement. The capstone experience is a six-credit activity that may range in scope from the more traditional thesis to approved capstone courses to honors projects involving synthesis of academic study, guided reflection, and experience gained through community service, study abroad, or internship.

Community Service Learning (CSL) is a core value of Commonwealth College, and an exciting way for students to develop new skills, build relationships, and apply their learning to help address community needs. Opportunities to combine service and learning abound across the honors curriculum. For example, many honors courses include community service, among them HONORS 292V Violence in American Culture, HONORS 292F The American Family, and HONORS 397R Mentoring with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Also, students may combine two parts of the Dean’s book course in a three-credit CSL version, Honors 291R or 391S. Another option is for students to add a CSL component, with instructor approval, to any course in the University through a one- to two-credit CSL Honors Independent Study. First- year students may also apply to participate in IMPACT!, a CSL residential learning community. The Citizen Scholars Program, a four-semester, scholarship-supported academic service-learning program, aims to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to be active and effective citizens, engaged in lifelong service to their communities, and to work collaboratively with others to build a more just society. The College’s Office of Community Service Learning promotes and coordinates both honors and non-honors courses that use service learning to enhance the learning of academic material and the practical understanding of self, society, citizenship, and community.

Honors Requirements

All students who complete Commonwealth College requirements will graduate as Commonwealth College Scholars. These requirements include a GPA of 3.200 or better, foundation skills, honors courses, and a capstone experience. To graduate with higher Latin honors, students must successfully complete the requirements of Commonwealth College and attain a minimum GPA of 3.500 for magna and 3.800 for summa cum laude. Cum laude will be determined by GPA and residency credits alone. Note: to graduate with any level of honors a student must complete 45 graded credits in residence. Departmental or Interdisciplinary Honors are awarded in addition to Commonwealth College and Latin honors. Specific requirements vary depending on a student’s major.

Commonwealth College students must satisfy foundation requirements in two areas. The writing requirement is satisfied by completion of the General Education College Writing requirement (ENGLWRIT 112H or 113H or exemption). The oral communications requirement is performed through successful completion of the three-credit Dean’s Book series.

A minimum of eight honors courses must be completed with grades of B or better. These eight honors courses must include: College Writing (ENGLWRIT 112H or 113H); two other General Education courses, one of which must have an Interdisciplinary (I) designation; and the three-credit Dean’s Book series, which also carries an Interdisciplinary (I) designation (students complete this in three one-credit parts, Honors 191D, 291D, and 391D). Three of the eight honors courses must be at the 300 level or above, two of which comprise a six-credit capstone experience ending in a 499-numbered course. Accommodations may be made for those entering the college after the freshman year. Under no circumstances will the Dean’s Book requirement or the capstone experience requirement be waived. Students who transfer into Commonwealth College having completed an associate’s degree through a certified Commonwealth Honors Program are recognized as having completed the first two years of their Commonwealth College requirements.

Students are encourage to integrate international study, internships, cooperative education, and service learning into their honors experience. Portions of this work may be approved as substitutions to fulfill honors course requirements. For details, call or visit the Commonwealth College office.

Citizen Scholars Program Requirements
Commonwealth College sponsors the Citizen Scholars Program, a two-year program exploring the linkage between community service, public policy, and active citizenship. Students apply to the program, which accepts approximately 20 to 25 students each year, during the spring of their freshman or sophomore year. Any university student who has a demonstrated record of prior community service, a commitment to future community service or political engagement, and a strong academic record, typically demonstrated by a cumulative GPA of 3.200 or higher, is eligible to apply. Other indicators of academic performance are also considered. The program provides a scholarship award of $1,000 a year for two years. Citizen Scholars may also receive support for summer internships in public policy or community service administration. The program requires 19 credits of coursework and a community service component:

ANTHRO 297H The Good Society
HONORS 291S Research as a Tool for Change
HONORS 499R Service-Learning Capstone—Public Policy and Citizen Action
HONORS 499S Service-Learning Capstone—Organizing: People, Power, and Change
A fifth course chosen from a list of electives focusing either on community service learning or on social analysis.
60 hours of community service or community engagement in each of the four program semesters.

International Scholars Program Requirement
Commonwealth College and the International Programs Office co-sponsor the International Scholars Program (ISP), which allows qualified students to integrate international studies coursework and study abroad during their undergraduate years. The program is highly competitive with approximately 15 slots per year. Benefits of the program include individual advising for the integration of a student’s major requirements and study abroad, ongoing mentoring by a faculty member from a related international field, and limited funding for study abroad via non-need-based scholarships. Qualified students are invited to apply in their freshman year. Applicants should have a cumulative GPA of 3.200 or higher and a commitment to pursuing international experiences or studies that will provide a global context for both their course of study and their career paths. The program requires seven credits of coursework, including preparatory cross-cultural, contextual, and re-entry coursework.

Admission Information

There are three ways to enter Commonwealth College:

1) Admission Based on College Performance
Students may apply if they have a 3.200 overall cumulative average and a 3.200 in their most recent semester.

2) Admission Based on High School Performance
Entering first-year students are admitted by invitation. Each student’s application to the University is evaluated on the basis of academic achievement in high school, test scores, an essay by the student, and evidence of leadership and community service. Average first-year honors students entering in Fall 2007 ranked in the top eight percent of their high school class, attained a weighted high school GPA of 4.0 in their academic coursework, and scored 1315 on their combined critical reading and math SAT I tests.

3) Transfer Admission
Transfer students with a 3.200 or better cumulative average must provide a complete transfer transcript and a letter of introduction, and apply either during transfer orientation in July or January, or within the first four weeks of their initial semester. Students who completed an associate’s degree through a certified Commonwealth Honors Program may transfer directly into Commonwealth College. Note: Petitions for exceptions to the residency requirement specified above may be made to the Dean of Commonwealth College.

The Courses

Several kinds of honors courses are offered as follows:

Enriched honors courses are separate sections of departmental courses that are limited to 25 students. These courses are designated with an H following the course number (Psychology 100H) and may carry 3 or 4 credits.

Honors Colloquia are 1-credit honors sections appended to regular 3-credit courses. They of-ten develop topics in greater depth than in the related course; however, it is not unusual for colloquia to introduce totally new material or experiences. Colloquia are designated H0 following the course number (Anthropology 317/H01), and are limited to 25 students. Content may be predetermined by the instructor, or spontaneously generated by students and instructor during the early classes of the semester.

191D, 291D, 391D Dean’s Book are one-credit honors seminars. Students read and respond to a book chosen by Commonwealth College for the semester. The 100 level is for students taking the seminar for the first time, whereas 291D is for students in their sophomore year and higher taking the course for the second time, and 391D is for junior- and senior-year students taking the course for the third and final time. Students may also incorporate service learning into their Dean’s Book experience by taking either the three-credit 291R in place of 191D and 291D, or the three-credit 391S in place of 291D and 391D.

291S Tools for Change, a four-credit course offered each spring, is the second-semester course in the Citizen Scholars Program. It is the first of three focused on developing the practical abilities to work toward the good society envisioned in the previous semester’s course. The “tools for change” covered include social justice theory, systems perspectives on community organizations and on communities, group dynamics and communication skills, and contemplative practice. Students’ service placements are a focus for the application of these tools.
192, 292, 392, 492 Honors Interdisciplinary Seminars are directly sponsored by the Commonwealth College, and publicized prior to each semsester. Classes are highly interactive in nature and feature distinguished guest professors from several fields. Some of these courses carry General Education credit. Examples include American Portraits (IU), and The American Family (IU).

196, 296, 396, 496 Honors Independent Study involves frequent interaction between instructor and student. The student and the sponsoring instructor must fill out a contract which is available at the Commonwealth College office and on the college’s website. Qualitative and quantitative enrichment must be evident on the proposed contract before consent is given to undertake the study.

196S, 296S, 396S, 496S HIS Community Service Learning allows a student, under the guidance of a faculty sponsor and a community adviser, to engage in community service learning for academic credit. Requirements include 30 hours of relevant, course-related community service for each CSL credit, a reflective journal, attendance at a mid-semester reflection session, and a paper containing an analysis of the CSL experience and its link to academic course content.

397R Mentoring with Big Brothers/Big Sisters combines classroom work with community service in which students become mentors to area youth, each developing a supportive relationship with one young person. This course offers students a basic understanding of issues that affect the lives of children and youth and helps them to integrate this knowledge with their own experience of the young people with whom they are forming relationships. Through preparation, action, and reflection, students develop their understanding of young people and of themselves, including their core values, their unexamined assumptions, and their limitations and strengths.

198, 298, 398, 498 Honors Practica are 1- or 2-credit Pass/Fail skill-oriented courses which allow honors students to work together in small groups: for example, Student Initiated Seminars and Peer Advising Practica. These practica cannot be used to meet honors academic course requirements.

198S, 298S, 398S, 498S CSL Honors Practica are one- to six-credit Pass/Fail freestanding courses that allow a student, under the guidance of a faculty sponsor and a community adviser, to engage in community service learning for academic credit. Requirements include 30 hours of approved community service for each CSL credit, field observation reports, and attendance at a mid-semester reflection session. These practica cannot be used to meet honors academic course requirements.

499 Capstone Experience may begin with either a 499-numbered course or a graduate-level seminar, but must end with a 499-numbered course. The capstone experience is a six-credit activity that may range in scope from the more traditional sequence of honors research and thesis, to concurrent or sequential capstone courses, to projects ranging from a case study to a synthesis of academic study, guided reflection, and experience gained through community service, study abroad, or internship. Students should consult a Commonwealth College adviser before undertaking a capstone experience.

499R Service-Learning Capstone—Public Policy and Citizen Action, a four-credit course offered each fall and the third in the four-course Citizen Scholars Program sequence, explores how public policy is created and shaped at the local, state, and national levels, and how citizens can impact the policy process to address their concerns and work toward the common good. As individuals or as part of a team, students each identify a specific public policy issue that arises out of their service experience, research it, and advocate for a specific outcome.

499S Service-Learning Capstone—Organizing: People, Power and Change, offered each spring for four credits, is the fourth and final course in the Citizen Scholars Program through which students unpack the process by which citizens organize and mobilize others to work toward structural change. As individuals or in teams, students identify issues of concern to them that relate to their public policy projects in the previous semester, identify community stakeholders in those issues, and design and implement a project mobilizing others to work toward change. This course is based on Professor Marshall Ganz’s well-known organizing course taught at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.