UWW Interdisciplinary Studies Fall 2024 New Student Guide
Table of Contents
- Student Headquarters: Your One-Stop Shop
- New Student Orientation Options
- Your Support Team
- Your Preliminary Transfer Credit Evaluation
- SPIRE: Accessing Your Student Record
- Your Student Email Address
- Tuition and Fees
- Your Financial Aid
- Academic Calendar
- Course Delivery Options
- Your First Semester Classes
- Earning Credit for Your Experience
- Registering for Classes
- Accessing Your Online Courses
- Paying for Your Classes
- Computer Requirements
- Technical Support
- Getting Your Textbooks or E-books
- Accessing the Library
- Getting Your UMass Amherst Student ID
- Health Insurance
- Child Care
- Resources
- Diploma and Certificate
- Understanding Licensure
- UWW Interdisciplinary Studies Course Descriptions
Student Headquarters: Your One-Stop Shop
The Student Headquarters is your one-stop shop for information and resources. Access important links, scholarship information, announcements, handbooks, forms, and more. Check umass.edu/uww/studenthq regularly for updates!
New Student Orientation Options
Our two-hour meeting will provide an in-depth walkthrough of what to expect and address any questions or concerns you have. It will also provide an opportunity to hear from your advisors and a variety of student services offices at UMass Amherst.
Our one-hour meeting will provide an overview of what to expect and address any questions or concerns you have.
Learn more about both options and how to join.
- In-Depth Meeting Saturday, August 24, 2–4 p.m. Eastern Time
- Essentials Meeting Wednesday, August 28, 7–8 p.m. Eastern Time
Your Support Team
Your support team consists of your academic advisor, faculty, and administrative staff. We are all here to help as you work toward completing your degree. Learn more about your support team by reading our bios. If you have any questions or you need advice and guidance at any point in the process, please call us at 413-545-1378 or email us at @email.
Your Preliminary Transfer Credit Evaluation
If you did not previously attend UMass Amherst as an undergraduate student (which is most of you), you received your preliminary transfer credit evaluation (PTCE) by email. This evaluation shows how many of your credits have transferred in at this time, and how many of the university’s general education requirements you have already completed. It’s important to remember that this evaluation is preliminary. During your first semester, an advisor may be able to assist you in transferring certain additional credits from courses and trainings. If you have any questions or concerns about this evaluation, please do not hesitate to call or email, and one of our advisors will be happy to review your evaluation with you.
If you’re a former UMass Amherst student, you will not receive a PTCE and should immediately have all official transcripts from any colleges you attended after being enrolled as a UMass Amherst student sent to University+ Session Registration.
SPIRE: Accessing Your Student Record
SPIRE is the online university student records system. In SPIRE, you can register for courses, check your financial aid status, view your bill, update your contact information, update your date of graduation, see your grades, get your unofficial transcript, and more.
Visit SPIRE regularly to see what’s going on with your records, monitor your progress toward graduation, and see if you have any “to do items” or “holds.”
Soon after you applied (typically 5–6 business days), an email was sent to your personal email address from UMass Amherst Information Technology (IT) containing your NetID and a temporary password that you need to log into SPIRE. The email came from this email address: @email. If you can’t find it, check your promotions, spam, or trash folders. If you still cannot locate the email, contact IT as soon as possible.
Here’s how to access SPIRE. You can also access SPIRE from the Student Headquarters. If you have any problems with your SPIRE account, contact IT.
Your Student Email Address
Your student email address will be [your NetID]@umass.edu. Please set it up immediately after you submit your Intent to Enroll and check it regularly. For problems with your student email, contact IT.
To set up and access your student email account, go to apps.umass.edu, which you can get to from the Student Headquarters. You can also log in by entering your student email address into the main Gmail login, as long as you’ve logged out of any other Gmail accounts first.
Now that you are a student, your student email is the only way UMass Amherst and the UWW Department of Interdisciplinary Studies will communicate with you. If you don’t check your student email regularly, you will miss important, time-sensitive information.
Check your spam folder regularly to make sure you are not missing important university emails, and set your spam filter to allow all umass.edu emails.
Tuition and Fees
Here is an overview of tuition and fees, including the estimated costs for a first-year UWW Interdisciplinary Studies student. UWW has worked hard to keep our fees low for our adult students. On-campus students pay additional fees that UWW students do not pay. These additional fees give on-campus students free or discounted access to certain events and services that UWW students do not have free or discounted access to, including housing and meals, legal services, campus athletic events, and use of the recreation center.
Your Financial Aid
If you need financial aid and have not yet applied, be sure to submit a 2024–25 FAFSA with the UMass Amherst code 002221.
Once your financial aid package is complete, it will be available in SPIRE. If your financial aid package is not there when you visit SPIRE, it’s likely still being processed. Students admitted for fall 2024 will be packaged for financial aid starting in mid-July. Packaging will continue as students are admitted. In all cases, students will not be packaged until they are admitted and have provided all required documents to Financial Aid Services.
To check on the status of your financial aid, contact UMass Amherst Financial Aid Services for assistance. It will help if you identify yourself as a UWW Interdisciplinary Studies student.
If you have been approved for financial aid, you will receive an award package for your first semester based on six credits (minimum enrollment for eligibility for federal financial aid). If you enroll in more than six credits, your package may be automatically increased based on your actual enrollment after the add/drop deadline. If you drop below six credits before your award has been finalized after add/drop, your package may be canceled. Your federal financial aid will begin with your first semester. If you choose to take classes before the start of your first semester, be aware that you will not be eligible for federal financial aid for those classes. You will be a non-degree student until your first semester, and non-degree students are not eligible for federal financial aid.
Each semester, students may be selected for verification, which requires that they submit additional documentation before receiving financial aid. If your Student Aid Report (SAR) indicates that you have been selected for verification, submit the requested documents immediately to avoid delays. You can stay updated on your verification status by checking your To Do Items on your SPIRE homepage.
If you have questions about your military benefits, contact your educational officer or UMass Amherst Veteran Services.
Some students are eligible for tuition and fees waivers. Some students studying early education and care may be eligible for a state grant. We also award a variety of scholarships to UWW Interdisciplinary Studies students, including fall and spring scholarships for new and continuing students.
Academic Calendar
Be sure to review the Academic Calendar. The academic calendar is also available through the Student Headquarters. UMass Amherst has two main semesters—fall and spring—and each is fourteen weeks long. There are also two six-week-long summer sessions and one six-week-long winter session. You can log in to your UWW Interdisciplinary Studies classes, check out the syllabi, and contact your instructors beginning Tuesday, August 27 during what’s called Preview Week. Classes start Tuesday, September 3.
Course Delivery Options
You can take your classes 100% online, or take advantage of in-person options. The majority of UWW Interdisciplinary Studies students complete their degrees 100% online. For some of our department’s online courses, you may have the opportunity to choose between fully asynchronous and blended formats.
UMass Amherst online courses are convenient and flexible, allowing you to take classes without ever having to come to campus. The vast majority of them can be taken in a fully asynchronous format. This means you’ll have a syllabus, assignments, class participation, and deadlines like any in-person class, but there are no scheduled class meetings, and you choose when to get your work done.
Blended courses offered by the UWW Department of Interdisciplinary Studies are asynchronous online courses that also include several optional scheduled class meetings with instructors and classmates. You can join these meetings via Zoom, and some of our blended courses may also have options to attend these meetings in-person in Springfield or Amherst. In SPIRE, you’ll know a course section is blended because it will list days of the week and times for meetings, or it will mention the availability of optional Zoom meetings in the information.
How do I find a blended course in SPIRE?
Look for course sections with specific dates and times listed, or courses that mention the availability of optional Zoom meetings in the information.
Can I take all my courses blended?
Some UWW Department of Interdisciplinary Studies courses may be offered in this format, but most Univ+ session courses taught in other departments are fully asynchronous online courses.
You have the option of taking fully in-person courses on the UMass Amherst campus. They do cost more than online courses, though, with a price of $701 per credit.
Note: when in-person classes are offered remotely, that does not change their price per credit. To avoid paying extra, search for classes with a session of “Univ+” and avoid classes with a session of “University.”
Your First Semester Classes
As a UWW Interdisciplinary Studies student, you are required to take four core courses before you graduate as part of the degree completion process. These courses are designed to support you in building your program of study, earning credit for your experience, and enhancing the skills and knowledge relevant to your life and work. These courses also carry general education designations, helping you meet university degree requirements.
As a new student, you are required to register for:
UWW 305, Concepts in Learning Integration (I), 4 credits
UWW Interdisciplinary Studies students come into our program with diverse academic histories, as well as professional and personal experience. This course was designed with that in mind. All students are required to complete the degree planning course during their first semester.
In this course, you will work with a faculty instructor to build your degree plan and your own individualized program of study called an area of concentration (AOC). Your degree plan is a map of how you will get from where you are now to graduation. Here is the full course description. Want to learn more about the different faculty who teach degree planning? You can read their bios.
If you take a second course, you are required to register for one of the following:
- UWW 310 Experiential Reflection of the Technological World (IE), 4 credits
- UWW 320 Experiential Reflection of Leadership (IE), 4 credits
- UWW 330 Experiential Reflection of Public Policy (IE), 4 credits
- UWW 340 Experiential Reflection of Organizations (IE), 4 credits
- UWW 350 Experiential Reflections on Health (IE), 4 credits
- UWW 360 Experiential Reflections of Learning and Education (IE), 4 credits
If you want to take more than two courses, you could register for a second Experiential Reflections course (you’re required to take two before you graduate), or you could take a course that meets a general education requirement you still need to fulfill. If you want to take more than two courses, contact your academic advisor for advice.
Future Courses
Questions about courses for future semesters will be answered in your degree planning course.
Earning Credit for Your Experience
After you have completed your degree planning class and at least one experiential reflections class, you will take a class called Writing About Experience (UWW 370). In this class you will write a series of essays reflecting on your life and work experience. These essays will become what is called your prior learning portfolio, which will be evaluated for up to thirty UMass Amherst credits. The most common number of credits is fifteen—some earn more and some less. You may also be able to earn transfer credit for professional and military trainings and certifications you have completed in your area of study. You will learn more about how to earn credit for life and work experience in your degree planning class.
Registering for Classes
Class registration begins on Monday, June 3. Registration continues until the end of the add/drop period: Monday, September 9.
Although fall registration begins on Monday, June 3, that may not be when you can start registering for classes. You can start to register on the date and time of your enrollment appointment. To find out when your enrollment appointment starts, log in to your SPIRE account. Your enrollment appointment date and time will be located in Manage Classes > Enrollment Appointments. Enrollment appointments will be assigned approximately one week before the start of registration (or within one day of matriculation if you sent your Intent to Enroll on or after this date). If you do not receive an appointment within this timeframe, contact University+ Session Registration.
If you prefer a video, watch Registering for Classes in Schedule Builder. Schedule Builder supports registration for on-campus and online students. Because of this, it contains some options that may not apply to you.
- Log in to SPIRE.
- Check to make sure your enrollment appointment has started in Manage Classes > Enrollment Appointments.
- Next, click Add, Drop & Edit Classes > Schedule Builder.
- Choose the correct term and click "Save and Continue."
- Using the "Sessions" filter, select "Univ+ (UWW)" and click "Save." To see courses with non-standard dates, select "Univ+ Non-Stand."
- Click "Add Course."
- You can choose between several methods to add courses, but the default "By Subject" is usually easiest. To register for a UWW Department of Interdisciplinary Studies course, choose “University Without Walls” as the subject, select a course from the dropdown menu, and then click "Add Course."
- Once you have added all the courses you would like to register for, click "Go Back to Generate Schedules."
- There will be a list of courses with checkboxes beside them. Click on "Sections" next to one of the courses.
- This will take you to a checklist screen in which all available sections of the course will be checked by default. Uncheck the boxes until only the section you wish to take is checked, then click "Save & Close."
Note: If you are taking courses at specific times, you can check more than one section per course to compare different scheduling options, but this is not useful to the majority of UWW Interdisciplinary Studies students who take all courses fully asynchronously. - Repeat this process for the other courses on your list.
- When you have finished selecting your preferred sections, click "Generate Schedules."
- Click "View" next to your schedule. If it looks good, click "Send to Shopping Cart."
- After sending classes to the shopping cart, you may have the option of changing the grading basis for some classes. Always consult your academic advisor if you wish to change this from the default option. If there is more than one class, click "Next" through each course and then click "Finish."
- Click on "Register" to enroll. You also have the option to delete classes or change the grading basis by clicking on "Edit Cart."
- Click on "Continue" on the "Please Confirm" page to complete your enrollment. You should then see a confirmation screen.
- You can confirm your enrollment by visiting your schedule, which is located in Manage Classes > Class & Finals Schedule > View My Classes.
I just signed up for classes, but when I log in, they’re not there!
Your classes won’t be available to view until Preview Week, which starts Tuesday, August 27. If it’s after the start of Preview Week and you can’t see your classes, your registration probably isn’t loaded into the system yet. New course registrations are uploaded once a day.
Life happens and sometimes students need to drop a class. Before you drop, speak with your academic advisor to discuss your options. Unlike some colleges, UMass Amherst does not automatically drop students for not logging into classes, so if you need to drop a class, you will have to do so yourself. If you drop a class on or before Monday, September 9, the class will not appear on your transcript. If you drop a class between Tuesday, September 10 and Tuesday, October 29, the course will appear on your transcript as a “W.”
You will earn a 100% refund of class charges and fees until Monday, September 16, and a 50% refund of class charges and fees between Tuesday, September 17 and Tuesday, October 29. (If you enroll in any university-session classes, you will receive a 100% refund of those class charges until Monday, September 9, and a 50% refund of those class charges between Tuesday, September 10 and Tuesday, October 29.) After the withdrawal period ends on Tuesday, October 29, it will be extremely difficult to withdraw from a class and no refunds will be issued. Keep in touch with your academic advisor and keep your eye on the academic calendar.
If you have any trouble with the registration process, feel free to contact the UWW office at 413-545-1378 or by email and we’ll be happy to walk you through the process. Occasionally, students are unable to register for classes because a “hold” has been placed on their account. If this happens, contact the office that placed the hold to find out what you need to do to have it removed.
Accessing Your Online Courses
You will access your online courses through a learning system called Canvas.
You can log in to your UWW Department of Interdisciplinary Studies courses, view your syllabi, and contact your instructors during Preview Week, which starts Tuesday, August 27. Classes start Tuesday, September 3. A few classes at UMass Amherst have non-standard dates, but it is unlikely you will take one during your first semester.
To get a link to each of your classes, log into SPIRE and select Manage Classes > View My Classes. Under each one, you will see a link to log into the course. There is also a link to Canvas in the Student Headquarters.
Paying for Your Classes
The UMass Amherst Bursar Office will send an email to your UMass email address notifying you when a bill is ready to be viewed in SPIRE. If you are receiving financial aid, your financial aid will be applied against your bill, and you will be responsible for paying the remainder. Learn more about how to pay your bill in SPIRE.
UMass Amherst offers a payment plan option called UPay to make it easier for you to pay for your college education.
- 100% refund
- Classes dropped by September 16*
- 50% refund
- Classes dropped from September 17 to October 29 (end of withdrawal period)*
- NO REFUND
- Classes dropped after October 29
*If you enroll in any university-session classes, you will receive a 100% refund of those class charges until Monday, September 9, and a 50% refund of those class charges between Tuesday, September 10 and Tuesday, October 29.
Computer Requirements
To take your courses online, you’ll need high-speed internet and a computer robust enough to run a current operating system and browser. You will also need a recent version of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. You will not be able to use an iPad or other mobile devices for your online classes. Learn more about recommended computer requirements for being a UMass Amherst student (Mac requirements; Windows requirements), as well as what kind of basic operating system and web browser you'll need to take online and blended classes. If your computer does not meet basic requirements, you will need to invest in a new one using excess financial aid or personal funds. In certain circumstances, it may be useful to contact Financial Aid Services to increase your cost of attendance for the purchase of a new computer.
Microsoft Office 365
Office 365 Education (the Microsoft 365 Office suite that includes Excel, PowerPoint, and Word) is available to UMass Amherst students at no cost. Learn more about its features and access a link to download Office 365 Education on the UMass Amherst IT website.
Technical Support
Having technical trouble? Help is available!
The UMass Amherst Information Technology (IT) Support Center can help you with technical problems with your SPIRE and email accounts, and can help you add your student email account to your smartphone. They can also help if you can’t log into Canvas. Take a look at the IT Guide for Students for an overview of the other services they offer. You can call them at 413-545-9400 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time, or you can access chat and email support any day of the week. Remember to identify yourself as a UWW Interdisciplinary Studies student and have your student ID number handy.
Logging In
For problems logging into Canvas, contact the IT Support Center.
Canvas
Canvas is managed by IT, which offers a Quick Tour of Canvas to help you find your way around. Canvas contains its own resources to help you learn to use it in Help > Search the Canvas Guides. Useful resources include the Canvas Overview video and Getting Started playlist. Canvas also offers 24/7 support through live chat or by phone at 855-219-3080.
Getting Your Textbooks or E-books
There are two places you can look to find out what textbooks or e-books you will need. The first place is SPIRE. From your SPIRE homepage, go to Manage Classes > Class & Finals Schedule > View My Classes. Then click “View/Purchase Textbooks.”
The second place you can find out about your textbooks is in the course itself. Log in to your UWW Interdisciplinary Studies courses during Preview Week to view your syllabi and textbooks. Preview week starts Tuesday, August 27. You can order your textbooks and other course materials through the UMass Virtual Bookstore, or through any new or used bookseller you choose. If you have any questions about the syllabus or required textbooks/materials, feel free to contact the instructor.
Accessing the Library
UMass Amherst has an outstanding library with extensive online access. You will have access to online research databases, e-books and articles, and you can have UMass Amherst library books and articles mailed to your home through a service called Library Express! And that’s not all; the UWW Department of Interdisciplinary Studies has its own UMass Library webpage and librarian. The UWW library webpage is a portal that will connect you to everything the library has to offer and provides resources on topics such as how to choose a paper topic, how to conduct a search, and how to find books and journals. You can even live chat with a UMass reference librarian. Your friendly librarian is named Dave. Feel free to correspond by email or set up a Zoom call. Dave is here to help.
How do I get my UMass Amherst library barcode? If you have a student ID card, it’ll be on the back. Or, it’s in SPIRE. Profile > IT Accounts & Certifications > UCard / Library Barcode. On the right side will be your library barcode even if you don’t have a student ID.
Getting Your UMass Amherst Student ID
You’re not required to have a student ID. However, it is handy for getting student discounts when you’re at the movie theater. There are two kinds of UMass Amherst student IDs. The UCard is the official UMass Amherst photo ID carried by students, faculty, and staff. You can get one through the UCard office, and the process currently consists of uploading a photo that meets the guidelines and receiving your UCard in the mail. A UCard can only be mailed to a United States address. If you live outside the United States and want an ID showing you are a UMass Amherst student, you can order a Distance Learning ID Card. The UCard is free, contains a photo, and does not list an expected graduation date, while the Distance Learning ID Card costs $35, contains no photo, and lists an expected graduation date.
It is important to know that since UWW students do not pay the student activities fee (this was done to keep costs low for our students), UWW students—even those with an ID—do not receive student discounts for attendance at UMass athletic and fine arts events, or for the use of UMass recreational facilities. You can still take advantage of events that the university has to offer, but you’ll need to pay full price.
Health Insurance
As a UWW student, you will automatically have student health insurance waived for you. However, if you live in Massachusetts and are enrolled in at least six credits per semester, you may be eligible to opt in at the start of the fall and spring semesters. The Student Health Benefit Plan summary provides eligibility and coverage information and instructions on how to enroll.
Child Care
If you live in Massachusetts and are enrolled in at least six credits per semester, you may be eligible for child care subsidies through Student Parent Programs. Regardless of your residency, it may be useful in certain circumstances to contact Financial Aid Services to increase your cost of attendance for child care.
If you have a state child care voucher, you can use that voucher for child care at the UMass Amherst Center for Early Education and Care. Contact Student Parent Programs for assistance with this process. Student Parent Programs also provides an array of services that are open to UWW Interdisciplinary Studies students.
Resources
A variety of resources are available to support you. Get links and contact information for many of them in the table below, and reach out to our student services manager for assistance navigating UMass Amherst resources.
| Resource and Website | Phone | |
|---|---|---|
| Student Headquarters | ||
| Student Handbook | ||
| SPIRE | ||
| University+ Session Registration | 413-545-3653 | |
| Bursar | 413-545-2368 | |
| Financial Aid | 413-545-0801 | |
| IT Guide for Students | ||
| Technical Support | 413-545-9400 | |
| Canvas | ||
| 24/7 Canvas Support | 855-219-3080 | |
| Assistive Technology | 413-545-9623 | |
| UMass Amherst Libraries | ||
| UWW Library Page | 413-577-1982 | |
| Writing Center | 413-577-1293 | |
| People Finder | ||
| UCard Student ID | 413-545-0197 | |
| Career Services | 413-545-2224 | |
| Veteran Services | 413-545-0939 | |
| Veterans Benefits | 413-545-5792 | |
| Disability Services | 413-545-0892 | |
| Student Parent Programs | 413-577-1005 | |
| Department Scholarships | 413-545-5137 | |
| Early Childhood Educators Scholarships | 617-391-6070 |
Diploma and Certificate
As a UWW Interdisciplinary Studies student, you will earn a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. All UMass Amherst diplomas are the same regardless of course delivery mode, and indicate the graduate's academic major. Your diploma will indicate your major—Interdisciplinary Studies. You will also be awarded a certificate recognizing your individualized degree concentration.
Understanding Licensure
As a newly matriculated student, we want to make sure you are aware that we are not an education, counseling, psychology, social work, human services, or other licensure program in the state of Massachusetts. For out of state students, it has not been determined whether our program meets your state’s requirements for professional licensure in these fields. If you are seeking any type of licensure, our staff member Siobhan Henderson is happy to help you identify the state board or agency you will need to contact to determine if our program meets your state’s requirements.
UWW Interdisciplinary Studies Course Descriptions
Course Description: Concepts in Learning Integration is the study of how experiential learning theory contributes to the process of designing an academic area of study. Utilizing research skills, self-reflection, critical analysis, and knowledge acquired through previous coursework, students will connect theory and practice by doing research that demonstrates an ability to use primary and secondary sources, solve problems and communicate effectively. Peer and instructor feedback will be integral to the learning process. Students will construct a degree plan that incorporates past coursework and experience. This course satisfies the interdisciplinary (I) general education requirement for the University of Massachusetts. 4 credits. Goals: To help students:
- recognize different disciplinary approaches and limitations to addressing complex real-world problems and overarching questions;
- integrate multiple perspectives from experiential and curricular experiences (general education, area of concentration) while exploring a central theme;
- make connections between theory and practice in order to develop alternative solutions to challenges encountered in the workplace and community;
- develop collaborative approaches to learning through community by sharing similar competencies/skills in different areas of interest;
- develop transferable skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking, reflection, and research;
- create an individualized academic degree plan that integrates educational and experiential experiences, and aligns with career and academic goals.
Course Description: In this course students will examine the principles and frameworks of technology as a way to better understand their professional and other life experience. This course satisfies the integrative experience (IE) general education requirement for the University of Massachusetts. 4 credits. Goals: To help students:
- to briefly outline human technological advancement from muscle-powered agricultural ways of life up to the present;
- define the meaning of modern “technologies” and seek to understand their ongoing relationship to the natural sciences;
- examine the influence of technologies on social relations, cultural forces, human connectedness and individual practice through the exploration of student experience and practice with technology;
- discuss how technologies may both “include” or “alienate” through an understanding of how humans adapt, embrace, or reject technology; and
- demonstrate the ability to critically reflect on, integrate, and apply their learning and experience derived from exposure to the various general education disciplines to their area of concentration.
Course Description: Students will examine the principles and frameworks of leadership from both the perspective of leaders and those serving leaders within their professional and other life experience. This course satisfies the integrative experience (IE) general education requirement for the University of Massachusetts. 4 credits. Goals: To help students:
- reflect upon and write about personal experiences with leading and being led;
- explore the dynamics of leadership in various groups and organizations;
- place personal experiences with leadership in a larger context through the study of leaders and ideas about leadership; and
- demonstrate the ability to critically reflect on, integrate, and apply their learning and experience derived from exposure to the various general education disciplines to their area of concentration.
Course Description: Students will examine the principles and frameworks of public policy and its impact on their professional and other life experience. This course satisfies the integrative experience (IE) general education requirement for the University of Massachusetts. 4 credits. Goals: To help students:
- understand the theoretical framework of public policy-making and the environment within which policy is created and implemented at the national and state levels;
- develop familiarity with the major features of several areas of public policy, such as privatization policy, housing policy, or others;
- identify an area of public policy that has impacted their own life, work, or community, and develop, through research and classroom work, an understanding of the main issues that are at play in that area of policy; and
- demonstrate the ability to critically reflect on, integrate, and apply their learning and experience derived from exposure to the various general education disciplines to their area of concentration.
Course Description: Students will examine the principles and frameworks of organizations as key elements in their professional and other life experience. This course satisfies the integrative experience (IE) general education requirement for the University of Massachusetts. 4 credits. Goals: To help students:
- define the term organization within the context of this course;
- define what we mean by formal and informal organizations in terms of their similarities and differences;
- explain the key features of systems theory as they apply to living systems;
- describe and analyze in detail a familiar organizational system and our role within it;
- define organizational culture and describe the levels that comprise it;
- describe and engage more effectively in the processes through which organizational culture is created and re-created, and how it transmits to organizational members and impacts them;
- describe the culture of a familiar organization and discuss the implications of that culture for organizational members and the organization’s purpose;
- apply the above knowledge to a familiar organization, focusing on an analysis of past collaborative efforts, approaches to conflict management, and organizational and individual experiences with change;
- identify opportunities within that familiar organization for organizational development and cultural renewal; and
- demonstrate the ability to critically reflect on, integrate, and apply their learning and experience derived from exposure to the various general education disciplines to their area of concentration.
Course Description: Students will examine the principles and frameworks of health as a way to better understand their professional and other life experience. This course seeks to address and understand varying responses to the questions “What is health?” and “How do we define ‘quality of life’?” These questions will be addressed through the use of reference material housed in the disciplines of public health, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, political science, communication, history, medicine, humanities, education, and economics. This course satisfies the integrative experience (IE) general education requirement for the University of Massachusetts. 4 credits. Goals:
- illustrate how a multidisciplinary approach to understanding “health” and “quality of life” can inform an understanding of public and individual health;
- illustrate how a universal experience like “health” is experienced differently depending on culture, diagnosis, context, history, social determinants, and personal knowledge;
- prepare students for writing about individual experiences for their Prior Learning Portfolio in the University Without Walls program;
- provide a structured, credited context for students to reflect on and integrate their learning and experience from the broad exposure in their general education courses;
- provide the opportunity for students to practice general education learning objectives (collaboration, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary perspective taking) at a more advanced level; and
- offer a shared learning experience for applying prior knowledge and experience to new situations, challenging questions, and real-world problems.
Course Description: Students will explore formal, informal/incidental, and non-formal learning across the life span, beginning with early childhood and continuing into adulthood. Learning is defined as “the way in which individuals or groups acquire, interpret, re-organize, change or assimilate a related cluster of information, skills and feelings. It is also the primary way that people construct meaning in their personal and shared organizational lives” (Marsick, 1987, p. 4). Education is the delivery system for some, though not all, of this learning; much learning is acquired directly or indirectly through experience. Readings for this course will draw on a number of disciplines including education, technology, psychology, anthropology, history and sociology. This course satisfies the integrative experience (IE) general education requirement for the University of Massachusetts. 4 credits. Goals:
- deepen our understanding of learning and education across a variety of contexts;
- deepen our understanding of the ways in which formal, informal/incidental and non-formal learning influences our experience and that of others;
- demonstrate the ability to critically reflect on, integrate, and apply our learning derived from exposure to the various approaches to learning and education to our lives;
- describe the similarities and differences among formal, informal/incidental and non-formal learning and education;
- reflect upon and write about personal experiences with learning and education;
- research, analyze and reflect on a specific issue or problem in learning or education in depth;
- work collaboratively with others in the completion of academic assignments; and
- develop an action plan for lifelong learning.