Course Catalog 2019-2020
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Blackburn College COLLEGE Course Catalog 2019-2020 700 College Ave Carlinville, IL 62626 www.blackburn.edu Admissions: 1-800-233-3550 2019-2020 Course Catalog Statement of Mission Blackburn College links a rigorous and affordable liberal arts education with a unique student-managed Work Program preparing graduates for careers, community engagement, and lifelong learning. COLLEGE The Blackburn Course Catalog is printed on paper containing post-consumer content. Cover design by a student worker as part of the Blackburn College Work Program. 2019-2020 Catalog Blackburn College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in Carlinville, Illinois. A town of nearly 6,000 people, Carlinville is the county seat of Macoupin County. The beautiful 80 acre campus is 40 miles southwest of Springfield and 60 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Amtrak stops twice daily, linking the town with other Midwestern cities. Visitors are welcome at Blackburn and offices are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tour appointments can be made by calling (800) 233-3550, ext. 5517 during business hours; or by writing the Office of Admissions, Blackburn College, Carlinville, Illinois 62626; or by e-mail to [email protected]. Visit our web site at: www.blackburn.edu. 1 EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES The Faculty of Blackburn College expects each student to make progress toward achieving each of the following specific objectives of our concept of an effective modern liberal education: (Adopted by the faculty on January 20, 2005). 1. A Blackburn graduate should be able to think and communicate clearly and effectively. 2. A Blackburn graduate should be able to demonstrate depth in a field of knowledge. 3. A Blackburn graduate should be able to think critically about the ways in which humanity gains and applies knowledge. Specifically, the graduate should have an informed understanding of a. the aesthetic and intellectual experience of literature and the arts; b. history and the concepts and analytic techniques of social science as modes of understanding current issues, problems, and the nature of human experience; and c. mathematics and the experimental and analytical methods of the physical and biological sciences. 4. A Blackburn graduate should be able to think substantively about philosophical, moral and ethical issues and problems. 5. A Blackburn graduate should be able to understand other cultures and other cultural frames or perspectives for understanding and interpreting experience. 6. A Blackburn graduate should appreciate the value and dignity of human labor. 7. A Blackburn graduate should be adaptable and demonstrate self-reliance and intellectual independence. 8. A Blackburn graduate should develop the habits and skills to sustain and cultivate a life of intellectual, physical, spiritual and emotional well-being. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................2 GENERAL INFORMATION .............................................................................................4 EDUCATION AT BLACKBURN COLLEGE ..................................................................4 ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2019-2020 ...............................................................................5 A BRIEF LOOK BACK .......................................................................................................7 ADMISSION TO THE COLLEGE ...................................................................................8 HOW TO APPLY ................................................................................................................8 ACADEMIC PROGRAMS ...............................................................................................12 TUITION, FEES & REFUNDS .......................................................................................18 THE WORK PROGRAM .................................................................................................23 CAMPUS FACILITIES .....................................................................................................25 FINANCIAL AID ..............................................................................................................28 SCHOLARSHIPS ..............................................................................................................32 LOAN PROGRAMS ..........................................................................................................35 STUDENT LIFE AT BLACKBURN ................................................................................36 ACADEMIC REGULATIONS .........................................................................................45 REQUIREMENTS FOR A BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE ......................................52 DIVISIONS AND COURSES OF INSTRUCTION ......................................................55 COLLEGE PERSONNEL ..............................................................................................151 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES .......................................................................................152 THE FACULTY ...............................................................................................................154 ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF ...........................................................................................158 INDEX ............................................................................................................................161 3 GENERAL INFORMATION EDUCATION AT BLACKBURN COLLEGE Blackburn College, founded in 1837, is primarily a residential college and currently enrolls approximately 600 students. The College has been co-educational since 1864; the enrollment is almost equally divided between men and women. Students enroll from all parts of the nation and from several other countries, but the majority comes from the Midwestern states. The College seeks a student body from diverse social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. Its relatively small size and democratic, open tradition permit and encourage wide participation by all. Blackburn is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is actively committed to helping students develop their own life values and religious perspectives. Blackburn has long enjoyed a reputation for academic quality. Over 80% of the faculty has the highest graduate degree, usually the doctorate, which is available in their fields of study. Students and faculty have the opportunity to work together in small classes frequently having no more than 15 students; class discussion and individual attention are a normal part of a Blackburn education. This personal attention makes it possible for interested students to undertake independent study projects under faculty supervision or to work with a faculty member on a research project. Students who attend Blackburn are expected to have a high school academic preparation well above the average for college students. Most institutions of higher education today focus only on the individual, establishing competitive, rather than cooperative, learning environments in which students are tested on their individual abilities to survive. But an individual’s credentials and skills are not enough to prepare for the complex organizations and diverse communities that students will encounter after graduation. Collective problems require a common effort by those educated to cope with the diversity of race, gender, religion and ethnic identity, by those who have already learned from the experience of membership in a community, what it means to share a commitment, serve interests beyond their own, and contribute to a common good. And here Blackburn has much to offer as it uses its work program and GENERAL INFORMATION attentive staff and faculty to build community on campus during a student’s important undergraduate years. Blackburn historically has been committed to providing access to all academically qualified students regardless of economic need. The total costs of attending Blackburn are kept lower than at other academically selective independent colleges through the Work Program, internships, major income received from the College’s endowment funds, and generous gifts that come to Blackburn each year from alumni and friends of the College throughout the nation. Approximately 90% of the Blackburn student body receives financial aid of one kind or another. 4 ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2019-2020 Fall Semester 2019 Thursday, August 1 Tuition, room, board, and other charges are due and payable to avoid $100 late payment fee. Friday, August 16 Returning students arrive on campus. Saturday, August 17 New students arrive on campus. Matriculation Ceremony, 4:00 p.m. Sunday, August 18 Orientation and Week of Welcome events Monday, August 19 Orientation and Week of Welcome events ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2019-2020 Tuesday, August 20 Work Program training day Wednesday, August 21 Classes begin. All College Convocation, 4:00 p.m. Thursday, August 29 Last day to register, add a course, declare a course to be taken pass/fail or drop a course without a “W” grade. Monday, September 2 Labor Day Holiday Fri., Sept. 27-Sun., Sept. 29 Homecoming Weekend Friday, October 11 Fall midterm break begins at 5 p.m. Monday, October 14 Mid-term grade rosters due. Wednesday, October 16 Course instruction resumes at 8 a.m. Wednesday, October 23 Last day to drop a class with a “W” grade. Monday, October 28 Early registration of currently registered students begins for the Spring 2020 semester. Friday, November