Clarion University

Making Connections



Address: 220 Founders Hall
City: Clarion
State: PA
Zip or Postal Code: 16214
Country: USA
Program Director (or best person to contact): Stephen Johnson
Email: stjohnson@mail.Clarion.edu
Phone: 814 226-2225
Fax: 814 226-1929
Web Address:

Brief Program Summary
The two primary goals of Clarion University?s Making Connections program are to: 1) help students (and faculty) synthesize academic skills and knowledge across disciplines and 2) facilitate first-year students? transition from high school to the university. A cohort of 25 students enrolls in either clusters (three courses) or links (two courses). Faculty work together to establish a central theme that ties the courses together. Cluster faculty collaborate with residence hall staff to organize films, lectures, and other activities. Students and faculty establish common ground for academic discussions and personal friendships. The cluster experience fosters active participants in a community of learners.

Sources of funding
A small budget in the College of Arts and Sciences Occasional grants from external sources

Program Reports To:


Are students charged an additional fee: No

The number of persons in each of the following categories are teaching academic credit bearing courses
Fulltime Tenured Faculty: 0
Fulltime Probationary Faculty: 0
Fulltime Instructors: 0
Fulltime Retired Faculty: 0
Fulltime Adjunct Faculty: 0
Fulltime Graduate Students: 0
Fulltime Residence Hall Staff: 0

Parttime Tenured Faculty: 6
Parttime Probationary Faculty: 5
Parttime Instructors: 2
Parttime Retired Faculty: 0
Parttime Adjunct Faculty: 0
Parttime Graduate Students: 0
Parttime Residence Hall Staff: 3

Academic staff involved in the program that weren't included as faculty above
(Academic staff are personnel who are involved in providing academic services to students such as advising.)
Fulltime Academic Staff: 0
Parttime Academic Staff: 0

Non-academic staff involved in the program
(Non-academic staff are personnel who are involved in providing services that do not directly involve academics such as residence hall staff or staff who organize social activities that are not tied to academics.)
Fulltime Non-Academic Staff: 0
Parttime Non-Academic Staff: 0
Number of faculty offices in the residence hall: 1
The approximate percentage of students in each grade level
First Year: 90
Second Year: 15
Third Year: 4
Fourth Year and above: 1
Graduate Students: 0

Total Number of Students: 225

Year the Program Began:1992

Academic Courses Offered In The Community
Students are not required to take a cluster but all cluster courses meet General Education Requirements. Connecting Sociology, Education, and English (9 credits) SOC 211 Principles of Sociology (3) ED 225 Multicultural Education (3) ENG 130 Literary Experience (3) Connecting Speech and Philosophy (6 credits) SCT 113 Fundamental of Speech (3) PHIL 211 Introduction to Philosophy (3) Connecting Education and Biology (7 credits) ED 110 Introduction to Education (3) BIOL 111 Basic Biology (4) Connecting German, English, and History (9 credits) GER 103 German Civilization and Culture (3) ENG 111 Writing II (3) HIST 150 History in the Headlines (3) Science for the Human Good (6 credits) BIOL 224 Human Biology (3) PHIL 212 Ethics (3) Approaching the Year 2000: Problems and Possibilities (9 credits) PHIL 211 Introduction to Philosophy (3) SOC 211 Principles of Sociology (3) SCT 113 Fundamentals of Speech (3) Connecting Africa and the New World (9 credits) ART 215 Aftican Tradition in Art (3) HIST 130 Africa to 1800 (3) SCT 113 Fundamentals of Speech (3) Connecting Mathematics, Earth Science, and Geography (9 credits) MATH 112 Excursions in Mathematics (3) ES 111 Basic Earth Science (3) GEOG 100 Introductin to World Geography (3) Connecting Computers with World Issues (6 credits) HIST 150 History in the Headlines (3) CIS 217 Ap[plications of Microcomputers (3)

Other Academic Offerings


Classrooms in hall


Summary of Facilities and Facilities Budget We use the campus classrooms for most of the regular class meeting times. Sometimes classes will be re-scheduled to take place in a residence hall. This usually happens if a professor would like to show an entire film and have discussion afterward or have the students meet a speaker who is visiting the campus

Computer Resources in the Residence Hall
The university will be renovating the residence halls this summer including fibre optic cable for internet access. The residence halls have small computer labs.

The Role of Community Partnerships
Many of the clusters have service-learning-type projects that get the students out into the community. One cluster takes a weekend to work for Habitat for Humanity.

The Role of Leadership Development
Faculty serve as mentors and models of independent learners for the students. Students engage in cooperative group learning to foster leadership skills

The Role of Research
Faculty engage in action research to investigate cooperative learning strategies and writing across the curriculum. The linking of disciplines inspired faculty to develop textbooks.

Summary of Assessment Activities
We use surveys to assess student and faculty attitude. Faculty in each cluster develop their own strategies to assess student learning and present a cluster report to the Making Connections faculty at an annual meeting.

Summary of Extracurricular Activities Formally Associated with the Program
-Faculty Development Workshops focused on improvement of teaching -Film Series -Speaker Series -Service projects -Field trips

The Role of Interdisciplinary Studies
It is a major component. Faculty work diligently to integrate content across disciplines.

How Diversity Issues are Addressed in the Program and in Courses
Investigation, reflection, and articulation of values from diverse viewpoints is a component of every cluster.

How Diversity Issues are Addressed Among Faculty and Students
Diversity is one of the criteria when committees are formed. Diversity is considered when faculty organize their courses into clusters.

Student Demographics
Exact Undergraduates: Total 5,436 Full-time 4925 Part-time 511 Graduates: Total 430 Full-time 177 Part-time 253 Gender: Males 2241 Females 3625 First generation 1277 Race/Ethnicity: African-American 217 White 5019 Asian 30 Hispanic 19 American Indian 13 International 37 Average Age of undergraduate 22.4/10.6% are above age 24 Average SAT 976

Faculty Rewards for Participation in the Program
Release Time:
Salary Supplement:
Travel Funds: yes
Other:

Description of Other Rewards
Frequent gatherings to foster community/good food

Disciplines Represented by the Faculty
Biology Sociology History Speech Communication German English Writing Mathematics Geography Education Earth Science Philosophy

Willing to Serve as a Consultant:
yes

Greatest Challenges for this Learning Community:
-lack of financial resources -expanding the program to include more students

Suggested Bibliography
Creating Community on College Campuses/Spitzberg & Thorndike ISBN 0-7914-1005-6 Interdisciplinary Courses and Team Teaching/Davis ISBN 0-89774-887-5 Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty/Millis & Cottell ISBN 0-89774-990-1