SMCC Catalog 2013 - 2014 - Southern Maine Community College

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Complete at least two courses that include an Honors Component.
Complete an Honors Project and present at an appropriate seminar or conference, such as Thinking Matters.
Writing Intensive Courses
A number of courses at Southern Maine Community College are designated as writing-intensive, indicated with a
“WI” credit type on the official transcript. Courses with this designation require ENGL-100, English Composition,
as a prerequisite and include student writing and its improvement as primary course objectives.
Distance Learning
The Distance Learning Program at Southern Maine Community College is an effort to broaden the scope of
course content offered via the Internet and to create an environment of creativity and support for faculty
members wishing to teach or enhance their courses by offering material online. The ultimate goal of this
program is to offer a wide array of individual courses and programs to students enrolled at SMCC who are
interested in interactive learning. Many courses use the Internet to enhance the traditional classroom education
experience. A wide range of disciplines offer courses on-line, which allows both traditional and non-traditional
students the opportunity to pursue a secondary education that may not have been available because of
scheduling or distance-related difficulties.
Online Course Enrollment Requirement
Online courses (section designators beginning in D, for example, ECON-120-D1) are restricted to students who
have earned a minimum of 12 credits. Students who have earned credits at another institution may submit an
unofficial transcript to meet this requirement. Hybrid classes, those for which only a portion of the class is
conducted online, do not carry the same restriction.
Internships/Externships
An Internship places students with a mentor in an on-the-job learning experience. It is practice oriented and
requires that students apply prior mastery of theoretical work and basic skills. An Internship should provide
mentored apprenticeship experience in a broad range of functions of the career area and is not simply an entrylevel
job. An internship is usually the culminating experience in the students’ program of study.
Academic credit is based on the number of hours of job experience. Regular work hours are to be maintained. A
minimum of 40 clock hours of directed on-the-job time is required for each semester hour of credit; often more
time is devoted to the internship than that required for minimum credit. Regular tuition rates are charged based
on the amount of credit.
Practicums
A Practicum places students in a practice learning situation. It provides students with supervised observation of
a relevant career or profession through exposure to the functioning of an organization as a participant in its
operations. Students are encouraged to relate and interpret their experiences through frequent conferences
with a faculty supervisor, projects, and assignments. A practicum is exploratory rather than culminating.
Academic credit is based on the number of hours of experience. A minimum of 40 clock hours of directed work is
required for each semester hour credit.
Field Experience
Some courses provide students with the opportunity to participate in field experiences. Field experiences place
students in a learning environment in the field observing and assisting professionals at work with selected tasks
as an introduction to the profession.
The instructor in a course that requires such an experience places students in field experiences. Assignments
related to the field experience are part of the overall course evaluation.
Independent Study
A student may request an opportunity for independent study in an area not covered in normal course offerings.
All requests must be in writing and have prior approval of the Instructor, Department Chair, and Academic Dean.