NDC Catalog 2007-2008 - Notre Dame College

Academic Policies
and Procedures
NOTRE DAME COLLEGE LIBERAL ARTS
EDUCATION THROUGH THE ARCH
CURRICULUM:
Notre Dame College strongly affirms its belief in the
value of the liberal arts as the foundation for both
academic and professional pursuits, a sharing in the
common tradition of learning, a gateway to living a
whole and well-rounded life, and preparation for being
a transformative presence in the civic community.
The Notre Dame College community is committed to a
thorough undergraduate education rooted in
Abrahamic values, development of personal,
professional and global responsibility, the principles of
Catholic social teaching, and the humanities.
In Notre Dame’s ARCH Curriculum, students follow a
three-strand academic program:
• Foundational studies provide the opportunity to
develop the competencies characteristic of a
liberal arts education: the intellectual skills
necessary to analyze, adapt, and apply discipline
based knowledge for lifelong learning and
informed citizenship.
• Major field and pre-professional studies engage
students in learning and mastering specific
knowledge and skills which prepare them for entry
level professional positions, initial licensure, and/or
graduate study.
• Signature studies are a sequence of interdisciplinary
courses integrating Foundational studies and the
student’s major using active learning and deeper
analytic inquiry in order to cultivate a life of
mindfulness and civic engagement, especially
through the lenses of Catholic Social Teaching
and Abrahamic values in issues of local and
global concern.
The ARCH Curriculum leads students to address and
develop the specific insights and competencies needed
in contemporary society, and to provide the means for
understanding the intersection between God and
humankind.
ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 25
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:
A candidate for a bachelor’s degree will have earned a
minimum of 128 semester credits:
25-28 credits in Foundational Studies
13 credits in Signature Studies
and all credits necessary to fulfill the requirements of
the student’s chosen major field of study.
If a course in the Foundational Studies program is also a
component of the student’s major, it will usually fulfill
both requirements. The credit hours, however, may be
counted only once toward fulfilling the degree
requirement of 128 semester credits for a baccalaureate
degree or 64 semester credits for an associate degree.
ARCH CURRICULUM:
FOUNDATIONAL STUDIES
The Foundational Curriculum is that body of studies
that prepares Notre Dame College students in the
essential competencies characteristic of a liberal arts
education. This academic foundation develops the
intellectual skills necessary to analyze, adapt, and apply
discipline-based knowledge for lifelong learning and
informed citizenship.