Park University - Narva Yearbook (Parkville, MO)

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THE NEW CURRICULUM AT PARK COLLEGE In May, 1931, the Faculty of Park College adopted a new curriculum. This curriculum was the result of a careful cooperative study by the entire faculty during the academic year 1930-31. The new organization is designed to meet the pres¬ ent needs of students who seek a liberal arts educa¬ tion. Those who co-operated in this study believe that the new organization will afford greater oppor¬ tunities to the student to develop and express his creative interests and abilities, and that it will free the student from artificial and unnatural require¬ ments that interfere with true education. The new program makes provision for an individual plan of study for each student at the beginning of the freshman year. Provision is also made for desirable stimulating personal contacts between the teacher and students. In beginning the study of the curriculum the de¬ partments of the college were organized into four general divisions in order to facilitate exchange of opinion and promote a careful study of particular problems in certain fields. This organization was found so effective that it has been adopted as a permanent feature of the organization of the new curriculum. Members of the teaching staff within these groups met throughout the year for a number of important conferences. Special committees were also appointed to study the objectives of liberal arts education, the vocational interests of the present student body and the professions and types of work which graduates of the college have engaged in. In this study an attempt was made to discover the real needs of students of today and those elements which go to make up a unified, stimulating intel¬ lectual experience for the student. Any demands on the curriculum based merely on tradition, or depart¬ mental interests, or on prejudice, were disregarded. The professional spirit shown by the faculty in this study was most encouraging. Under the provisions of the new curriculum in¬ struction is offered in four divisions: I—Natural Science and Mathematics, II—Social Sciences, III Language and Literature, IV—A combined group, consisting of Education, Philosophy, Psychology and Religion. A chairman of each division is appointed annually by the President and Dean. Any general requirements will depend to a large extent upon the field or division where the student elects to do the greater part of his work. The time required by the student to complete his work for the degree w t i11 depend entirely upon the ability of the student. It is important to add that Park Col¬ lege does not engage in intercollegiate athletics and can, therefore, consistently emphasize an intellectual program. In the lower division the work of the usual two years is regarded as a unit. An individual program of study is organized at the beginning of the fresh¬ man year for each student. Naturally the new organization places special emphasis on the orienta¬ tion of freshmen. The college restricts its entire enrollment to 500. Approximately 175 freshmen are admitted each year. Admission is selective. Only 35 per cent of the students come from the state in which the college is located. A new program for freshmen forms one of the bases of the new curriculum. When each student arrives he is placed in the hands of a faculty advisor who has already been supplied with data concern¬ ing the student ' s record and characteristics. On the basis of this knowledge, the advisor is able to refer the student to the head of one of the four main divisions, under whose guidance the freshman makes out a preliminary program of study. This advisory relationship continues throughout the college course. When the student is found qualified to be ad¬ mitted to the upper division, or senior college, he has the option of pursuing work in (1) regular courses or (2) Honors courses, or independent work. Park College introduced Honors work in 1927- This plan has yielded satisfactory results and has offered exceptional opportunities for students capable of undertaking this type of work. At the present time students in the following fields are reading for Honors: English Literature, Mathematics, Ro¬ mance Languages, History and Political Science, and Social Science. Students who wish to pursue the regular course work in the upper division are required to elect formally a field of concentration, naturally a culmi¬ nation of their interests and special work in the lower division. The final test of the quality of the student ' s work is the comprehensive examination in the field of concentration given near the end of the senior year. The general comprehensive examina¬ tion will be required of all candidates for a degree. The plan of a general comprehensive examination was adopted by the faculty in 1929, and became a requirement for all candidates for the degree in 1930-31. Most of the departments at present offer a co-ordinating course in the senior year to prepare the student for the comprehensive examination. It is evident that the department will have the opportunity of catching the interest of the student early in his educational career and preparing him carefully for the culminating work of the last two years. It is apparent also that there will normally be considerable difference in teaching methods in the upper and lower divisions. In the upper divi¬ sion the student can be placed on his own responsi¬ bility to a greater degree and should become familiar, at least to a certain extent, with elementary research. In a small college adding one or more courses does not necessarily increase the effectiveness of the de¬ partment, but rather in securing unity and purpose in all the work of the department. The special features of the new organization are: (l) a serious attempt to serve the needs and interests of the individual student, (2) a desirable advisory relationship from the very beginning of the stu¬ dent’s career in college through conferences with the chairmen of divisions and departments, (3) a definite breaking away from artificial departmental lines and the encouragement of a better organiza¬ tion of instructional w-ork within a natural grouping of departments, (4) special opportunities for stud- dents to do independent or ffonors work in the upper division of the college. (5) a comprehensive examination to test the quality of the student’s work. W. F. SANDERS, Dean. [2(5]

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STUDENT BODY GOVERNMENT Each year representatives from various organizations are elected to constitute the group known as the student council. The students thus chosen are considered the most efficient and capable members of their respective organizations. The student council meets once a month to discuss school problems and offer sug- gestions for their solution. One chapel period every week is devoted to student body business, with a program prepared or sponsored by some group on the campus such as the Cu Cu Club, the various girls ' dormitories, the Women ' s Glee Club, the Band, etc. The council is also responsible for selection of the programs which are provided for by the student enterprise fund. Eight officers of the student council are elected each spring from the student body at large. These officers are as follows: The President, the Vice-President, the Secretary- Treasurer of the student body; the editor and business manager of the Stylus and Narva; and the President of the Men’s Athletic Association. THE 1931-32 STUDENT COUNCIL Franklin Bruce . Delmer Rodabaugh Margaret Medill President of the Student Body Vice ' President of the Student Body Secretary ' Treasurer of the Student Body REPRESENTATIVES Allison Lowe . . T. M. C. A. Norman Gallatin . Sophomore Class Alice Boorem T. W. C. A. George Riggs . Junior Class Don Mackenzie Ffarva Miriam Tritsch . Senior Class Fred Wakeman . Stylus Max Coleman . Men ' s Athletic Asso. Allee Niles Freshman Class Constance Shupe Women ' s Ath. Asso. Evelyn Pierce Forensic Council Lowe, Niles, Mackenzie, Riggs, Rodabaugh Coleman, M. Medill, Tritsch, Pierce, Wakeman Bruce flnsetj [25 ]

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BOOK II CLASSES